Resting in Love and Joy

"For in the lower part are pains and passions, mercies and forgiveness, and such other that are profitable; but in the higher part are none of these, but all one high love and marvellous joy: in which joy all pains are highly restored."

Julian of Norwich (Ch. 52)

Outwardly, we can be struggling, failing, hurting and doubting. We can feel the need to be reminded of and experience the reality of mercy and forgiveness. But in the depths of our inner person, our spirit is always at peace with God, gazing on the face of God in awe at His love, full of the joy of the Father that He has in His own child. No matter how many times we fail or crash and burn on the outside, our inner spirit is held by God in steadiness and trusts in God, loves God, looks upon God. No matter how many times we forget or get confused about God, our inner spirit remembers God, knows God, and is at one with God. No matter how scared or lonely or hurt we feel, no matter what emotional or mental turmoil we experience, deep inside God keeps our spirit at rest, quiet and safe, enjoying God and experiencing His love. God is bringing that inner experience to our outer awareness, and He will do it as often as needed, as often as we get in trouble or forget. He will continually bring us to the stillness of that inner union we have with God. It is always true, even if we don't always see or feel it. It is a permanent union, and that union with God in Christ upholds our whole life, even the parts that forget or struggle. And it is the joy of that union that has already healed every forgetfulness, dissolved every struggle, by grace. So no matter what, we cannot be shaken. We stand before God righteous and perfect, one with Him and pleasing to Him. No matter what, we are upheld in "one high love and marvelous joy" by the power of His indestructible life in us!

I am at rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation, my stronghold; I will never be shaken.

Psalm 62:2 (CSB)

A Prayer: I am at rest in You.

Life in the Spirit

"For the life and the virtue that we have in the lower part is of the higher, and it cometh down to us [from out] of the Natural love of the [high] Self, by [the working of] grace."

Julian of Norwich (Ch. 52)

We can see weaknesses and things lacking in our thoughts, words and actions. These are all part of the outer life of the self. But in the deep or high inner part of the self, there is no lack, nothing amiss, no struggle. Our highest part, our spirit, is one with God's Spirit, and is naturally full of His love, goodness and strength. We sometimes feel we need to try somehow to "get" the love and goodness and strength of God to flow into us, but it is already in us, by His very presence united with our spirit. And from that holy and sacred place of stillness and union, all the goodness, love and strength we could ever need are flowing into our whole being and through our whole being. We are to "be" filled with the Spirit, because in the deepest sense, we already are. We are full to the brim of the fullness of God and nothing can keep that fullness from flowing into and through every part of our life. We may be weak outwardly, but He is strong inwardly and we are strong in Him. We may be lacking outwardly, but He is whole inwardly and we are whole in Him. And that wholeness and strength and love of God's Spirit are what carries us through and will carry us through to victory, for that Spirit of life within us has trumped the law of sin and death that has trapped us. Like the law of buoyancy keeps one afloat on the water, Life continually buoys us up and death cannot pull us down. We may falter at times or even feel as if we are drowning in confusion or failure, but the law of the Spirit is always there pulling us up and we pop right back to the surface and breathe the fresh air of life once more. That is the power of the Life in us; it is the power that raised Christ from the dead and it raises us up in life forevermore, and it happens fully and completely by grace, meaning God does it all and nothing is required of us. We are floating in life and nothing can sink us!

For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.

Romans 8:2 (NASB)

A Prayer: Thank You for filling me with Your Spirit!

Sin Doesn't Change our Relationship with God

For it belongeth to man meekly to accuse himself, and it belongeth to the proper Goodness of our Lord God courteously to excuse man....And right thus willeth our Lord that we accuse our self, earnestly and truly seeing and knowing our falling and all the harms that come thereof; seeing and learning that we can never restore it; and therewith that we earnestly and truly see and know His everlasting love that He hath to us, and His plenteous mercy.

Julian of Norwich (ch. 52)

Grace doesn't ignore sin, it simply puts sin in its place as nothing compared to the love and goodness of God. We humans tend to accuse ourselves. We can shame ourselves and hate ourselves for the wrong things we've done. But God always excuses our sin! It is all completely forgiven, forgotten, take away and gone! God isn't seeing the sin that we are seeing. God is only seeing His innocent and perfect child held in the life of Christ. God never wants us to look at any of the wrongs we've ever done in our lives without in the same moment looking at His grace and love that have already overwhelmed and erased those wrongs. It is wonderful how grace lets us know we will never be rejected or punished by God no matter how we fail, for we are not under a law system with judgment and punishment but under a grace system with the free gift of life and righteousness in Christ and the security of knowing that our place in God's family is permanent. 

So because grace lets us know that we don't have to measure up or be perfect, we are accepted as we are, we can be real and honest about the times we fail. We can admit we are not perfect, for we don't have to try to wear a "perfect" mask to cover up our flaws. But even in those moments of being able to be honest about our mistakes, God wants us never to think or speak of them without in the same breath thinking and speaking of His grace and love. When we fall on our face, He wants us to look not at the failure (which was already taken away by Christ) but at His love that holds us and accepts us no matter what. He wants to remind us in those moments especially, that nothing has changed in our relationship with God. No sin can undo the grace that is over our life. 

It is ok and a relief to admit we sometimes fail. It is ok and a relief to realize we don't have to be perfect to be loved. And it is most important to remember that we are safe in the grace of God and never under the pressures or condemnation of law. No matter what we do or don't do, there is no condemnation for us in Christ. There is only love and acceptance! We are not to be down on ourselves or shame ourselves, because God never does. We can simply feel joy that we don't have to "measure up" or "be sinless" to live this life with God. This life with God is all by grace, never by performance.  We are not being judged or scrutinized, condemned or punished. We are only being loved and embraced and delighted in! God delights in us, those who mess up and fail. God sees us as perfect, even when we blow it. God calls us righteous, even if we never change or improve. God is in perfect friendship with us, even at our worst. That is the wonder of grace! It is love that we don't have to earn and that we cannot lose. It is love for those who can be unlovely at times. It's unconditional love, it's what Jesus and the gospel are all about, and it's ours forever!

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

Romans 8:1 (NIV)

They’ll get to know me by being kindly forgiven, with the slate of their sins forever wiped clean.

Hebrews 8:12 (MSG)

Praise to God because of his wonderful grace. God gave that grace to us freely, in Christ, the One he loves.

Ephesians 1:6 (NCV)

I am sure of this. Nothing can stop God from loving us.

Romans 8:38 (EASY)

A Prayer: Thank You for always accepting me even in my failures..especially in my failures! I feel safe with You because I know I can't ever sin my way out of Your arms!

Weak but Kept by His Strength

"Acknowledge our feebleness, finding that we may not stand a twinkling of an eye but by Keeping of grace."

Julian of Norwich (Ch. 52)

If it weren't for God's grace, we would fall and not be able to stand in righteousness at all. This is not because we are evil, rebellious, always wanting to sin, or naturally sinful. It is because we are feeble, or weak. We are just humans, just "dust." Christ came to save us, the weak and feeble humans who needed rescue from sin and death. Christ called us poor, brokenhearted, captive, blind and weak, not evil or rebellious. He knew that we had been captured by sin and lies and had been blinded to the truth of God's love and His indwelling. We are weak and easily swayed by sin and lies, and we are not powerful enough to live rightly or perfectly. God doesn't expect that of us. We are under grace, not law, which means we are not being judged on our performance, and thus we can make mistakes, we can fail, and we're still with God, still accepted by  God. We are not expected to live a perfect life or measure up, by our strength or trying, to some impossible standard of conduct. We are not the strong ones, God is. We are simply humble, weak earthen vessels, but we hold in our human containers the presence and glory of God Himself. 

God lives in us! By His keeping of grace, Christ within us keeps us in righteousness and life at all times. So even if we fail or fall, we are still right with God, still righteous, because Christ who is in us hasn't changed, Christ is still righteous in us and for us. And He is the One who lives the Christian life in us. This is sensible, since we are not Christ, so how could we live the Christ life? Only Christ can live it, and He will live it in us. We are off the hook to produce anything or do anything. Christ is our keeper, and He will keep us in His life and His life will prevail in and through us. Our failures will not stop this. Our failures will simply remind us that this life is really not about our perfect performance but about His. The focus isn't on us at all but on Him. He has taken over our case. He is the One responsible for being perfect and righteous in us and living this Christ life through us and He cannot fail!

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised..

Luke 4:18 (NIV)

Now all glory to God, who is able to keep you from falling away and will bring you with great joy into his glorious presence without a single fault.

Jude 1:24 (NLT)

A Prayer: I am weak but it doesn't matter because You are strong on my behalf!

Seeing and Feeling Love

"And therefore the creature that seeth and feeleth the working of love by grace, hateth nought but sin."

Julian of Norwich (Ch. 52)

Seeing and experiencing the grace of God, the unconditional love and acceptance of God, has a beautiful effect on us. When you find out that God is not judging or condemning you, you find that you don't feel judgmental or condemning towards other people. When you find out you are accepted, just as you are, with all your mistakes, you find yourself less irritated with others and more likely to accept them even if they aren't perfect, either. When you find a love that is permanent, that you can't lose no matter how badly you act, you find yourself extending love and kindness towards others who act rather badly. When you find that there is no measuring stick, no impossible standard you must live up to, that you are allowed to be real and honest and even fail and still be okay in God's eyes, it makes you feel more sympathetic to those who feel burdened by high standards they can't keep. When you find God is loving everyone equally and bringing everyone home, you start to see the all people as one big family of God, rather than dividing people into "us" versus "them." You find yourself loving the whole world, hating only one thing - unlove towards others. 

Law could never have such an effect within us, for Law only brings brings frustration and condemnation. But grace, the unconditional Love that asks for nothing in return and can't be offended, no matter what we do, that Love naturally brings out love in us. Love naturally brings out love because Love is the strongest thing there is, and Love never fails. It always wins out over every negative attitude. With grace, all you want to do is love, because all you are is loved with no possibility of being unloved.

"We love because He first loved us."

1 John 4:19 (NIV)

A Prayer: Your love and acceptance melt my anger and hatred and make me just want to love everybody!

Christ Did All

"And thus in the Servant was shewed the scathe (injury) and blindness of Adam's falling; and in the Servant was shewed the wisdom and goodness of God's Son. And in the Lord was shewed the ruth and pity of Adam's woe, and in the Lord was shewed the high nobility and the endless worship that Mankind is come to by the virtue of the Passion and death of His dearworthy Son. And therefore mightily He joyeth in his falling for the high raising and fulness of bliss that Mankind is come to, overpassing that we should have had if he had not fallen.—And thus to see this overpassing nobleness was mine understanding led into God in the same time that I saw the Servant fall."

Julian of Norwich (Ch. 52)

In the Parable of the Lord and the Servant that God showed Julian, we see Adam in the Servant's falling, but then we never see the Servant Adam again. Instead, the focus shifts to Christ as the Servant who succeeds in rescuing Adam, bringing Adam to a place of nobility higher than if Adam had never fallen. So we see that humanity's part in this Story is simply to fall and get hurt. We don't have any part or work after that. Christ has the main role, the only role. Christ does all the work of saving and restoring and blessing and glorifying. We do nothing but fall down and need rescue. This salvation is all up to Christ, not us at all. That means this salvation is secure and perfect. If it were up to us in any way, there could be doubt over whether it was good enough or done well enough. But it is all up to Christ. Therefore, it is perfect, it is complete, it is well done! 

Christ has already saved us, delivered us, raised us up to the heights, brought us to high nobility, and brought us to fullness of bliss. It is finished! And this high nobleness that humanity was raised to by Christ was seen in God from the very moment Adam fell! For He is the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. When humanity fell, Christ already fell and retrieved Adam and did all that it took to bring Adam back and raise him higher than ever. Salvation has been ours, secure in Christ the dearworthy Son of God, from the foundation of the world. God has left nothing in doubt. We have never really been lost from Him. We have always been in His care. And we always will be!

[Christ] was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you.

1 Peter 1:20 (KJV)

The Father sent his Son to be the Savior of the world.

1 John 4:14 (GNT)

Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to completely finish His work.

John 4:34 (AMP)

A Prayer: It is a relief to know that I don't have to work for my salvation. It is a relief to know that You did all the work to save me and "it is finished!"

Holy Assent

"We assent (agree with, consent) to God....truly setting our will to be with Him, with all our heart, and with all our soul, and with all our might. And then we hate and despise our evil stirrings and all that might be occasion of sin, spiritual and bodily....by virtue of Christ which is our Keeper, we assent (agree with, consent) never thereto, but we groan there-against..."

Julian of Norwich (Ch. 52)

Our God-given inner will is good, but we are not strong enough to live on this earth according to good intentions, to live as we know we ought to, as we truly want to deep down. We often fail to love, often get caught in negative emotions, often struggle with selfishness, often find ourselves judging instead of accepting others. But Christ preserves our holy intent inside us, that goodwill that agrees with and consents to God's way of love, that goodwill that doesn't agree with or consent to sin and hatred. Even if we don't always act right, think right or talk right, deep down we are choosing right every time and choosing against wrong every time. We are choosing to and intent on sticking with God and His way of love. We don't have to worry about that intent ever faltering, because it is the holy intent and goodwill of Christ Himself in us, as our intent, and thus it is never going to lapse or fade away! Christ is living in us, and Christ always chooses God in us, always chooses love in us. And even though we don't have the strength to carry out that inner intent of goodness, Christ has the strength in us and Christ will carry it out in us. So God has made us good deep down and this goodness is Christ Himself in us. You cannot get any more perfect goodness than that!

"I have the will to do good."

Romans 7:18 (PHILLIPS)

A Prayer: It is a relief to know that deep down, I only assent to God's will of love and never to sin.

Christ Working In Us

"In our intent we abide in God, and faithfully trust to have mercy and grace; and this is His own working in us."

Julian of Norwich (ch. 52)

We are human. We are weak. God knows this, He knows we are like dust that blows in the wind or flowers that fade in the heat. He doesn't expect us to be perfect. We are going to fail sometimes, even doubt sometimes. God knows this, He knows we are weak. That is why He has bonded with us forever, infusing us with His strength, His power, His wisdom, His confidence. Christ is one with us. He is in us by the Holy Spirit, always upholding us in life. We don't need to have our own strength or wisdom or faith or obedience, because Christ is in us and we have His strength and wisdom and faith and obedience. We find that deep down, even in the failures and struggles, there is still an intent and inner will that sticks with God and trusts in God's mercy and grace. This is the very faith of Christ within us! He infuses us with His own trust, His own iron resolve to abide in the Father. His faith is our faith. And that's the faith we live by. We don't even have to manufacture our own faith or worry if our faith is good enough. Christ in us has faith for us and through us, and His faith is perfect. We don't have to worry if we will stay with God or stick  with God, because Christ in us always abides in the Father, stays with Him, and makes us to abide in His abiding. We are truly carried along by Christ and His Life! With Christ upholding us like this, how can we fail? We can't. We cannot fail in God's eyes!

I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

Galatians 2:20 (KJV)

A Prayer: Thank You that I'm not expected to live this life or struggle to muster up perfect behavior. Thank You, Jesus, for living the perfect life of love and trust in me, through me, every day!

Our Keeper

"We have in us our Lord Jesus uprisen, we have in us the wretchedness and the mischief of Adam's falling, dying. By Christ we are steadfastly kept, and by His grace touching us we are raised into sure trust of salvation."

Julian of Norwich (Ch. 52)

We have the risen Christ in us! We have eternal life right inside us, holding us up in life at all times, no matter what. So that means it is okay to admit we are not always perfect. We are human and we can sometimes fail or doubt or struggle. But Christ is our keeper. He is keeping us in life at all times. That means we don't have to keep ourselves. We don't have to measure up to a perfect standard, have perfect behavior, have perfect faith, have perfect emotions. We can fail and still be okay, because Christ is the One who is with us, one with us, keeping us. We are not the life, Christ is. Christ is our life! 

We learn that the whole point of this Christian life is not behavior but relationship. Grace, not law. We are not being judged or evaluated based on our performance. We are free to fail and still be in the family. Even if we never improve or get our act together, our place here is assured for it is permanent. We have to know that or we will never relax and enjoy being in the family. We will never feel totally safe, included or that we are secure unless we know there is no way we can lose our place in this family of God. We are always His children. We are always one with Christ. He has permanently become one with us, humanity, and there is no going back. He has brought us with Him from death into life and there is no going back in the grave. We are always new creations. There is no going back because old things have passed away and all has become new. This is the only place to be, here in God's family, here in God's arms. Christ is our keeper, so we are perfectly kept. We are kept by His grace, not by our works or struggle to keep ourselves. We are kept by grace, which means it is unconditional and cannot be lost. We cannot mess this salvation up! That is why we have a "sure trust of salvation." It is a sure thing in Christ. So we can relax. We can be real about our mistakes knowing we will still be loved and accepted. We can fail and know we are still in the family. We are always in Christ and there is no "out." We are safe forever. 

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

2 Corinthians 5:17 (NKJV)

Now God has us where he wants us, with all the time in this world and the next to shower grace and kindness upon us in Christ Jesus.

Ephesians 2:7 (MSG)

The Lord is your keeper.

Psalm 121:5 (ESV)

A Prayer: Thank You for letting me know that no matter what I do or how I fail, I can't fall out of Your family, I can't fall out of Your arms!

Pictures of Love

"And thus I saw that God rejoiceth that He is our Father, and God rejoiceth that He is our Mother, and God rejoiceth that He is our Very Spouse and our soul is His loved Wife. And Christ rejoiceth that He is our Brother, and Jesus rejoiceth that He is our Saviour. These are five high joys, as I understand, in which He willeth that we enjoy; Him praising, Him thanking, Him loving, Him endlessly blessing."

Julian of Norwich (Ch. 52)

All the best relationships we have here on earth with loved ones are like a faint picture or echo of the way God is with us. In fact, He is the best example of and original prototype for those human roles and relationships, the One they are designed after. And whatever way that helps us to feel loved by God and close to God, safe with God and cared for by God, is the right way for us to see and relate to God. We may have a wonderful father here on earth, so it is easy for us to relate to God as Father, seeing Him as our Strong Protector, Caring Provider and Ultimate Source. Perhaps we may relate better to God as Mother, for God is the Best Mother, tender-hearted, gentle, kind and warm. We can relate to God as Spouse, the One with Perfect Love for us, His most beloved wife. Or we can relate to God as Brother, a Best Friend and confidante, an understanding listener who loves just being with us. And then we can relate to God as Savior, the One who gave up everything to rescue those that were in such desperate need, who never turned his back on the broken or hurting. 

God epitomizes all those roles and comes to us, expresses love to us, in the love of the best fathers, mothers, lovers and friends we have here on earth. And God is the very best Father, Mother, Spouse, Brother and Savior to us that we could ever imagine, the Family we have always longed for that accepts us just as we are, the Friend that never lets us down, the One who saves us no matter how many times we fall. God has so many ways to say to us, "I love you," so that we can relate to the way that helps us the most. Our God is truly everything we need a God to be!

"How dearly God loves us."

Romans 5:5 (NLT)

A Prayer: You are my Perfect Father, my Perfect Mother, my Perfect Lover, my Perfect Brother, my Perfect Savior!

The Son in His City

"Now sitteth the Son, Very God and Man, in His City in rest and peace: which [City] His Father hath adight (prepared) to Him of His endless purpose; and the Father in the Son; and the Holy Ghost in the Father and in the Son."

Julian of Norwich (ch. 51)

Adam was weak and limited as a human being. He wasn't meant to live out life alone. Trying to live on his own, he fell into confusion and trouble. But God became human to help and save Adam (humanity). The Son, truly God and Man, lifted up and saved humanity. Christ made Himself one with human flesh. He is permanently in a human body, permanently God and Man, permanently joining human flesh to God. We are lifted up into the circle of the Godhead, into Their life, into Their experience, into Their loving fellowship. Now we can live as we were always meant to live, one with God, with Christ living in and through us as our very life. Christ now sits at rest and peace in His beautiful City or Kingdom, humanity itself. This is what the Father always prepared for His beloved Son, this beautiful kingdom to be His lovely dwelling place. 

In this kingdom, Christ takes care of everything. It is a kingdom of love and grace and kindness. It is a kingdom of acceptance and joy and union. We do not have to try to live life on our own. We do not have to rely on our own limited understanding or  feeble strength. Christ is in us, one with us, living in and through us. He is living His life of perfect understanding and strength. We are off the hook. The pressure is off of us to live a perfect Christian life or do everything right. Christ is doing the work. Christ is doing the heavy lifting. We are His responsibility, and He won't fail to take care of everything in our lives. He takes care of it all so we don't have to. We don't have to hold everything up, make sure everything turns out right, or hold onto perfect faith or works. We are free. Free from law. Free from burdens we were never meant to bear, burdens too heavy for us to bear. We are even free to fail and get confused and doubt, because Christ is continually holding us up in His success, His wisdom, His faith. We may be weak but it doesn't matter, because He is strong. We can never really fall like Adam once did, because Christ upholds us in His life and in union with Him. He has permanently joined with our humanity to make sure of that! He is the ruling factor here, not fear or sin or doubt or even death. 

We were never meant to live life alone. We were always meant to rest as Christ lived in us. He was always meant to carry the burden of living for us, in us, through us. He is the head of this kingdom of human life that we live, and He is reigning in this kingdom, radiating His love and life through us, manifesting His victorious power through us, making sure everything is working out for the very best.

"The kingdom of God is within you."

Luke 17:21 (NKJV)

"Christ lives in me."

Galatians 2:20 (NIV)

A Prayer: Thank You for taking care of everything that concerns my life today and every day! Thank You for living Your perfect and beautiful life in me and taking me along for the ride!

The Son Sits

"Now standeth not the Son afore the Father on the left side, as a labourer, but He sitteth on His Father's right hand, in endless rest and peace."

[Pg 121]

Julian of Norwich (Ch. 51)

In the Parable God showed Julian, Christ is not standing before the Father on the left, as if He has unfinished work to do or a task yet to complete. Instead, He is sitting on the Father's right hand, at rest forever. He is on the right side to denote His work being done to the satisfaction of the Father. He is sitting to show that He is completely finished with all His work and can now sit down and be at rest. He is at rest endlessly because His work is done forever and there will never be anything more that needs to be added to it. Christ finished the work of our salvation! We are saved, we are justified, we are sanctified, we are glorified. We are completely saved and we are eternally saved. There is nothing we need to add to this salvation. We are complete in Christ, perfect in Christ, with nothing that could be improved upon in any way! We did not do anything to get this salvation work done. We did not have to do anything. All we did was fall down and get "lost." We could not do a thing to save ourselves. We were helpless, so Christ did all the saving, all the rescuing, and He did a perfect work! He did all the work to save us and His work is finished and done. So we are not trying to somehow get saved, get to God, get in God's favor, get forgiven, get to heaven. In God's sight we are already there in Christ, radiating like a crown of beauty that Christ is arrayed with in glory!

So what is left to do for our salvation? Nothing at all. It is time to celebrate, enjoy, rejoice, and savor the intimate friendship we have with God. It is time to spread and radiate all the love and grace we have been shown to others, so all will know about this great salvation we have been given. We are that crown of beauty on Christ's head as He sits in splendor, reigning over all creation from His heavenly throne. Look at that throne full of happy people! They are dancing, they are shouting, they are singing! They are riding high in the heavens with Christ, far above everything that could try to defeat or deflate them. They are in the highest place possible, a place of victory, peace and joy, a place of love, confidence and unity. We are part of that company. We are seated with Christ in heavenly places! It is finished and Christ has won the victory for all of us!

To celebrate the perfection of what was attained through His single sacrifice, He sat down as the executive authority of God....By that one  perfect sacrifice He has perfectly sanctified sinful man forever....Sins were dealt with in such a thorough manner that no further offerings would ever again be required. Nothing that we can personally sacrifice could add further virtue to our innocence.

Hebrews 10:12, 14, 18 (MIRROR)

Immense in mercy and with an incredible love, he embraced us. He took our sin-dead lives and made us alive in Christ. He did all this on his own, with no help from us! Then he picked us up and set us down in highest heaven in company with Jesus, our Messiah.

Romans 5:5-6 (MSG)

A Prayer: Thank You that my salvation is a completed work and there is nothing I need to do or need to add to it, for it is finished!

Crown of Beauty

"Now standeth ...the Son afore the Father ....even-right, richly clad in blissful largeness, with a Crown upon His head of precious richness. For it was shewed that we be His Crown: which Crown is the Joy of the Father, the Worship of the Son, the Satisfying of the Holy Ghost, and endless marvellous Bliss to all that be in Heaven. "

Julian of Norwich (ch. 51)

Christ was made a lowly human and brought about our salvation, and now He is ascended to heaven and crowned with glory and honor. And What is this glory and honor that Christ is crowned with, this crown that He went through so much to win? It is humanity! He has won us back from the dark regions of sin and death, and we are His victor's crown. He has searched for us and found us like a buried treasure that He gave up everything to have, and we are His most prized treasure of all. He is so proud of us! He wears humanity like a crown for all to see. Because Christ has won back this crown of humanity, God the Father is full of joy, the Son is worshipped, the Holy Spirit is completely satisfied, and all people can rejoice. And all creation, all heaven and earth are witness to the way that Christ displays us as His favorite and most treasured ones. He is showing us off to the universe. And amazingly, we don't diminish Him but instead we beautify Him! Can one see any flaws in this beautiful crown of Christ? None at all! It is flawless, perfect and exquisite! Our holiness and purity is complete through Christ's finished work. We are absolutely, stunningly perfect to Him in every way, a jeweled crown without a single imperfection, and He loves showing us off to all the universe.

Christ chose to crown Himself with us, to wear us as His beautiful crown of glory and honor, to share His glory and honor with us and let us be part of His reign and rule. What did we do to deserve this, earn this, make this happen? Nothing at all. What a great salvation! How could we be so important, so special, so precious to Him? It is because we are family. We are His family, God's offspring and Christ's siblings! We mean everything to the Trinity! We are right where we were always meant to be, within the life and love and glory of the Godhead. Their glory can now shine though us as it was always meant to, and we can receive, enjoy, and radiate all Their beauty, love and light to all creation!

For though you made him lower than the angels for a little while, now you have crowned him with glory and honor.

Hebrews 2:7 (TLB)

The Lord your God will hold you in his hand, and you will bring him honour. You will be like his beautiful crown!

Isaiah 62:3 (EASY)

Now God has us where he wants us, with all the time in this world and the next to shower grace and kindness upon us in Christ Jesus.

Ephesians 2:7 (MSG)

A Prayer: You make me feel beautiful and perfect!

Where God Is

"Now sitteth... the Son ...in His noblest Seat, which He made in Heaven most to His pleasing."

Julian of Norwich (Ch. 51)

God had a home in mind, a perfect dwelling place that would be His very own special home, His favorite  place to be. He imagined this home before time ever began. He loved and delighted in this home before the world's foundation. He intricately planned every detail of this home, down to the smallest parts. He saw it in His infinite mind, made beautiful through His endless creativity, the perfect abode for divinity. Then He lovingly and tenderly created, shaped and formed this lovely home in heaven. It was all to His specific plan, everything just as He had planned it to be. It was all He dreamed and hoped for, the beautiful fulfillment of His most pleasant thoughts. He declared this home "very good" and nothing could change His opinion of this home. And it has been His favorite place ever since, the home He will never depart from, the most special place in all creation. Where is God? Where is His favorite place? His perfect home, where He loves to dwell, is YOU!

"Don’t you yourselves know that you are God’s sanctuary and that the Spirit of God lives in you?"

1 Corinthians 3:16 (HCSB)

A Prayer: I am Your favorite place to be! And You are my favorite place to be!

Flesh Made New

"The body was in the grave till Easter-morrow, and from that time He lay nevermore....And our foul deadly flesh that God's Son took on Him....was then by our Saviour made fair, new, white and bright and of endless cleanness."

Julian of Norwich (Ch. 51)

He has taken on all the pains and struggles we experience in our human flesh. He has felt hunger, sorrow, temptation, tiredness, pain and death. He is part of the human experience, but He is not overcome by it. Instead, He has transformed it and transfigured it. He infused human flesh and blood with divine life, transforming earthly man into heavenly man. He rose in a body that is a resurrection body, a glorified body. It is "fair, new, white and bright and of endless cleanness." In our union with Him we also have been raised to newness of life, and we partake even now of this resurrection life, for we have the true and original Heavenly Man dwelling inside us as our very life. Right now there is a wholeness, completeness, brightness and beauty that is flowing through us, invigorating every part of us with heavenly life. This life is carrying us through, bringing hope to desperation, bringing joy to sorrow, bringing freshness to exhaustion, bringing health to weakness. We are carried along by a Life that is so much better, stronger, clearer and greater than anything we have ever known. It is a Life with no pain in it, no anguish, no anxiety, no weakness, no lack. His life has overtaken all our deaths. His life has swallowed up all the darkness. His life is flowing in us and through us, full and free and endlessly beautiful. His life is our life, now and forevermore!

"Just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives."

Romans 6:4 (NLT)

"Your old life is dead. Your new life, which is your real life—even though invisible to spectators—is with Christ in God. He is your life."

Colossians 3:3-4 (MSG)

A Prayer: I'm living a new life in You.

Raised from Death with Christ

"And at this point He began first to shew His might: for He went into Hell, and when He was there He raised up the great Root out of the deep deepness which rightfully was knit to Him in high Heaven."

Julian of Norwich (Ch. 51)

Humanity was trapped in sin and death. Julian describes humanity trapped in death as a great root buried in the earth. This root of humanity had been rightly joined to Christ in heaven and did not rightfully belong to death. Christ came and freed humanity! He destroyed the power of death over us, raised us up and gave us life together with Him! The mighty power that raised Christ from death to life has raised humanity from death to life as well. How wonderful to know that when Life encounters death, death dies! When the Power of God encounters the power of death, death is defeated! When Love encounters the prison of death, all the captives in the prison of death are freed! Because of Christ we know that death is already a conquered foe. Eternal life with Christ awaits, and it has already begun for us! 

"When Christ went up to heaven he took those he had won with him." 

Ephesisans 4:8 (WE)

"God has won against death. He has destroyed it completely! Death, you can no longer win! Death, you no longer have any power to hurt us!' ...We thank God! Because of our Lord Jesus Christ, we win against death and its power."

1 Corinthians 15:54-55, 57 (EASY)

A Prayer: Remind me of how powerful You are on my behalf, stronger even than death! With You inside me, nothing can defeat me!

Yielding His Soul

"He might never rise almightily from the time that He was fallen into the Maiden's womb, till his body was slain and dead, He yielding the soul into the Father's hands with all Mankind for whom He was sent."

Julian of Norwich (Ch. 51)

Christ gave up all His rights and privileges as God to take on human flesh and become a man. He chose to be in a human body permanently, chose to humble Himself to the point of servanthood. For He came to serve us, not to be served. He came to give His life for us, not to demand we give our lives for Him. The King of all creation was born as a helpless baby. And He remained without power in Himself throughout His life, fully relying on the power of His Father to work through Him. He never acted in an 'Almighty' way but chose to be vulnerable and limited, just as any human is. He experienced what it means to be human to the fullest extent, taking on our human nature fully, so that He could heal it from inside out. 

Everything we had done wrong, Jesus went through and did right. And through His union with us He brought us with Him as He went through human experience. His obedience became our obedience. His faith in the Father became our faith. He endured even unto death, and His endurance became our endurance. His death to sin became our death. He delivered Himself to God His Father, yielding His soul into the Father's hands, along with all mankind! When Christ gave His spirit into the hands of the Father, He gave all of humanity into the Father's hands, as well! We have been committed and entrusted into the Father's hands by Christ Himself. We are set apart to God. We are given to God. Wayward Humanity has been returned to the God it belongs with!

But we see Jesus, who for a short time was made lower than the angels. This was so that, by God’s grace, he could die [taste death] for everyone. And now, because he suffered and died, he is wearing a crown of [crowned with] glory and honor. [Jesus fulfills humanity’s destiny: to be crowned with glory and honor.]

Hebrews 2:9 (EXB)

A Prayer: Your kindness, humility and self-giving love are the most beautiful thing in the world!

[Pg 120]

We Are His Body

"For all mankind that shall be saved by the sweet Incarnation and blissful Passion of Christ, all is the Manhood of Christ: for He is the Head and we be His members."

Julian of Norwich (Ch. 51)

Scripture uses very intimate images to describe the connection between us and Christ. John 15 says that Christ is the true vine and we are branches on the vine. 1 Corinthians 12 says that Christ is the head and we are members of His body. The connection we have to Christ is close, perfect and strong. We are truly part of Him! All that we need flows naturally from Christ to us. All His love and strength and goodness flows into and through us. We are an expression of Christ on earth, identified with Him in every way. Christ has joined with our humanity and considers us all parts of His body. Not all may see or know this yet, not all may experience this yet, but the truth of the union is there to be discovered. We have a secret reservoir of hope, joy, peace and love within us. We have a continuous connection to God. We are so close to Christ we are simply one. And all that is Christ's comes to us not just in abundance, but overabundance. This is resurrection life flowing through us! We are part of the risen Christ and therefore we are experiencing the victorious life right now in our everyday life on earth. We have the joy of eternity inside us, the peace that passes understanding. We have the mind of Christ, the power that raises from the dead, the hope of glory. We are more than conquerors through Him, carried along from blessing to blessing, all things working to good. We are light in the Lord, radiant with His beauty. Every day we walk around expressing Christ's life and love to this world. We are His hands and feet and we spread His encouragement and kindness everywhere we go. He is on display in these human bodies. It's an effortless thing for us, for He is taking care of everything, Christ living through us as we simply be ourselves and go about our days. It's the most natural thing in the world for it is how God always meant to live, in union with humans! We are simply His favorite place to be, and He loves living in and with and through us. Nothing is ordinary for us; everything is supernatural. Heaven has come to earth, and it's Christ in us!

"Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it."

1 Corinthians 12:27 (NIV)

"Discover God himself as your inexhaustible inner source."

Philippians 2:13 (MIRROR)

A Prayer: I love living life together with You!

Ready and Willing

"He is God, even with the Father as anent the Godhead. But in His foreseeing purpose that He would be Man, to save man in fulfilling of His Father's will, so He stood afore His Father as a Servant, willingly taking upon Him all our charge. And then He started full readily at the Father's will, and anon He fell full low, into the Maiden's womb, having no regard to Himself nor to His hard pains."

Julian of Norwich (Ch. 51)

Why would He do it? Why would He, the Son of God who was equal to God and truly God Himself, give up all the privileges and rights associated with His divinity and take on the form of a servant, humbling Himself to become weak human flesh? Why would He submit to the pain, sorrow, suffering and death that came with His becoming human? Why? It was all for love! Christ was ready and eager to go do this work of saving humanity. He desired to go, He wanted to go. He willingly took up our cause, the cause of the lost and helpless ones, the failures and the ruined ones. He was ready to go, and ran to go complete the task with eagerness and vigor. He took on all our situation, bore all the pains that came with being human, even to the point of dying at the hands of the very ones He came to save, giving of Himself completely, giving all that He had to give.  Yet He had no regard to Himself. He only thought of us! That's what love is, that's what God is! Unconditional, selfless, other-centered love, always pouring itself out for us, no matter what! And that is the only way He is. He is only love and nothing else, and the Cross stands for all time to prove that is true!

"His being God's equal in form and likeness was official....His mission, however, was not to prove his deity but to embrace our humanity. He emptied himself into a physical human form; born in our resemblance, he identified himself as the servant of the human race. His love enslaved him to us! And so we have the drama of the cross in context: the man Jesus Christ who is fully God, becomes fully man to the extent of willingly dying humanity’s death at the hands of his own creation. He embraced the curse and shame of the lowest kind in dying a criminal’s death."

Philippians 2:6-8 (MIRROR)

A Prayer: Thank You for all the love You have for me, all the love You have shown me. Thank You for going through all You did to save me!

Brought Up to Heaven

"He would send Him to do that worshipful deed by which mankind was brought again into heaven."

Julian of Norwich (ch. 51)

Christ did not just take away the sin of humanity on the cross. He did not just die for us. He took us with Him in all that He accomplished. So when He died, we died. When He rose, we rose. When He ascended, we ascended. When He was presented in heaven, we were presented in heaven. He is our representative, the joining of man and God. In oneness and unity with humanity, He took us with Him through death to all our sin and shame, and into resurrection from death, and into heavenly glory and perfection! We have died with Christ to the old life, to sin and the law and condemnation and death. We have risen with Christ to a new life, to eternal union relationship with God, to holiness and goodness and love! Humankind is saved in Christ with an eternal salvation, pulled along with Christ into His resurrection life. Through Christ humanity is not bound to sin and death but freed to goodness and life. In Christ humanity has been brought up from earth to heaven! We are not struggling to get there or hoping to get there; we are already there! It is a complete work and a finished work that Christ has done, with nothing that needs to be added to it. Hallelujah, we are saved by His grace, by the free gift of God in Christ! God has saved us without our help. God has saved humankind! Now is the time to share this good news, so that more and more people can hear and believe this truth and start to personally experience and enjoy this this union relationship with God, this victorious, eternal life with God in Christ!

"He included everyone in his death so that everyone could also be included in his life, a resurrection life, a far better life than people ever lived on their own."

2 Corinthians 5:15 (MSG)

"But even though we were dead in our sins God, who is rich in mercy, because of the great love he had for us, gave us life together with Christ—it is, remember, by grace and not by achievement that you are saved—and has lifted us right out of the old life to take our place with him in Christ in the Heavens. Thus he shows for all time the tremendous generosity of the grace and kindness he has expressed towards us in Christ Jesus. It was nothing you could or did achieve—it was God’s gift to you."

Ephesians 2:4-8 (PHILLIPS)

A Prayer: Thank You for the wonder of Your grace, how You saved us as a complete and utter gift! May everyone know what You have done for us in Your death and resurrection!

No Blame

"And thus hath our good Lord Jesus taken upon Him all our blame, and therefore our Father nor may nor will more blame assign to us than to His own Son, dearworthy Christ."

Julian of Norwich (Ch. 51)

Christ the Son of God took on flesh and became the Son of Man. Christ united with our humanity and became the union of God and Man in one Person. He is fully God and fully Man. By uniting with us, taking on a human body and becoming one with our human flesh, we are truly one with Christ, in intimate connection with Him. We are so close that we are one. In that oneness with us, Christ took on all the sin, shame, pain, condemnation and blame of our failures. He took it upon Himself and away from us, off of us. All our sin and shame and guilt and blame is done away with in Him. His purity, righteousness, goodness and holiness destroy all sin, dissolve all blame. He truly took away the sin of the world, taking it down into death so it is gone forever! And in that oneness with us, He gave us His righteousness. He gave us His purity. He gave us His goodness. He gave us His holiness! We are one with Christ. Can there be any fault found with Christ? No! Then there cannot be any fault found with us, either! God would no more assign blame to us than He would to His own Son! We are completely cleansed and purified in Christ, freed from all our sin and blame. And we are completely made righteous in Christ, sanctified with all the holiness of Christ Himself. He is our Righteousness. He is our Purity. In Him we stand perfect, complete, innocent and right with God for all time! What a Savior!

"For God caused Christ, who himself knew nothing of sin, actually to be sin for our sakes, so that in Christ we might be made good with the goodness of God."

2 Corinthians 5:21 (PHILLIPS)

A Prayer: Thank You for taking away my sin. I am innocent and blameless in You!

Held Up by Christ

"The virtue and the goodness that we have is of Jesus Christ, the feebleness and the blindness that we have is of Adam: which two were shewed in the Servant."

Julian of Norwich (Ch. 51)

We are one with Christ and always have been in God's eyes, for the incarnation united man and God and was an event that is beyond time (eternal) as well as seen in time (temporal). God sees Christ and humanity as one. So all the we have gone through, Christ has been right there with us, going through it with us. All our sorrows, sins, and sufferings He has carried and experienced. And all that Christ has gone through, we have been right there, going through it with Him. All His saving work and triumph we have been carried through and experienced. For each person, this means that no matter what my failings, Christ has been right there holding me up with His success. No matter what my thoughts or feelings of loss, fear, doubt or alienation, Christ has been right there keeping faith, never losing sight of God, always seeing the truth of heaven. In all my circumstances and sorrows, He has been holding me up with His strength, peace and joy. No matter where my journey has taken me, or how far away I have seemed from God, Christ has always been in fellowship with God, keeping me in God's presence. When I have felt unloved and angry, His love and tenderness has supported me. He has been pulling me forward in life no matter what struggle I have had. He has been holding my head high no matter what storm has come at me. He has been the silent partner that has kept me up at all times. His righteousness has continually overshadowed my sinfulness. His perfection has always surpassed all my imperfection. No matter what my trouble, unbelief, or failure, He has been the  purity, life and light shining forth from within. My humanity brings me weakness and blindness and death, but Christ's presence brings me goodness, purity and life! How beautiful!

"I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you."

John 14:20 (NIV)

"You are united with Jesus the Anointed. He is God’s wisdom for us and more. He is our righteousness and holiness and redemption."

1 Corinthians 1:30 (VOICE)

"Thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ."

2 Corinthians 2:14 (NASB)

A Prayer: You are everything I need. You fill up all my empty places. Your love supports me no matter what. Your life carries me through in triumph!

Christ and Adam, One Man

"For in all this our good Lord shewed His own Son and Adam but one Man.

Julian of Norwich (Ch. 51)

We can tend to think of ourselves as separate from Christ, estranged from Christ, far from Christ, needing to move closer to Christ. But according to God we are always found in Christ. He sees humanity and Christ as One Man, a single person before Him. We are one with Christ. We are one body of Christ, with Christ as the Head. There is no estrangement, there is no separation. There is only union. There is only oneness. There is only one. I am never alone in anything I face. I have never gone through anything alone in my life. I cannot sin my way out of Christ. I cannot fall out of Him. I am one with Him. My existence is wrapped up in Him. We are joined and united, we are one. Christ the Head of humanity takes care of His own body. The church father Gregory of Nyssa wrote, "Now the body of Christ, as I have often said, is the whole of humanity." There is one humanity, the humanity of Christ, and we partake in that humanity. There is one true human, Christ, and we are parts of that human. There is one human nature, and our human nature is sourced in that nature. Christ and Adam (humanity) are One Man!

"Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it."

1 Corinthians 12:27 (NIV)

A Prayer: Let me never think of myself apart from You!

The Son's Work of Salvation

"Adam fell from life to death, into the deep of this wretched world, and after that into hell: God's Son fell with Adam, into the deep of the Maiden's womb, who was the fairest daughter of Adam; and for this end: to excuse Adam from blame in heaven and in earth; and mightily He fetched him out of hell."

Julian of Norwich (ch. 51)

We see the Incarnation as happening at a certain point in time. But from God's eternal perspective, it happened outside of time, for Christ was slain from the foundation of the world. That means that even before Adam had a problem, Christ already was the solution. Even before Adam was lost here on earth, he was found in Christ in heaven. Because of the oneing of Christ and humanity from creation, when Adam fell, Christ fell. Adam fell into sin, corruption and death. Christ fell with Adam and was born from the virgin's womb to be the Savior and rescue Adam. Christ went to the extreme of becoming a human, with flesh and blood, to rescue humanity from sin, evil, loss, death and corruption. Christ who is God became Man in order to excuse Adam from blame and lift him up from death into eternal life! He rescued Adam (who stands for all humanity)! He vindicated Adam/humanity as worthy of God's help, as righteous in God's sight, as the recipient of honor and eternal life. Sin and death are defeated. Adam/humanity is shown to be blameless, innocent and pure. God is shown to be loving and kind, and stronger than death and all evil. Christ is shown to be the perfect God-Man uniting man to God forevermore. Adam/humanity is saved! Hallelujah, what a Savior and what a salvation!

"He embraced the company of the lowest. He took on his own shoulders the sin of the many, he took up the cause of all the black sheep."

Isaiah 53:12 9MSG)

"I delight greatly in the Lord; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of his righteousness."

Isaiah 61:10 (NIV)

A Prayer: Thank You for excusing me from all blame! I am blameless before You! I am free from sin! I am saved!

God's Son Fell

"When Adam fell, God's Son fell: because of the rightful oneing which had been made in heaven, God's Son might not [be disparted] from Adam. (For by Adam I understand All-Man.)"

Julian of Norwich (Ch. 51)

Humanity was created in connection to God, tethered to God, founded in God. We are created through, in, and by Christ and cannot even be in existence without Him. He upholding us, is the source of our very nature, is our template. For we are made in the image of God and have innate connection to Him, having His very breath or Spirit within us sustaining us in life. Somehow, humanity is oned with Christ from the beginning. So when Adam, representing all humanity, fell, Christ also fell. Whatever falls or fails we have in life, Christ is right there with us. Whatever dark alley we end up on, Christ is our companion. Whatever hole or pit we feel trapped in, Christ is with us, never leaving us, never forsaking us.  He is always with us in all our sufferings, suffering along with us, and raising us up. No matter what dark night we have gone through, we have never been alone. We have never been separated from Him. He loves us so tenderly and would never let us go through anything alone. We have never been without help or hope. He is deeper than our deepest trouble and stronger than the strongest evil. Our Big Brother Christ is by our side, on our side, sustaining and saving us, bringing all of His strength, light and love to our every situation. We have an unlosable Helper, Supporter and Friend, for Christ cannot ever be separate from humanity. He is permanently with us, one with us, for us!

"If I make my bed in the depths, you are there....your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast."

Psalm 139:8,10 (NIV)

A Prayer: In all the dark times, I have never been alone! Even when I did not reach out to You, You were holding me. Thank You for being there for me, no matter what.

Christ Is Rightful Adam

"In the Servant is comprehended the Second Person in the Trinity; and in the Servant is comprehended Adam: that is to say, All-Man. And therefore when I say the Son, it meaneth the Godhead which is even with the Father; and when I say the Servant, it meaneth Christ's Manhood, which is rightful Adam."

Julian of Norwich (Ch. 51)

In the Parable God showed Julian, she learns that the Servant represents both Adam and Christ. Adam represents all humanity; Christ represents the true, rightful Adam. In other words, the humanity of Christ is true humanity, what humanity was created to be and what humanity truly is in its identity. We often see ourselves as descending from Adam, yet going farther back, we see that Adam descended from God! So the source of our identity goes farther back than Adam to Christ.  We are sourced in Him, of the same family, in God the Father's image, so much so that Christ calls us His siblings. For Christ is the original blueprint of human life. So Christ is who we look to if we want to see what a true human is, what the original characteristics of humanity are. Christ shows us in His humanity that human nature is good, kind, fit for God. Human nature is not lowly or broken or incompatible with God; humanity is the perfect home for God to live in and for God's glory and love to fill and to flow from. We were unable to actively live out this holy purpose, because we were weakened and blinded by the fall, but Christ lived perfectly, filled with the Father's love and glory, being our representative Human.  Christ is the picture of true humanity and lived the true human life perfectly for us. He brings about our salvation from sin and death so that noble human nature can be freed to live as it was always meant to live, in union with God, invigorated by God, filled with the fullness of God, knowing and being known by God, for Christ Himself, joined with us, lives this wonderful holy life within us and keeps us filled with God.

Jesus, who makes people holy, and all those who are made holy have the same Father. That is why Jesus isn’t ashamed to call them brothers and sisters.

Hebrews 2:11 (GW)

A Prayer: Thank You for being in me, living in me the holy life I could never live on my own!

Grounded in Love, Healed by Love

"That [treasure] was grounded in the Lord in marvelous deepness of endless love, but it was not all to His worship till the Servant had thus nobly prepared it, and brought it before Him in himself present.

Julian of Norwich (Ch. 51)

We are always God's dear treasure, the ones He loves to show off, like a bride shows off her jewels or a king shows off his crown! We are grounded in God, securely rooted and sourced in His presence, His love, His life. The deepest and truest thing about our life is not sin or brokenness but endless love, love that holds all our thoughts, concerns and even failures in its gentle and accepting arms, love that holds our past, our present, and our future safely and securely. Our whole life is founded on God's forever love for us. That is the truth about our life, no matter what other things are going on with us. The parts of us that have lost sight of that love, that have been wounded by life's difficulties, that have forgotten what it is like to be unconditionally loved and accepted with no chance of rejection, those parts have been embrace and healed, rescued and restored by Christ. No matter how broken we feel we still are, no matter how we feel about ourselves right now, whether we see ourselves as ruined, or in process, recovering, or whole, Christ has already taken up our cause and healed our wound and presented us perfectly flawless and whole and complete in heaven. He has presented us sound, and strong, and beautiful, and alright, presented us in Himself so that we are secure in that condition, assured that it will never change and that we will never be lost or ruined ever again. We may not see it perfectly here and now on earth, but we will, because heaven's reality overwhelms and surpasses this world's reality just as heaven surpasses earth in glory and strength. 

Let's relax in His arms today, because no matter what we are going through, everything is perfect in Christ, and that's where we are today. We are enjoying heaven's bliss. We don't have any problems, hangups, or losses. All is healed, all is restored, all is well, and God is going to manifest that completely, whether now or later. But we will see it. There is nothing wrong with us and nothing wrong with our relationship with God. Every broken place in us we can embrace and love because we have found that we were never really broken to God. We have always been whole to Him. We have always been innocent. We have always been loved. Nothing on this earth could change that. Nothing ever did and nothing ever will! 

"You are God's special treasure."

1 Peter 2:9 (NIRV)

A Prayer: Thank You for showing me that brokenness isn't the deepest thing about me. The deepest thing about me is love!

To Be a Gardener

I marvelled and thought what it (the treasure) might be, and I was answered in mine understanding: It is a food which is delectable and pleasant to the Lord.... I beheld, thinking what manner of labour it might be that the Servant (now representing Christ) should do. And then I understood that he should do the greatest labour and hardest travail: that is, he should be a gardener....And he should never turn again till he had prepared this food all ready as he knew that it pleased the Lord. And then he should take this food, with the drink in the food, and bear it full worshipfully afore the Lord."

Julian of Norwich (Ch. 51)

In the parable that God showed Julian, the Servant in the story now shifts from representing Adam to representing Christ, and we see the work of Christ to help Adam who had fallen into trouble. In this part of the story, the work of Christ is likened to the work of a gardener, such as one who works in a vineyard, who brings forth plants from the seeds deep in the soil, waters and cares for the plants till they bring forth fruit, and then brings the fruit and its juice to the Lord. So one way to look at this treasure in the earth is to see it as a seed of a plant, waiting in the earth to sprout and grow and bring forth fruit. We can see Christ as the One tending the seeds so they sprout, caring for and watering the plants so they grow, and bringing the fruit of the vine to the Father. We are His little plants that He nurtures and cares for, doing everything to help us thrive, bringing out the fruit of the Spirit from within us. Christ's finished work has brought the seed of humanity to sprout from the earth, from death into life, to flourish forever and bear spiritual fruit. This work is not done by us but is already done for us and through us. This work is already finished and complete and we are presentable to God in heaven. The seed of humanity was always meant to grow and prosper through God indwelling humankind. Christ accomplished this plan and there is nowhere left to go but up and up with God, to thrive and flourish and be full of God's life forever!

"Sing about a fruitful vineyard: I, the Lord, watch over it; I water it continually. I guard it day and night so that no one may harm it...In days to come [it] will take root, [it] will bud and blossom and fill all the world with fruit."

Isaiah 27:2-3, 6 (NIV)

A Prayer: I love the way You tenderly care for me. Thank You for always nurturing me with Your love.

A Treasure in the Earth

"There was a treasure in the earth which the Lord loved."

Julian of Norwich (Ch. 51)

In the Parable God showed Julian, there was a treasure in the earth. A  treasure by definition is something rare, precious, valuable and greatly desired. This precious, greatly desired treasure is humanity, who has fallen into the depths of earthly existence with its pain and death, not fulfilling the full potential it was created for. It has become covered in the dirt and mud of sin and delusion and not visibly glorious. Yet the treasure remains beautiful even when covered over with dirt and grime; the treasure remains the treasure and never becomes the dirt. The treasure only waits for Someone to bring it out of the mud and remove the dirt to reveal its original beauty. This is the treasure Christ came to lift up, redeem and restore. He came to wipe humanity free of grime and dirt and death and not only bring it back to its original glory but fill it with even more glory, filled with Christ's own fullness of life and flourishing, and bring it up to heaven to present to the Father in beauty and splendor! We are what greatly pleases the Lord, what He loves and adores, what He considers precious and beyond price, the treasure He would do anything to have back in sweet relationship with Him, safe in eternal life with Him. Christ is the One who has done all the work to bring God's dear treasure home to Him, in glory and honor!

“The kingdom of heaven is like a [very precious] treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid again; then in his joy he goes and sells all he has and buys that field [securing the treasure for himself]."

Matthew 13:44 (AMP)

A Prayer: Thank You for seeing me as a priceless treasure in Your eyes, so that You would do anything to have me with You! 

Rejoicing for the Worshipful Restoring

"He hath, beclosed in Him, all Heavens, and all Joy and Bliss: and this was shewed .... I saw Him highly rejoice for the worshipful restoring that He will and shall bring His servant to by His plenteous grace."

Julian of Norwich (Ch. 51)

Heaven is in God. Heaven is found in Him, for being in Him in a total way, fully experiencing the bliss of His presence, is true Heaven! In His presence there is no pain, sorrow or fear; there is only love, joy, and bliss. He has within Himself all the joy and bliss that is possible to know. To see Him fully, know Him fully, experience Him fully, is the highest joy, the deepest bliss, that is possible! His joy is in knowing that He will and shall bring His servant (Adam, all humanity) to 'worshipful restoring' by His abundant, all-surpassing grace. He knows that all will end well for us all. He knows that we will all be home with Him enjoying perfect love and endless joy in His presence. He knows that Christ's work was sufficient and restored all to wholeness and glory, and that all will experience that. It will happen, it shall happen, it has already happened in the eternal will of God, and we shall all see and experience it! Christ has made this a 'sure thing,' and what a relief it is to know this story has a happy ending only God could dream up!

"For the grace of God has appeared, saving all."

Titus 2:11 (NABRE)

"For God had allowed us to know the secret of his plan, and it is this: he purposes in his sovereign will that all human history shall be consummated in Christ, that everything that exists in Heaven or earth shall find its perfection and fulfilment in him."

Ephesians 1:9-10 (PHILLIPS)

"God affirms us, making us a sure thing in Christ."

2 Corinthians 1:21 (MSG)

A Prayer: Thank You, Jesus, for Your 'worshipful restoring' of us all!