You Heard Me Right…

WED., MAY 13, 1992, 9:25 AM
OFFICE, PULLIAM HALL

Well, you knew, during the class discussion this morning that you needed a clarification and, hopefully, a reaffirmation of the message I have given you about humankind. It is good for you to be involved in such a confrontation, but you need not always back down or remain silent. I want you to be and be identified as a Presbyterian Christian, but you also have Teachings from Me, the “Christian” Holy Spirit that tell of the greater influence that I have. Hear, o son, a reaffirmation of the truth I share with you.

The analogy of the Christian church as a Body, with various working parts, different from one another but functioning together, finally, as a Body is an apt one. You just have experienced pain and disability in your back, then your leg, and, finally, in your foot. You were somewhat disabled, but this didn’t truly affect the functioning of your cerebrum, your kidneys, your digestive system… or your spirit. These continued to function well, and this overall health, sparked by your spirit and your feelings, has brought nearly complete healing. So the church may have portions become disabled, as certain television ministries have been of late, but the Body, if it is healthy, can help these parts recover.

However, bodies can work against themselves, as in allergic reaction or the development of cancer. So also can parts of this body of Mine work against others – Catholics vs. Pentecostals… Baptists vs Unitarians… Lutherans vs. Lutherans… Health and full functioning are hard to maintain and recover when the struggle is from within.

One of the big issues that tends to divide Christians was the one that surfaced this morning – am I, as Almighty God limited to accepting those who acknowledge Jesus, not only as the Christ but as a direct manifestation of Me? “No man cometh unto the Father but by Me” … is that the definitive, decisive Scripture in the whole Bible? I do lead some Christians to this narrow interpretation. There have been many such in the past, there are many now… and Bruce is one… and there will be many such in the future. I love this narrow, restricted path and those who follow, both those who are chosen to follow it and those who decide themselves to take this spiritual journey.

Yet My Teaching to you is that I also love diversity, and I do come in other forms and “religions,” leading people in different ways. I offered a real sense of Myself as a Spirit in all of creation to Native Americans well before Christians came to this land. I came to Mohammud in a special way, emphasizing My Oneness. Islamic faith is another kind of Body, with much the same kind of diversity that you know to be in Christianity.

It is again as I told you about the relationship with Mabel – you can accept her, but she can’t accept you. And because she can’t accept you, you find it more difficult to relate to her. In a different yet similar way, you can accept Michael and his orthodoxy more easily than he can accept you, as a “full” Christian. This is some of what the utterance by Me, as Jesus means… “I have come not to bring peace, but a sword.”

I do want you to share that Parable on Predestination with the group next week. You wrote that yourself before I took over your pen, but it was inspired by Me and represents well the truth that I want you to have, and to share, about My relations with Humans. Expand the concept of the house to houses, with different cultural patterns but still the sense that some are truly called and others have more free choice. Also, in any of these houses, some stay home a lot and are very loyal to their “family,” while other spend considerable time and commitment “away from the family,” yet they always return.