Final Steps in Christian Maturity Madame Jeanne Guyon
Continuing on in the Chapter, “The Blessedness of Winter!”
“Grace operates in your life in exactly the same way. God will take away the leaves. Something will cause them to fall. The outward virtue will collapse. He does this that he may strengthen the principle of the virtue. The source of virtue must be built up. Something deep within the soul is still functioning. Somewhere within the spirit the functions that are the highest (in God’s estimation) have never rested. What is going on is exceedingly hidden. It is humble.
What is happening is pure love.
What is going on in the inmost parts is absolute abandonment and contempt of self. The inward man is making progress. The soul is venturing forth into the interior.
. . . If you dare the spiritual pilgrimage, you need to remember in times of calamity, and in times of what appear to be dry spells, in that time which men will call a spiritual winter: Life is there.”
Amen! Tomorrow I will provide my own thoughts on this writing.
Grace and Peace
3 comments:
Thanks daddy! It's nice to know even though I have felt like I am coming out of an extra long "winter" God is still working within me and my life.
Amanda, I hope Mike doesn't mind if I respond to you on his blog. The "winter" I believe you are referring to is the time of suffering that all of God's children must go through. The books of Peter go into this very clearly. There is also some additional material I would recommend to you to help you see this matter of God's governmental dealing with His chosen people. He chose you before the foundation of the world, and now with your cooperation, He is operating in you to perfect you to be built up with a group of people who take Him as their first love. He uses your environment to do this. This is where grace, the Person of Jesus Christ comes in. We kind of casually say things like, "His grace is sufficient," well this is not to be taken so lightly in my experience. His grace, the pattern he laid before us is sufficient, so that every single situation we go through can be done in Him, and the result for us is a deep contentment, a place of peace and rest. This is the normal Christian life. I love you Amanda and it thrills me that you are going on in the Lord. Much love, Aunt Sharon
Mike and Amanda, you have heard God's economy, God's plan from the get-go (in basic human terms, "the way God is running His show") in these terms I'm sure: that we become the same as Him in life, nature, expression, and function. Well, the grace Madame Guyon is talking about seems to lead to us to this. That if we take the Person of Jesus as our model, which happens as we turn to our spirit, where God abides, in the innermost part of our being, then the attributes of the Father are expressed through our human virtures. Eventually, we start looking like God, not in the Godhead but in His expression. What we are in our humanity comes to the light and thus the enemy is exposed, and we confess, and let the Father build Himself deeper into our being, just as the Lord did, in prayer, staying in the Father's presence, trusting the Father in any kind of suffering or persecution. This is for something though. This is for the building up of the Body of Christ, the church. Which brings us back to God's economy. That a group of people would be built together that love Him to the uttermost, that match Him, that are being perfected to be His bride. Wow, what loving Father we have. As I enjoy Him with you, I feel so much better. I began my morning somewhat down, but now I feel like I am on the mountain, enjoying the love of God, with two other lovers of Him. Talk to you later. Sharon
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