The great gift which Christ offers to the individual is a way back from this self-centered darkness which so blinds us to the divine perspective. But, how does that work when we don’t even recognize that we are, indeed, immersed in a personal darkness?
Well, sometimes it simply doesn’t work. Sometimes, our darkness is so impermeable that it is, in fact, terminal. Sometimes the long rope of God’s great patience becomes the very rope with which we simply hang ourselves, spiritually.
Thus, as we continually ignore His overtures, we eventually just miss our opportunity for personal renewal and a life lived in the joys of the higher plane. And, that’s that.
But sometimes, there is a better outcome. Sometimes, resulting from the twists and turns of life, we find ourselves humbled before God and at the end of our own arrogant rope. And there, sitting in the puddle of our own calamity and stripped of our sense of self-sufficiency, finally, we are able to truly see the degraded condition of our life for what it really is.
And, in those moments of clarity, we suddenly understand the value of Christ’s offer to start us over and make all things new. So there, at the end of our own rope, we decide to tie a big knot of devotion to God and hang on for dear life.
And, in those desperate moments, it becomes much easier to see the stupidity of ever believing that the quality of life could actually reside in such fleeting things as possessions, or primo jobs, or costly hobbies and toys, etc. And how could it not become obvious when we find ourselves surrounded by those things, and yet, also find that we are still devastated and miserable in both our inner and outer life.
From gold chains, to custom wheels, to smartphones, to nice homes, to bank accounts and spectacular vacations, all taken together, such “trinketry” and low aspirations never amount to anything more than a powerful testimony to our own small mindedness. And this is especially true when we compare the empitiness of those things to Christ’s offer to bring a sweeping elevation and nobility to our life.
And, indeed, He does entirely change who we are and what we are about. He brushes aside our silly little materialistic ideas of what life is supposed to be and brings a hugeness, not only to our awareness level, but to our personal potential.
And, He does it in precisely the right way. He empowers a profound transformation of our character which entirely changes how we encounter life – and thus, the quality of life, itself.
So - is there a way to deal with this very self-assured majority in present day America? Oh, there’s a way. It is just a matter of giving them “enough rope,” and then, waiting to see which one of those aforementioned knots they tie when they come to the end of it. And, in fact, God is doing that very thing, right now.
If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness! - Jesus
