Security in an Insecure World

[HKHaugan]

Faith 18 Security in an Insecure World

Do you have a security system? The answer we have given is in a name and a title, Jesus, who is the Christ. Jesus the name means savior (He is a constant presence saving us from ourselves, our inclination to sin) and Christ the title means the anointed one (The way, the truth and the life leading us in every next moment).

Jesus is our security system but not in the sense of simple physical protection with sirens going off and a phone connection assuring us that help is on the way. Security in Jesus is a spiritual system that begins not without but within where we really live in every next moment. Jesus has told us that His kingdom is within. Our heart, spirit and mind are the image of God in us created to share in His kingdom. This makes us an ‘every-next-moment’ people living in an ‘every-next-moment’ world to offer Him to others. But we are an ‘every-next-moment’ people separated from God and everyone around us, by sin, that invisible spiritual disease. Sin isolates us physically, emotionally and spiritually. That is precisely why we need the immediacy of an internal alert guidance system. Since we are ‘outsourced’ by God we need Him to ‘in-source’ our every next moment.

The first thing His system provides is the Holy Spirit who gives us the recognition of the presence of Jesus in our hearts. It is the Holy Spirit who prompts us to realize Jesus is within us and how we relate to Him in every next moment. He reignites our consciousness that we are, first of all, spiritual beings. Spiritual beings, images of God, moving through an invisible atmosphere called the world with all the spirits, attitudes and relational mountains and valleys that make up its terrain. The Holy Spirit is the Holy Prompter who keeps us aware of the whole spiritual dimension and gives us the power of insight to feel what His Word tells us. He leads us from intuition, to insight to involvement.

The second thing His system does is to realize the Holy Spirit is the One who sounds the alarm when our self-centeredness threatens to take over. It’s intuition with discernment of the specific issues involved. He puts up warning signs when we start to move away from His attitude and rely on ours, the impulsive self protective prideful ones. He also enables us to sense the similar attitudes of those around us. You know, the kinds of attitudes that try to bait you into an argument, or insult you or try to put you down. Also the welcome sympathetic and agreeable attitudes that are spiritual companions supporting or helping to correct you. We embrace the Lord's presence, check in with Him through His Word, let Him get His mind and heart around us, what we are thinking and doing, confess where we have missed His mind, ask forgiveness and move on following His way. That's how being an image of God works.

The third thing we do is to dismiss blaming someone else or some situation or circumstance for not getting what we think we need. That is pride bubbling up. Hearken back to Adam's falling off the balance beam and looking for someone to blame. He even blamed the Lord. He missed the point. The Lord was teaching Him about his condition. Adam was substituting blame for repentance, something he had to learn the hard way. But also, back in the same Genesis context, it was Cain who misread God as well (Gen.4). It was the Lord trying to teach Him a right way to give an offering but Cain saw it as condemnation and became absorbed in self pity. What the Holy Spirit is leading us toward is to accept where and what we are experiencing as an opportunity to learn what the Lord is saying to us in whatever circumstance we are in. Even if, in fact, it is someone else’s fault, what am I being called on to think and do?

Fourth, we ask the Lord’s direction for our next moment and the faith to discern, evaluate and witness. The Holy Spirit will always be there to assure us that no matter what the situation is we are secure in Jesus.

But what of those who have no faith? They develop a systemic method of survival based on fear which is best seen as learning how ‘to fit in.’ If the attempt to ‘fit in’ results in rejection, whatever the level, be it business, social adjustment, personal accomplishment or romance, the response is usually self-justification and excuse laced with anger. Then arises the need to place blame. It is always someone else’s fault so denial of personal responsibility magnifies the emotions which usually go out of control. Not being able to control whatever is the source moves into denial of fear. That denial turns into anger which is pride’s way of looking strong.

Blame, denial, fear, need to control is a lonely self-destructive path that leads not only to angry isolation in this world but leaves us alone and unfulfilled in eternity. That is forever which a long time to be wrong, afraid, proud, angry and alone. Is there any wonder the Lord calls us to witness that Jesus is a personal rescuer in heart, spirit and mind? That He is a loving, relational and compassionate God? That He came to show us what it really means to have a relationship, a purpose and a significant role in being changed from a dark lonely soul to a vibrant caring image of Him? That we have been given the blessing of being called to serve Him by being His change agent in a broken hostile world? “Not by might nor by power but by my Spirit, says the Lord of hosts. (Zech.4:6 KJV).”

The security system the Lord Jesus offers everyone not only secures us within in the protective sense but also energizes us to get in the mix, aggressively enter the world, as it is, risk our hearts, open our minds and keep in step with the Spirit. We are not called to survival but to living life to the fullest in every next moment.