L.D. Turner
When God places his call on our lives, it is at that point we have a critical decision to make. Are we going to answer his call, or are we going to refuse? No matter how we may try to complicate the issue, it really remains that simple. Just as Jonah had a choice to follow God’s call and go to Nineveh, we have the same choice. Hopefully, we answer in the affirmative and avoid much of the trouble that Jonah encountered.
I have grown to believe that it is essential that we see our own personal calling or mission in the context of a much larger picture. For Christians, the “big picture” context through which we must come to view our calling is “Kingdom Manifestation.” God’s great story of restoration, renewal, and redemption involves the establishment of his kingdom here on earth. It is precisely this big picture that Jesus alluded to in his model prayer for us:
Your kingdom come,
Your will be done,
On earth, as it is in heaven.
As new creations “in Christ,” we are called to help manifest God’s kingdom here on earth and, through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, we are empowered to meet this challenge. The Kingdom of God is a multi-faceted phenomenon and requires knowledge of the principles of manifestation if it is ever to be established. These principles are God’s eternal laws, built right into the fabric of the universe and it is part of our task to discern these laws and find ways to apply them in our daily living. This process enables us to become more effective as disciples of Christ and more productive in our lives.
A key aspect of God’s universal plan for humankind is that each of us should do all that we can to realize our divine potential and become the optimal version of who and what we are. Even the most cursory look at God’s creation reveals a universal principle of dynamic growth. Simple observation reveals that when something ceases to grow, decay sets in. As Christians, this principle certainly applies to our walk of faith. With the help of the Holy Spirit, we are to continue to grow and evolve as members of the Body of Christ.
Scripture reveals that we are expected to become more and more like Christ. For many of us, we think this an impossible goal. However, if Scripture does tell us that we are to grow into Christ-like beings, then chances are that is exactly what it means. Some scholars think that Paul was merely engaging in a bit of literary hyperbole when he asserted this, but careful reading of the text does not support this idea. Instead, we are to manifest the fullness of Christ.
Over the years, I have come to view our life “in Christ,” as being analogous to that of being in the womb. Just as a fetus spends its time in the womb being worked upon by forces that enable it to grow into a being that will be capable of surviving within the parameters of the world it will eventually live in, so it is with our life “in Christ.” As we grow in the Christian life, we are being acted upon by divine forces that will eventually transform us into beings that can prosper in the spiritual world, which will be our next home.
There is one huge difference between our being in the physical womb of our mother and being in the spiritual womb in Christ, however. In the spiritual womb, we also have a major part to play in the growth process. Granted, we cannot save ourselves and, if I can use myself as an example, we cannot sanctify ourselves, either. But we can and must do all that we can. We need to engage in consistent and committed spiritual disciplines such as prayer, fasting, meditation, and especially, sacred service. By engaging in these time-honored practices, we place ourselves in a position of receptivity whereby these spiritual forces, namely the Holy Spirit, can carry out our proper gestation in preparation for our birth into the spiritual realm.
I have come to firmly believe that gaining knowledge of these principles of Kingdom Manifestation and how to apply them in service to God and others is one of the major revelations the Master is giving to humankind in this age. We are now in a period of intense spiritual activity in the unseen realms and this activity is having a very notable impact on our physical world. We are in a period of accelerated activity and the pace of change is rapid. The time is ripe for greater application of Kingdom Principles, with the goal of establishing God’s Kingdom on earth.
Closely related to this phenomenon of the revelation of Kingdom Principles is another teaching the Spirit is imparting to humankind in this age. I am referring to what I call the Principle of Interdependence, which implies that all aspects of creation are interrelated and what impacts one part impacts all other parts. Perhaps we need to look at this a bit more closely.
The idea of interconnectivity, now confirmed by the field of quantum physics, has been around for many centuries and is at the core of interspiritual mysticism, that one aspect of world religion that seems to transcend culture, time, and especially theology. It is a mystical connectedness that promotes compassion and engaged action to make the world a better place for all who dwell here. In essence, it is a deep wisdom that gives flesh to grace. The great spiritual writer Kahil Gibran spoke of this interconnected reality when he said:
Your neighbor is your other self dwelling behind a wall. In understanding, all walls shall fall down. Who knows but that your neighbor is your better self wearing another body? See that you love him as you would yourself. He too is a manifestation of the Most High.
In India, for example, we have the story of Indra’s Net, which is strung throughout the universe with a precious jewel at the places where the cords of the net intersect. These jewels, in turn, reflect all of the other jewels. Similar to the modern discovery of the hologram, the image of Indra’s Net is filled with symbolic wisdom depicting the interconnectivity of all that is. Gary Zukav, in his groundbreaking book entitled, The Dancing Wu Li Masters tell us:
…the philosophical implications of quantum mechanics is that all things in our universe (including us) that appears to exist independently are actually parts of one all-encompassing organic pattern, and that no parts of that pattern are ever really separate from it or from each other.
In the Christian tradition, the writings of the great mystic teachers echo these same truths, often in symbolic and metaphorical ways. Julian of Norwich especially comes to mind as well as Hildegard of Bingen and Madame Guyon. The writings of Saint Theresa of Avila and the life and work of St. Francis also point to the interconnectivity of all life and the necessity of having a heart of radical compassion.
The great Romantic poets like William Wordsworth and Percy B. Shelley have voices that ring loudly with the sense of the interrelated aspects of the natural world and their American counterparts, the Transcendentalists, in the writings of Emerson, Thoreau, and Whitman, also echo this theme of divine connectivity. And then there is the work of that master of the arcane, William Blake who spoke of the mystic’s ability:
To see a World in a grain of sand,
And Heaven in a wild flower,
Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand,
And Eternity in an hour.
The world that we interact with each day only appears to be solid. In point of fact, it is an intricate dance of sub-atomic waves and particles that obey none of the traditional or expected moves of predictable choreography. At its core level, our apparently solid, material world is less like classical music and more like jazz. Just when we think we have a handle on how things are, these very things change, morphing into something totally unexpected and often totally mysterious. Someone wise, I forget who, once said the life is not a riddle to be solved but a mystery to be lived. How true, and the sooner a person grasps this fundamental truth, the less frustration will appear in his or her life.
In teaching about the interrelated aspect of the universe, I often use a simple analogy that explains these principles in a basic way. I use the example of raisin Jell-o. Imagine you have concocted a delicious tub or raisin Jell-o. Choose your favorite flavor if you like. The raisins are the important thing, here. Now, what happens when you take your index finger and thump one of the raisins? All the raisins move. Crude as this metaphor is, it makes the point that all the raisins in the bowl are connected and if one raisin moves, they all move. This is what the mystics, and the quantum physicists, are talking about when they speak of interconnectivity.
Christian writer and teacher Elizabeth Elliot, looking at God’s wondrous creation with both attentiveness and wisdom, grasps the profundity of this theme of interconnectedness and how it illustrates a foundation of commonality between humans and other species in God’s creation:
The closer one comes to the center of things, the better able he is to observe the connections. Everything created is connected, for everything is produced by the same mind, the same love, and is dependent on the same Creator. He who masterminded the universe, the Lord God Omnipotent, is the One who called the stars into being, commanded light, spoke the Word that brought about the existence of time and space and every form of matter: salt and stone, rose and redwood, feather and fur and fin and flesh. The titmouse and the turkey answer to Him. The sheep, the pig, and the finch are His, at His disposal, possessed and known by Him…We too are created, owned, possessed, known.
As we have seen, God’s purposes for humankind must be seen through a larger lens than our own myopic concerns and needs. As individual parts of a much larger organism (The Body of Christ), we must now view our need for growth in Christ within the framework of a much broader network. The Principle of Interdependence reveals that our actions are never completely isolated from others. In conclusion, let’s take a look at how the principle of becoming the optimal version of ourselves for the sake of others dances with the Principle of Interdependence.
This vital perspective should be obvious by now. If we fail to grow and evolve as spiritual beings in Christ, we will not only effect ourselves in a negative way, but we will be like a weight or drag on the progress of the Body of Christ as a whole. Further, it should also be apparent by now that part of our function as agents for Christ is to create conditions in which others can also grow. We are to do all that we can to become the optimal versions of who and what we are, and, as committed members of the Body of Christ, we are to also help others to grow.
When we operate from our Spirit, we naturally understand this. I am convinced our Sacred Mind, which is the Mind of Christ, understands these principles and how to apply them to their best advantage. The more we come to live and move from our Sacred Mind, the more skillful we become at accomplishing this universal task of growing and helping others to grow.
Conversely, when we live from our flesh or our “lower mind,” we cannot see the forest for the trees, nor can we overcome our egocentric myopia long enough to understand and apply these principles.
I encourage you to start today. Practice the classic spiritual disciplines and place yourself in a more centered and receptive state of being. Pray consistently for wisdom, discernment, and empowerment to carry forward your part in God’s overall process of restoration and renewal. And always remember, when you help yourself to grow, you are helping others and, when they end up helping as well, it comes back to you one hundred fold.
© L.D. Turner 2009/ All Rights Reserved
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