First let me say thanks Admin for the Journey! Reading through the book and your posts has been encouraging and challenging. This community of Sonshine is unlike any other community I have experienced before. I have my theories of why, but ultimately it is the heart of Christ in all of us beating as one. Some singer song writer by the name of Bono sang it once, "Two hearts beat as one!" In this case I would say, "The Admin's heart beat as one!" I have a few take aways from the book.
1. Kids are emotionally healthy and emotionally unhealthy all at the same time! Yet, Jesus calls us to come to Him as children do. The moment I claim emotional maturity and I abandon my child-like faith, trust, hope, and love in Jesus I enter emo-unhealthy land.
2. The moment I pursue emotional health outside of the person of Jesus I enter emo-unhealthy land!
3. Emotional health is a bi-product of my relationship with God. If loving others flows naturally from loving God emotional health is a natural bi-product. I might try and convince myself that I can grow in relationship with God and others, but I am only lying to myself and scripture testifies against me (Pretty much all of 1 John).
I am made in God's image. I have thoughts, I am a person, and I have a spirit. God as revealed to us is a perfect Trinity. We are made in that image (trinitarian). Thoughts, person, spirit! Sin has entered the human race and separated our thoughts from person and spirit. No longer are the three - one working in perfect harmony. Rather my thoughts, person, and spirit are confused, lost, and disjointed - they are sinful....full of sin.....separated. Jesus is the only human to walk the earth in perfect harmony - thoughts- person- spirit- made in the image of God. In Christ we are encouraged to take every thought captive, have our thoughts "renewed", offer our persons as living sacrifices, and be reborn to/with/from a new spirit. Christ's work on the cross has remade me in God's image. Jesus is the only one who can restore my thoughts, person, and spirit....to the Glory of God!
Emotional unhealth surfaces when I no longer recognize my new life (trinitarian) in Christ. My disjointed past (thoughts, person, spirit) are given an opportunity to be resurrected. Resurrected by who? God?....no. Me?....no. Satan? Yes!!! I choose to not trust the "deeper magic" of Christ's work and I prostitute myself to the enemy of Jesus! Talk about emotional unhealth! I choose to live the horrible 80's/90's movies - "Night of the living dead" - never a good thing.
In closing.....EMOTIONAL HEALTH = FAITH - HOPE - TRUST IN JESUS!
This post just burned about 1000 emotional calories!
-Reid
i'm burning through emo calories at a crazy rate just catching up on reading through all the posts!!!
ReplyDeleteEphesians 4:1-6 popped in my head when I finished your post. Love your post and this short passage it drew me to --
ReplyDeleteI therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
"Christ's work on the cross has remade me in God's image. Jesus is the only one who can restore my thoughts, person, and spirit....to the Glory of God!" - I did not remake myself in God's image, there is nothing I DID to be remade. So good!
ReplyDelete"Emotional unhealth surfaces when I no longer recognize my new life (trinitarian) in Christ. " When I try to manufacture my "new life" it just looks like my old life with rotting flesh on it. It stinks. When I recognize and embrace Jesus example/sacrifice, and look to this life as an incredible gift, I see that faith, hope, and trust in Jesus is where my emotional health comes from. Thanks for your post Reid!