In the land of the blind, a one-eyed man is king, but with full sight, the one-eyed man is a casualty!
1 Corinthians 13: 9-11 “For we know in part……but when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away. When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.”
1 John 1: 5-7 “…….God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with Him and walk in darkness, we lie and do not the truth. But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.”
So often we complicate our walk with the Lord by wrong believing, misunderstanding or over-thinking things. Trying to fulfil the teachings of Jesus in our own strength will only produce difficulty,strain and stress. Only as we learn to live a surrendered lifestyle to the Lord daily, will His Life flow through us unhindered by the old, fleshly nature. (This was buried with Christ, why should I keep resurrecting a dead body!!). The hallmark of Jesus’ life to His Father was, “nevertheless, not My will, but Yours be done”
Paul talked about “the simplicity of Christ” When we allow our wrong traditions to rule us, we complicate the simplicity of our walk with the Lord. In the following verse there are two little words. as and so, that give instruction. Colossians 2: 6 “AS you have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, SO walk in Him” How did I first receive Him? He came to where I was and I experienced an encounter with Him that changed my life for eternity. I humbled myself and repented of my sin. The royal exchange took place. The King of Love had sent for me and as I responded to His call, I received Him as my Saviour. He gave me His beauty for the ashes of my past life and set my feet firmly on the Rock of salvation to begin my earthly journey with Him.
Every day, in every situation, our Saviour still comes to us. Sometimes He comes in disguise, through another person, and I fail to recognise the encounter because my will is not surrendered. Only AS I walk in humility, (as I first received Him), SO will I walk with Him, in Him.
The apostle, Paul, spoke of his fear for the Corinthian church: 2 Corinthians 11: 3 “For I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the SIMPLICITY that is in Christ” There is a simplicity in our walk with the Lord that we discover as we walk in humility, keep a thankful heart and steer clear of the traditions of men that quench the leadings of the Holy Spirit in our lives. If I am not walking in the simplicity of Jesus Christ, I am not walking on a firm foundation. Our struggles indicate our wrong believing and lack of surrender. We can be carried through our trials in His strength alone, bringing His peace and calm whilst the storm still rages. Here we prove that the great I AM is, who He says He is, Almighty God. He is ever waiting to reveal His arm as we walk humbly before Him.
Consider this: When God created man, man was incomplete because we are meant to find our completeness in Him. God’s word confirms this. Colossians 2:10 “And you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power”
Christ is all my righteousness and I stand complete in Him. When I fail, I fail in my unrighteousness because somewhere I set myself up for a fall I need to repent of. The blood of the new covenant is never stained by my failure. The disappointment I experience is only based on my feelings about myself. Christ can never be a disappointment. I need revelation to understand that when I fail, the experience can be viewed, and used, as fertiliser for future success. Let our failures be our learning curves, and stepping stones in Christ. Every day is a school day in the school of the Spirit in the school of life.
In the economy of God, there is no waste. He uses all things for His purposes and glory. So very often, we need to change our perspective from our view, to God’s perspective. His ways and thoughts are so much higher than ours!
God brings His light to the dark places in our lives and shows us His path to take.
Everything I need is found in Christ Jesus. “In Him dwells all the fulness of the Godhead bodily”, Colossians 2:9. If I am lost, I can be found in Him, if I am weak I can find strength through Him. The list is endless because His riches are inexhaustible and eternal. His promises stand firm – “beauty for ashes, oil of joy for mourning, garments of praise for a spirit of heavyness”, (Isaiah 61:3) to produce vessels of honour for His glory.
Our heavenly Father created us for His good pleasure. Part of our birthright is to enjoy Him also. As we walk humbly in the simplicity of His Son, we shall find He is truly our All, IN all.
It is time to put away “our childish things”. When God brings light, we are no longer one eyed men in the land of the blind. Let us press on into Christ alone, walking in the light, as He is in the light. In this position we discover: “But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shines more and more unto the perfect day”, Proverbs 4:18.
Photo by Mubariz Mehdizadeh on Unsplash
