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I’ve had an image bouncing around in my mind the last few weeks that has been helpful and fills me with joy when I think about it. I’m going to share it but let me first say that while the image is drawn from Biblical concepts, it is not an image or metaphor that is itself found in the Bible.

In John 6, the teachings of Jesus are nothing short of a conundrum. The Bible is full of these weird miraculous events and teachings…the virgin birth, the triune God, the resurrection of Jesus, the bread and wine. Things we believe in faith. Things we can talk about and attempt to explain in a sense, but if we’re really honest, things like these are surrounded with a great cloud of mystery.

Joy For An Answered Prayer (a poem based on Psalm 130)

The Bible does not use this word in this context, but I think it is fair to say we are rebels in this world. We rebel against the “prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience.” We rebel against the continuing dominion of the flesh that formerly reigned over us. We rebel against the influences of the world that are at work against the influences of the Spirit in us. We are part of the rebellion!

I’ve written previously about the fact that my Christian walk for many years was marred by an unhealthy shame. It was not shame that led to confession and restoration (good shame), it just led to guilt and separation (unhealthy shame). Like I was supposed to be perfect. And an expectation of perfection breeds hopelessness and despair. I fell prey to what I call a half teaching (or maybe it would be better to call it half doctrine) that I’d bought into. It’s something I think we all deal with in one context or another because many of the teachings of the Way are meant to lean against each other in equal proportions and so support the other (like the poles of a teepee), but when we give more weight to one than another, things get off balance.