First I talked about how language is
not truth. Language is metaphor. Metaphor can help us understand the
truth, but the farther we go with it the farther we get from the
truth. So we get the situation where people seek to understand a
concept, like “love” by looking up what it means in other
languages, or other dictionaries, and collect words (metaphors) to
somehow justify their understanding of a concept that exists
independently of our understanding of it. Can we just agree that we
are talking about real-life concepts that are more important than the
metaphors we use to describe them? Its kinda like treating the
symptoms while the disease keeps its merry way.
Second I talked about how the only way
to seek the truth of the reality is to first let go of what we think
we already know about it. To simply accept reality for what it is.
“Life on life's terms.” This takes a great deal of courage and
humility to accomplish.
Third I talked about the Glory of God.
The weight or significance of God. The importance. What I am doing
here is using multiple words to describe something that is true. This
is not my argument, and I chose this example to begin with for a very
simple reason. Again and again when I try to discuss these concepts
with other Christians from many different denominations or doctrinal
positions the conversation usually ends with the comment that God is
the only truth. The conversation ends, not because they “showed me”
but because once they utter these words they find they have no idea
how to explain this concept or what it actually means. They say
things like “I understand it, but I can't explain it.”
Where does one go from there?
So when I say things like weight or
significance or importance or awesome-ness of God, I'm describing
something that exists with or without me. I'm trying to get you to
understand what I'm talking about, not trying to define it. Let's
move past the definition to the “experience”. What is is is
something that encompasses all those words, and more. Here's another
one: value.
The Glory or kavod of God can be
described as the weight, significance, importance, awesome-ness and
value of God. We feel it, but it is not a “feeling”. Its real.
In the same way, these words are really
about the characteristics of the kavod of God.
So when we start talking about
spiritual values, we are talking about the characteristics of the
kavod of God.
As I started understanding and applying
these spiritual values to my life, I learned a couple things. First I
learned that it was really about the application. It was in the
applying of the values that I gained a better understanding, not the
other way around. This is why I say that telling a new believer to
surround themselves with other believers and listen to a human
authority is the wrong advice. One can only gain spiritual maturity
by having maturing experiences. Its good to have a support structure
of other believers, but the way it is often practiced is that the new
believer is hidden, or protected from the very life that they are
supposed to be applying their new spiritual life to. As I pointed out
already, this is easily shown to be anti-biblical.
The second thing that I learned about
applying these spiritual values to my life is that there are stages
of understanding and application one goes through. This is not so
strange. If we are talking about “maturity” then there is implied
a “growth” or development. And growth or development always goes
through stages.
The next thing I learned is that
eventually one reaches a stage where no matter what the value,
humility, courage, love, etc, it ultimately reaches an ultimate stage
where its about God. For example, when I learned about acceptance I
started with accepting that bad things happen. Then it moved through
a stage where I learned to accept the good things that others did for
me. After a few more stages I eventually got to a point in my
understanding and application where I learned to accept God as He is.
This is a very important point to get, not trying to make God fit my
understanding but to accept the I AM.
And so every spiritual value reaches
the point where its about God.
The value of God.
The kavod of God.
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