Father's Love Letter

I Asked Jesus, "How Much Do You Love Me?" 

"THIS MUCH," He answered 

and He Stretched Out His Arms and Died

The Very Words of Christ (speaking of Himself):

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.”  -The Gospel of John, Chapter 3, verses 16-21 (NKJV)
 

"Not my Will, But Thine, Be Done"

"Behold the handmaid of the Lord; 

be it unto me according to thy word" 

-Luke 1:38

~     ~     ~

~ FLESH VS. SPIRIT ~

A perfect picture and example of God’s Will performed on earth can be found in the book of Matthew 1:18-25.  Here we find the glorious story of the miraculous conception of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world.  These morsels of scripture not only show God’s Will coming to pass, but also mirror the reality of the pestering resistant battle of our flesh-man.  To further explain, here is a spiritual interpretation of these scriptures:  Jesus, the unborn baby symbolizes the promise or Will of God for a person or in a person.          

The Virgin Mary symbolizes our spirit-man / innermost being – pure and unadulterated – in which the Will of God is conceived.  As was done with Mary, our Heavenly Father wants to impregnate His Church, His people with His Will by the overshadowing power of the Holy Spirit.  This is accomplished when an individual surrenders and submits himself wholly to the mighty, but tender hand of God (reference Jeremiah 18:2-6).  The prayer and cry of our hearts should be:  “Not my will, but yours be done.”  (To get a much greater impact of this prayer, know that the Greek word for “will” here is: “Thelema” meaning - a determination, act, choice, purpose, decree, volition, inclination, desire, and/or pleasure.  The word “will” can also be interchanged with the following:  call, assignment, path, plan, way, destiny, and life).        

When Joseph, Mary’s husband to be, found out that she was with child, he planned to break off the engagement.  Joseph not only symbolizes people in our lives that are unsupportive to the promise or Will of God for us, but more accurately he represents a part of us.  Joseph symbolizes our flesh-man.  He represents the on-going duel that all of God’s children contend with; which is the war against our own flesh, our own desires and our own will.  Joseph’s original plan of separation from Mary symbolizes Christians giving in to their flesh-man due to lack of faith and understanding in the plan of God for their lives.  The Bible tells us that after Joseph received a message from the Lord, he woke up and took Mary to be his wife.  Like Joseph, God’s people / Church need a holy visitation and spiritual awakening in order to accept the perfect Will of God for themselves.          

The marriage symbolizes partial unity or the beginning of unity within oneself, in other words – the submitting of the flesh-man to the spirit.  Joseph did not know Mary / they did not enter into union with one another until after the baby was born.  We cannot allow our flesh to become impatient, and defile or interfere with what God has birthed in our spirit.  The flesh must wait in submission for God’s perfect Will to come to pass.  It is in this process that our flesh is crucified; that we die to our own will and desires.  Therefore, submission alone is not enough.  The flesh must die and it must be stripped away; otherwise the stench of its remains will blend with that which is holy and defile it.          

The “Knowing / Union” of Joseph and Mary after God’s Will was birthed, symbolizes “Life in the Spirit”.  Therefore, I would like to present to you the following spiritual equation:  flesh + submission + death + stripping = “Life in the Spirit”.  

~November 2008