Life at The Margins

(inspired by the dreamed ideas coagulating as I awoke from sleep this morning)

The authentic Christian life (living out or walking in the Gospel proclamation of Jesus' Lordship in Spirit and in Truth) is freedom from the world but not absence from the world. It is freedom from fear but not from pain; which is why the materialistic 'Prosperity Doctrine' is a grave error! It is living in the side of Christ *at the wound* (where most of the world is actually located), and experiencing a new creation there; just as Eve was brought forth from Adam's side (while he was asleep, just like Jesus in the boat during the storm). Simultaneously, it is from that place of acute awareness of pain--and paradoxically life--his blood flows to us (lovingly reassuring us with the words, "Do not worry; we'll get to the shore and survive these rocky seas because I have already overcome the world"), bringing a joyous ecstasy to us (which is why the Hebrew word for rib can also metaphorically mean baculum). The Holy Spirit flowing through him (and the contagious righteousness it brings) enables us to rest in his peace (free from shame and the tyranny of sinful addictions), as he builds up our immunity to temptation like a fetus takes immunity from its mother in the womb. The child of the Gospel must remain at the side of Jesus ("grafted in the Vine") until the work is complete. There are no shortcuts. Heaven is now, yes true, but only because the Door has opened onto the Dining Hall of Paradise and we are still like wild canines benefiting from the abundant scraps under the tables of angels (like the Israelites in the Wilderness receiving mana daily) and for this season our role is to frequent the threshold and invite our friends to share in this find (this boon), for "the Spirit and the Bride say come!"--as exemplified by the Samaritan woman and foreshadowed by the woman Jesus called "dog" but didn't turn away and also later praised. Perhaps he was testing her to see if she fatalistically succumbed to the image crafted for her by society or if she had faith to believe there was more to her substance than that. Like her, we need to not be afraid but boldly approach the Throne of Grace and assert that our needs ought to be met by the Righteous King. And like her, we should be thankful that we have not been turned away but (and here's where the story turns) we have received from the choice fatted lamb and are welcomed home into our previously estranged father's embrace as a prodigal returned. Out of the swine pen and into the palace. We are being transfigured from filthy pigs to adored kittens, from rabid wolves to regal greyhounds, from wounded sharks to playful dolphins. If we remain wild and of the world--far from Jesus side--then we are no children of God at all but are just like the other orphans. We will soon run out of food (like the five foolish virgins who presumed to have enough oil in their lamps), and when night falls the other orphans will see us for the 'fakes' we are. So press into Jesus' side! Sit with the world in its reality of suffering and estrangement. Stop the denial, and this Cult of Therapeutic Cotton Wool. We all need the work of Christ which is true food. There is a scene in The Labyrinth were Sarah is lost in a junk yard in a dreamlike state and an elf-like old woman is trying to get her to forget her quest. Don't fall for all the childish toys on offer. Keep moving with the Spirit or you'll be destroyed along with the trash!