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I do not see myself as a worm. I am a caterpillar who KNOWS that she is going to be a butterfly at just the right time.
Man, including Adam, was made of the earth, fleshy. If God expected Adam [and Eve} to resist the temptation and they didn't, then WHO is to blame? The creation or the creator? I say there is no blame because man did exactly what was expected. If I create something and it fails in any way, then it is MY fault, not what I created. Free will can not absolve the creator because if He did not make man's Will strong enough to resist evil then it was unfair to be upset when the creation did not resist it. [Eve sinned before she ever reached for the fruit..she SAW that it was good for food, pleasant to look at, saw that iwas desirable to make her wise, she sinned. And those thoughts entered her heart [her earthy heart[ because of what the serpent caused her to think. Before then, she probably never even questioned God's command.
Why did god put the tree there? Why did He leave His children alone and allow a tempter [a very crafty, subtly one at that] to beguile Eve? In His law, God says that if a man digs a pit and does not cover it [or build a fence around it?] and a neighbor's ox wanders onto his property and falls into the pit and dies, the owner of the pit must purchase the ox. There is nothing there about the stupidity or disobedience of the ox or it's owner for letting the ox get out of its yard, it's the pit owner's fault. If a man invites a neighbor over to fellowship on the roof and there is no railing around it and the neighbor falls, the liability is upon the owner of the house. God accepted full responsibility for man's fall. Christ is full restitution for Man's fall.
Can a leopard change his spots? If so, that which was made weak can keep from sinning. Jesus showed us that just keeping the letter of the law is not enough but the mere thought of lust is a sin and WHO, WHO can control his thoughts? Can you keep every 'evil' thought from entering your head? Do NOT think of a pink elephant. Hah!!! Oh look at the pretty birdy. Oh, that dress she is wearing is so pretty, wish I had one! Oh bummer, I just lusted. Think that that's NOT lusting? Wrong. What controls every thought that pops into your head? You? Some of them, yes, but not all.
A worm is not a detestable creature. It does what a worm was created to do. A lion/leopard does and looks like what it was created to do/look like.
We are a part of His Story. A story He is writing and thus an incredible story that will have a stupendous, stunning 'ending.' So I know that tho I do not and can not be perfect in this mortal lifetime and body as my Father in the spiritual realm is, I know that it is my destiny to be in His image when I'm out of this caterpillar body. With the aid of the Holy Spirit I can give comfort and hope to others, encourage them to be the brightest light they can be and also encourage them to forgive any trespasses against them because our Father forgives us every one because we are what we are but more importantly we will be what He has always intended for us to be, something much more wonderful and thankful and worshipful than Adam could ever attain to in His beginning innocence.
There is one thing for certain about what happened in the garden, and that is we are what we look at. No mistake by God,and no holding God accountable for what happened in the garden. God throughout scripture gave something to look at,we are all continually looking upon something, and whatever we are looking upon is who we are.
We cannot love our enemies unless we love yourself, and if you look upon yourself as being nothing other than a Beast saved by the grace of God you cannot possibly love yourself, this is why the world and the world of Christianity is in the state it is in, it hates what it sees in the mirror.
Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life. Proverbs 4:23
Our heart is the wellspring of our life( not our neighbors),our mind is the womb to the heart, so by not guarding what we think(look) upon,we allow entrance into our heart to that which is not God.
There is one thing for certain about what happened in the garden, and that is we are what we look at. No mistake by God,and no holding God accountable for what happened in the garden. God throughout scripture gave something to look at,we are all continually looking upon something, and whatever we are looking upon is who we are.
We cannot love our enemies unless we love yourself, and if you look upon yourself as being nothing other than a Beast saved by the grace of God you cannot possibly love yourself, this is why the world and the world of Christianity is in the state it is in, it hates what it sees in the mirror.
Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life. Proverbs 4:23
Our heart is the wellspring of our life( not our neighbors),our mind is the womb to the heart, so by not guarding what we think(look) upon,we allow entrance into our heart to that which is not God.
You still have not answered my question: If you already see yourself the image of Christ then what is your hope?
Michelangelo is quoted as saying, “In every block of marble I see a statue as plain as though it stood before me, shaped and perfect in attitude and action. I have only to hew away the rough walls that imprison the lovely apparition to reveal it to the other eyes as mine see it.”
This is how God sees . He calls the things that are not as though they are. The rough walls that imprison us are our false ideas about ourself and God.
I do not have to think of myself as the image of Christ NOW in order not to think I'm despicable or to love others who are also caterpillars. I see that my heart does not respond to some things I do or things others do in the way that a loving parent [especially a perfect loving parent] would respond. So my heart is not right at this time. I respond in anger at times, because of certain perceived, unloving offences towards me,even if only in my unseen thoughts. But THEN, when I have my new nature, my new heart, I will never respond contrary to how God would respond.
That's my view on the subject.
I don't know how you can HOPE for something that you believe you currently possess. But that's the crux of most differences. I can't understand where you're coming from and vice versa.
Michelangelo is quoted as saying, “In every block of marble I see a statue as plain as though it stood before me, shaped and perfect in attitude and action. I have only to hew away the rough walls that imprison the lovely apparition to reveal it to the other eyes as mine see it.”
This is how God sees . He calls the things that are not as though they are. The rough walls that imprison us are our false ideas about ourself and God.
So perhaps the main difference is that some of us believe that the 'statue' isn't revealed until post mortem and that the marble being hewn away corresponds to the trials and tribulations that we undergo here on earth; while you and others believe that it just takes removing some blockages in our thoughts to allow the masterpiece to emerge and can happen right now? Interesting.
I do not have to think of myself as the image of Christ NOW in order not to think I'm despicable or to love others who are also caterpillars. I see that my heart does not respond to some things I do or things others do in the way that a loving parent [especially a perfect loving parent] would respond. So my heart is not right at this time. I respond in anger at times, because of certain perceived, unloving offences towards me,even if only in my unseen thoughts. But THEN, when I have my new nature, my new heart, I will never respond contrary to how God would respond.
That's my view on the subject.
I don't know how you can HOPE for something that you believe you currently possess. But that's the crux of most differences. I can't understand where you're coming from and vice versa.
For hope to be a reality, that hope needs to be a reality in our thinking. In other words that hope is who I AM, otherwise its hope how the world hopes.
I don't know how you can HOPE for something that you believe you currently possess. But that's the crux of most differences. I can't understand where you're coming from and vice versa.
Except, that's not always the case, ScarletWren. For instance ... if you were once a believer in ET as many of us were you CAN, for the most part, understand where people are coming from who are still believing it is true. The whole "been there done that" thing.
So, a person who once believed as you do in this case can understand where you're coming from, even if you can't understand where they're coming from, SWIM?
If the beast nature insists on having its own way; resist it. How we view who we are is what we become.
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