7:1-4 These first verses introduce us to the metaphorical concept of being espoused to God. Rather than a romantic arrangement, our espousal to God is a unification: our reintroduction into life, this time purposeful in spirit. What we "bear" in this relationship is our fruit: the products of our compassion. "Coupled" together, you can accomplish so much with God. As He strengthens your mind and guides your direction, your unification with Him brings blessings to your life and humanity.
7:5-6 Continuing the metaphor: before we connect spiritually with God, we remain connected to purposelessness. Paul explains that once we choose to walk with and for God, we officially and completely remove the tethers to our old way of life. It's fair and official that we unite with a more purposeful way of life.
7:7 Paul does not encourage people to embrace anarchy. He means to help us discern the difference between law vs. life. When humans establish laws, they are recommended guidelines that are often enforced (ideally) for the benefit of all people. Similarly, when God establishes laws, they are recommended guidelines (always) for the benefit of all people. We are not supposed to disregard these guidelines, rather God wants us to realize that we are so much more alive. We aren't here to simply follow laws or guidelines, we are here to live and express, to produce patience and inspire compassion. We are active participants in life: the quality of life here is directly influenced by who we are and what we do.
We shouldn't follow rules just because they are there; we should follow, promote, uphold and inspire the guidelines of life we believe in. We should awaken, realize that we each are a universe of life within ourselves. We are not just a body that follows laws, we have minds which create: paths and thoughts and ideas and opinions, happiness, opportunities... we are endlessly able. God has generously given us complexity, value, space and opportunity to learn and grow and become.
7:8-9 The guidelines imposed on us through government, life and scripture inform us. Once informed, we are responsible for how we follow and uphold those guidelines. Once we are informed, we cannot be guiltless. Without guidelines, we might be excused for our behavior; without free and capable minds, we might be excused from bad behavior. Yet we do have guidelines and we do have able minds and therefore we are responsible.
We must take responsibility for what we think, say and do.
We must take responsibility for what we think, say and do.
7:10 Because we are responsible for our thoughts and actions, breaking a guideline (for example: being unkind and selfish when compassion was taught) results in culpability. Selfishness and unkindness cannot inherit eternal life; they are two weak to survive there.
7:11 Remember Paul's life, he transformed from evil to good. He had broken many of God's guidelines and was therefore on a swift path to infinite non-existence. Because he was capable of knowing better, he was responsible for everything he did.
Fortunately for us, Paul reawakened with atonement and compassion and accepted his responsibility to be purposefully compassionate.
Fortunately for us, Paul reawakened with atonement and compassion and accepted his responsibility to be purposefully compassionate.
7:12 Each goes hand-in-hand: that we follow these compassionate guidelines but also that we awaken to the capabilities of ourselves. We are so alive, so capable: we are the vessels through which so many blessings can enter the world. We waste ourselves and our life, we cheat humanity and nature, when we lethargically "go through the motions." Become purposeful, alert, active, perceptive. Know what you stand for and why.
7:13 Paul is working to connect the Old Testament and the New Testament. Recall that when we were introduced to him, Paul outright and violently rejected the connection between the Old Testament and the New. Paul is explaining to us that you can't half-follow, believing in one and not the other. They are intertwined. God gave commandments in the Old that are reinforced and enhanced in the New.
Paul realized that even though he said he believed in God, only listening to a portion of His message led him to not understanding the message and consequently acting on violence.
Try not to get lost in this; remember that Jesus was asked what is the most important commandment and He answered in Matthew 22:36-40 that the greatest commandment is: to love. To love God, to love others. All of these words in all of these pages are God's plea to us to simply love. If we understand that, we understand it all.
We can follow all of the rules ever created on the earth but if we do not love each other, it's all for naught.
7:14 Paul expresses the truth of all of us while we are on earth: although our bodies host our spirits, our souls, our bodies themselves are not yet spiritual. They are flawed are manipulable. Therefore we must be vigilant and active in letting our best-selves, our spirits, do the controlling. Meaning: awaken! Your mind is where you are truly alive, or truly inanimate if you're not in-tune and in control of it.
7:15 Paul again relates to us: sometimes we don't understand why we didn't react or behave or think better than we did in a situation. Sometimes we are upset with ourselves for having acted selfishly or angrily when we could have expressed patience and empathy. We make mistakes. And then we make more mistakes. Paul is showing us that it's normal to sometimes feel frustrated with yourself but remember that we have space and opportunity here to become better.
7:16 What is important is that when we realize we've made a mistake, we take responsibility of it and try to be and do better. It's important that we don't make excuses for ourselves or try to hide from the truth that we messed up. It can be painful to confront yourself and your mistakes but it ultimately leads to growth.
7:17 Paul explains that sometimes our best intentions are redirected by our emotions in the moment; and sometimes our emotions in the moment are not representative of our best. For example: There are two thirsty people and only one glass of water. Person A might want to give the water to person B and might truly believe that it would be more kind to give person B the water... but instead drinks it themselves because their body desired it. We constantly face dilemmas such as these (varying in range severity). We don't always do what we hope we would do, and it's okay as long as we learn and grow from it.
7:18 Paul wants us to be aware that our bodies and our minds are not always connected. It takes work and faith to unite them. Our bodies are vulnerable to conditioning, ignorance, lethargy, greed... and so much more. Our minds are able to conquer over all of those things but we must enabled them to do so: consistently.
Paul is an experienced person, able to give us advice and to relate and empathize with us. Paul had committed many sins and mistakes but was able to climb out of them.
7:19 Paul expresses that he wants to be better and that he's disappointed in himself for falling short. Yet we must remember that God is with us and so willing and able to work with us as we journey toward our best selves.
7:20 We must work to not let our selfish emotions or ideas, unkind emotions or ideas, take over what we know is a better expression. We must take responsibility for our mistake and our weaknesses, understanding that while we are vulnerable to imperfection, we are also capable of rising above.
7:21 We will always have to balance our minds here on earth. Even when we know better, we are capable of making mistakes.
7:22 Paul's advice is that we remain aware and focused on our spiritual selves, our wisest selves. Our spiritual selves are intuitive of what is right and what is good. We must give control and muscle to the spiritual part of ourselves.
7:23 Paul reminds us that bettering ourselves is constant work, but work we should delight in: becoming focused, patient, fair, compassionate, honest.
7:24-25 I could not promote the words in this scripture if I had not personally experienced their truth in my life. Through my focus, faith and realization of my spiritual self, God has taught me so much. Our creator, impossible as it seems(!), has lead me, strengthened my mind, given me hope and opportunity. I've grown so much in wisdom: understanding the complexity within myself and humanity. I've been shown my purpose, our purpose as a collective group, and in fulfilling it, I do not walk alone. God constantly realigns us and guides us when we decide to walk His path.
He saves us from the slumber that is living life with lethargy and purposelessness. He awakens us to the universe we live in as well as the universe of ourselves. We are complex and deeply valued by Him as well as deeply important and instrumental to the world. We must realize that this is our opportunity to create ourselves and when we do, we open our eyes to a whole new world, a whole new earth, a whole new self, a whole new mind and spirit.
Yes, we make mistakes. He gives us the opportunity to turn our mistakes from stumbling blocks into stairs. He's ready to guide you, are you perceptive enough to see and hear His direction?
Paul realized that even though he said he believed in God, only listening to a portion of His message led him to not understanding the message and consequently acting on violence.
Try not to get lost in this; remember that Jesus was asked what is the most important commandment and He answered in Matthew 22:36-40 that the greatest commandment is: to love. To love God, to love others. All of these words in all of these pages are God's plea to us to simply love. If we understand that, we understand it all.
We can follow all of the rules ever created on the earth but if we do not love each other, it's all for naught.
7:14 Paul expresses the truth of all of us while we are on earth: although our bodies host our spirits, our souls, our bodies themselves are not yet spiritual. They are flawed are manipulable. Therefore we must be vigilant and active in letting our best-selves, our spirits, do the controlling. Meaning: awaken! Your mind is where you are truly alive, or truly inanimate if you're not in-tune and in control of it.
7:15 Paul again relates to us: sometimes we don't understand why we didn't react or behave or think better than we did in a situation. Sometimes we are upset with ourselves for having acted selfishly or angrily when we could have expressed patience and empathy. We make mistakes. And then we make more mistakes. Paul is showing us that it's normal to sometimes feel frustrated with yourself but remember that we have space and opportunity here to become better.
7:16 What is important is that when we realize we've made a mistake, we take responsibility of it and try to be and do better. It's important that we don't make excuses for ourselves or try to hide from the truth that we messed up. It can be painful to confront yourself and your mistakes but it ultimately leads to growth.
7:17 Paul explains that sometimes our best intentions are redirected by our emotions in the moment; and sometimes our emotions in the moment are not representative of our best. For example: There are two thirsty people and only one glass of water. Person A might want to give the water to person B and might truly believe that it would be more kind to give person B the water... but instead drinks it themselves because their body desired it. We constantly face dilemmas such as these (varying in range severity). We don't always do what we hope we would do, and it's okay as long as we learn and grow from it.
7:18 Paul wants us to be aware that our bodies and our minds are not always connected. It takes work and faith to unite them. Our bodies are vulnerable to conditioning, ignorance, lethargy, greed... and so much more. Our minds are able to conquer over all of those things but we must enabled them to do so: consistently.
Paul is an experienced person, able to give us advice and to relate and empathize with us. Paul had committed many sins and mistakes but was able to climb out of them.
7:19 Paul expresses that he wants to be better and that he's disappointed in himself for falling short. Yet we must remember that God is with us and so willing and able to work with us as we journey toward our best selves.
7:20 We must work to not let our selfish emotions or ideas, unkind emotions or ideas, take over what we know is a better expression. We must take responsibility for our mistake and our weaknesses, understanding that while we are vulnerable to imperfection, we are also capable of rising above.
7:21 We will always have to balance our minds here on earth. Even when we know better, we are capable of making mistakes.
7:22 Paul's advice is that we remain aware and focused on our spiritual selves, our wisest selves. Our spiritual selves are intuitive of what is right and what is good. We must give control and muscle to the spiritual part of ourselves.
7:23 Paul reminds us that bettering ourselves is constant work, but work we should delight in: becoming focused, patient, fair, compassionate, honest.
7:24-25 I could not promote the words in this scripture if I had not personally experienced their truth in my life. Through my focus, faith and realization of my spiritual self, God has taught me so much. Our creator, impossible as it seems(!), has lead me, strengthened my mind, given me hope and opportunity. I've grown so much in wisdom: understanding the complexity within myself and humanity. I've been shown my purpose, our purpose as a collective group, and in fulfilling it, I do not walk alone. God constantly realigns us and guides us when we decide to walk His path.
He saves us from the slumber that is living life with lethargy and purposelessness. He awakens us to the universe we live in as well as the universe of ourselves. We are complex and deeply valued by Him as well as deeply important and instrumental to the world. We must realize that this is our opportunity to create ourselves and when we do, we open our eyes to a whole new world, a whole new earth, a whole new self, a whole new mind and spirit.
Yes, we make mistakes. He gives us the opportunity to turn our mistakes from stumbling blocks into stairs. He's ready to guide you, are you perceptive enough to see and hear His direction?
