Submitted by: David Cuthbertson (Houston, TX)
For some time I had pondered how the Lord Jesus could be wholly absolute for God, yet at the same time be so balanced in His humanity. And even more so, I wondered how I could live such a life as a Christian today. I had a certain concept of absoluteness – that if I were absolute, I would go to every prayer meeting no matter what the circumstances, I would read a certain number of Life-Studies daily, regardless of whether or not I had slept for several days, and I would preach the gospel to a certain number of people every week. With this in mind, I then struggled with the concept of being balanced. My idea of being ‘balanced’ was in reality ‘compromised.’ I thought I needed to go to a movie after a meeting so that the two would balance each other out and I wouldn’t be considered too “spiritual.” Given these concepts, I obviously had a hard time seeing how one could be both absolute and balanced at the same time. I mistakenly thought that all I needed was an adjustment in my view of being balanced to make everything clear.
I realized, however, through some sharing by Brother Ron Kangas that not only my concept of being balanced, but even more so my idea of absoluteness was far from the truth. We are not absolute to any thing in and of itself (e.g. going to a certain meeting), or a particular schedule (reading so many messages or chapters a day), but to a Person, to Christ Himself alone. With this realization all the problems, considerations, quandaries, and situations are solved. We don’t have to figure out how to be absolute or balanced. We are simply one with the Lord in our spirit, and follow His leading in every circumstance. If our wife is giving birth at the same time as the prayer meeting – “Oh Lord, what are you doing right now?” (Probably going to the hospital, but check with Him first!) If there is a young person who has a sports race on the Lord’s Day morning at the same time as the prophesying meeting – “Oh Lord, what are you doing right now?” If your son has a playoff game on Friday night at the same time as the home meeting – “Oh Lord, what are you doing right now?” We simply live to the Lord in all of these matters.
In this way we will have a living that is both absolute and balanced at the same time, because we are absolute to the Lord and thereby allowing Him to live His balanced life through us. Indeed, such a living will supply the saints with life, rather than kill them. If we live according to our natural concept of absoluteness, we are in reality living according to a set of natural laws we have made for ourselves. Consciously or subconsciously, we will apply these demands to the other saints, and either we will be discouraged or they will be discouraged when they are unable to live up to the standard we are holding them to. Although we may be able to tell heroic stories about how we went to the meeting despite our house being on fire, our natural zeal will condemn and kill the saints. In our natural absoluteness, we may even despise another’s missing the meeting to take care of a backslidden member, when in reality they are the one living to the Lord and being one with Him to care for the member in need.
Therefore to be absolute simply means we live to the Lord, not anything else. We give Him the first place in all our circumstances and in all the decisions we have to make. Rather than making decisions according to our natural concept of what we “should” do, or according to a reading schedule or a promise we made to the Lord to go to a certain meeting, we simply take Christ as our Head. We are not beholden to anything but Christ, and we should not live to anything but Christ – regardless of what our natural concept is or what others may think. Our natural concept of goodness and absoluteness falls far short of the person of Christ. Our being absolute to the Lord will then issue in a living that is perfectly even, fine, and balanced, because we are one with, expressing, and living the life of the only balanced One in the universe. The conundrum is thus solved – we are balanced by being absolute to the balanced One.
This is very helpful. Thank you for sharing your realization. It matches something I was reading yesterday in the ministry. First, our concepts can veil us from seeing the Lord and going on with Him in a full and healthy way. Our concepts may even affect how we hear the speaking in the meetings. We only “hear” what matches our concept.
And, second, we are what we eat. We do not need to try to be different, better, more “spiritual.” All that effort is vain. We just need to eat the Lord in the Word regularly. He alone can change us by reconstituting us with Himself.
David, thank you for sharing this. I struggle with the same conflicting thoughts. Very refreshing to see that the Lord is the only one absolute. The Lord is the only one that is balanced. We cannot ever trust in what we see, think, or feel. Easily said than done? In our natural concepts its hard. When we live by our spirit it is effortless. His name is called Immanuel.
Hallelujah for the simplicity in Christ! Thank you, David for posting this. It was very helpful.
The conundrum is thus solved – we are balanced by being absolute to the balanced One.
I appreciate that our Christian life is a living to the Lord. We simply turn to our spirit and ask the Lord, “Lord, what are you doing right now? Amen.” Then He is able to live a balanced life through us. The condition is that we abide in Him. He is absoluteness. He has the finest humanity. Now He’s the Spirit to be our life and living.
“Though many Christians seek so-called spirituality, we must realize that we will eventually be very human.” -Brother Lee
Thanks David.I give myself to live to the absolute one.Hallelujah.
Our natural zeal can and will condemn and kill the saints, with our judging others, or bragging concerning our heroic spirituality.
Amen!! This is so very true!!
It is deep to eat and drink God, but even deeper to dwell in God and have Him as our habitat, taking Him as our everything.
I give myself to be balanced by being absolute to the balanced One.
Amen
Thanks for sharing David. This condition is epidemic in many of those in their early adult life. It certainly can be a confusing balancing act when ‘real life’ happens. Thanks for sharing this illuminating experience. Divine AND human. Can’t be emphasized enough. We don’t hold on to anything outward as a standard, not even the Lord’s speaking to us in the past. What is Jesus doing now?
Watchman Nee has an excellent short message on this in CW Vol. 46 ch 168 entitled, Law in Romans and Galatians. Only 3 1/2 pages but it is packed with revelation.
“What is the law? It is what the Lord has said in the past. What is life? It is what the Lord says today… Any command that is not a present command of the Lord is not in life.”
Praise the Lord, thank you for sharing this! It really helped me! I will look up that message!
I have been really helped, I pray that the Lord will teach me and I will learn how in a daily way I can live to Him and not to any outward person or activity.
Praise the Lord for the ministry of the age.
Amen. This is something I have really been struggling with also. Thank you for opening your exprience & struggle in this matter. I err so much on the side of feeling the need and obligation to be “spiritual”. I’m reminded of the meal offering – the fine flour is MINGLED with the oil. These two things are not separate. I need to eat the balanced One to be saved from my self-imposed laws & my natural absoluteness. Lord, break through in us!!
Ame! Thank you for this post. i was reminded that in all matters we need to be absloute to the Lord, but not in a religious natural way. We need to lose our concepts of right and wrong and turn to the balanced One within us to direct us.He is the only balanced One!!!
Thank the Lord for such a sharing. This is too true in my experience. I find more and more that our concepts merely try to systematize all that the Lord has given us in His word, and on the other hand, we all get the unbalanced concept of what it means to be balanced. I enjoyed what you said “Our natural concept of goodness and absoluteness falls far short of the person of Christ.” Lord, be the balanced One in us! We’d like to learn to live under You and to You as our Head in all aspects of our living.
I enjoyed this verse and its footnote today in Hebrews: 12:14 – “Pursue peace with all men and sanctification, without which no one will see the Lord” the foot note on sanctification says – “With God, holiness is His holy nature; with us, holiness is our sanctification, our being separated unto God. The implication here is that while we are pursuing peace with all men, we must pay attention to the matter of sanctification before God. Our pursuing of peace with all men must be balanced by our sanctification before God, without which no one will see the Lord and have fellowship with Him.” Amen, Lord, balance us.
This is really helpful. how i need to take the Lord as my person in all things and all situations and let Him live out Himself.
My standard of absoluteness and being balanced is totally wrong. I need to be balanced to a person and not to activities or outward things.
Amen! What a wonderful word! I also very much enjoyed all the speaking. This truly is helpful to me in my daily human living. Lord, make our human living much more divine and mingled and balanced in You.
Amen