In Yoke

“A relationship is not a something . You can’t see it or touch it. It is a BETWEEN- between you and me- a space that enables us to I-You each other, just as God I-You’s us by His Spirit. Living by the Spirit is an entry into mystery, into something beyond our control, into something we can’t contain, into something we can only receive. Although we can treat God like an idea to be discussed, an experience to be savored, and a power to be used, these are all I-It relations, distorted relations. The Spirit is constantly drawing us back into I-You relating with God and with each other.” After all, it seems that Jesus’ teaching about the Kingdom can be simply explained as his message about Relationship. He had a vibrant relationship with the Lord, and is sharing that it can be a relationship in which you can participate, as well. from “I-Thou”by Martin Buber, as translated by Eugene Peterson, in ‘Practice Resurrection’.

As I have perused many treatises regarding the Christ, it is obvious to me that Jesus teaching was centered on three core principles. As I have digested His message, I come back to the three pillars of Jesus' teaching. They are: Kenosis - (letting go, non-clinging) Abundance - ( “I have come that they might have life abundant”) Singleness - (oneness of heart) From Mark 12:28-31: “One of the religion scholars came up. Hearing the lively exchanges of question and answer and seeing how sharp Jesus was in his answers, he put in his question: "Which is most important of all the commandments?" Jesus said, "The first in importance is, 'Listen, Israel: The Lord your God is one; so love the Lord God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence and energy.' And here is the second: 'Love others as well as you love yourself.' There is no other commandment that ranks with these." Love the Lord your God with all your passion & prayer, inte...

"Whosoever shall not receive the Kingdom of God as a little child, he shall in no wise enter therein"... or, in the NIV : "I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it." Luke 18:17 Truly, everything about living our lives as followers of Christ, is a function of the grace he gives us through His Spirit, to live in His Kingdom. In addition, I have found great benefit from learning the values of self study and self observation in order to become more and more transformed into His image, from a renowned British Psychiatrist, Dr. Maurice Nicoll . He is the foremost translator of "The Work" of self transformation, as espoused by Gurdjieff and Ouspensky , in the context of the tradition of Christ followership . Following is a sequence of thoughts about self observation that he gave in a talk and was subsequently transcribed, in 1944. --to begin self observation, and self study, it is necessary to d...