Vulnerability- a prime feature of love.

When people describe the attributes of God, we quickly get terms like all powerful, all knowing, all wise, all sufficient, all this, all that. And I certainly don’t argue with any of those.

But if in those descriptions we have a God filled with love, we need to consider another attribute- He is vulnerable! In short, He can be moved emotionally by our responses to Him. I think of Gabriel’s greeting to Daniel- "Oh highly favored one!” Daniel had obviously moved God’s heart, and the angels knew it.

But my main reference here is from the account in 1 Kings 21, where Ahab at the incitement of the lovely and gracious Jezebel, has the owner of the vineyard Ahab couldn’t buy killed so that Ahab can just take it. Making God furious.

God dispatches Elijah to inform Ahab of just how God’s anger will manifest in a fierce judgement against Ahab. Then- something strange happens, Ahab repents in sackcloth and ashes!

So God says to Elijah, "Did you see that??” As if God Himself is taken by surprise- not expecting a reaction like that from the wicked King Ahab! He sends Elijah once more with a little change in the way the judgement will be carried out- later! All in all there is no real change in Ahab, but God, always on the lookout for repentant hearts, could not help but notice when Ahab started doing business with his own conscience.

God, the author and definer of love, was also vulnerable to what love demanded! Judgement and Mercy are in constant tension- but God loves seeing Mercy triumph whenever it safely preserves the integrity of the demands of law. Behold, the very heart of Jesus’ atoning on the cross!

I admit that for many years I struggled with the dilemma that the Jesus I loved seemed dissonant with the Father God I only respected but could not bring myself to love. But this same Jesus who emptied Himself and became obedient, a slave as it were, even to the giving of Himself to be slain- was the same Jesus Who said "I only do what I see the Father doing!”

In other words, His acts of humility, His willingness to be stripped, beaten, humiliated and murdered- were what He saw the Father doing!

This was all love, being carried out at the street level, in the mud the blood and the beer, with broken glass, jeering fools, angry mobs, and gawking silent sheep all gathered for the spectacle. They did not know that this was the God of the Universe, the Almighty, all knowing, all wise, eternal King of kings- carrying out His commitment to love!

I haven’t been on the site much in a while, busy life in the way- but I got scuffed up in a motorcycle crash around the end of July and find myself at home recovering- with limited mobility for the time being. When my hip surgery solidifies, I will be able to walk again and I look forward to that! In the meantime I just marvel at the wonders of God, enjoying His love for me in fresh new ways! The idea that He is vulnerable- willingly open to being both blessed and hurt- is a little new?

I do believe that He created us for eternal intimacy- but there is no quick way to describe what that looks like. I would be curious to know if any of you- (my most trusted gathering of genuine believers)- have thoughts on this?

Our intimate relationship has different stages, that we never understand when we are in the early stage as babes of Christ. Luckily god keeps us in a bubble of Mercy and Grace. As we move through those first stages identifying with Christ as he moves through his first stages of his ministry where the sufferings of Christ is a very minimal we learnt to endure rejection with those close to us but we're in the amazement stage like a honeymoon everything seems bright as we sit down at the wedding feast watching Jesus turn water into wine and many are still having natural and Carnal enjoyments. We identify with the new birth and then the baptism of the spirit our relationship grows as we begin to understand God and the miraculous. But then the struggle of sin seems to become very apparent, and we begin to realise this is a battle. Slowly We lose trust in ourselves, but still struggle with trusting God. Then the shaking begins and the sufferings intensifie and we begin to move through the identification of the sufferings of Christ and the partaking of those things. Which Amounts to chastisement and God lifting his hand allowing the bubble of grace and mercy that we were in to be removed, as form of loving chastisement, eventually leads to a partaking of holiness according to the letter of Hebrews. This is a very hard stage to deal with it is a demonic unleashing or spirits into our life which breaks away our trusting and connection with earthly things he removes our crutches that we hold onto that hold ourselves up in traditionally tough times that we may go through in the past. Then the letter of Job becomes a reality somewhat and we truly partake in the sufferings of Christ, the whipping Post and the road to Calvary of the carrying of own cross we realise what's going on and this is leading to the crucifixion of our own old self, though it is hard we embrace the chastisement knowing that this is leading to a special place, our focus becomes the cross and we lose desires and attachments to earthly things through this process of shaking, you can identify with a type of great tribulation period before a special coming of spiritual resurrection power when we move from sufferings to death to then our souls become resurrected immersed in resurrection power and the inner man as Paul said Christ in you we labour and travail in birth pains and Christ is formed. Finally the death of the old self and we identify with the the apostle Paul that it is no longer I who Live but it is Christ to lives in me ,the resurrected Christ finally builds up our spirit man until it is formed and takes is seat in the temple of the soul. Our relationship with God has moved to the resurrected level which only suffering and death of the old self could achieve. The heart becomes pure, unmixed with the old Adam and becomes Christ living his life through us. But there is still another level of relationship with the father through his son Jesus Christ and that is when we move into the holy of holies which is the same thing as living the ascended life. Not many Christians make it truly into the holiest of holies or into the throne room of God through true identification, but we boldly approach the throne, but we know it as an idea that the spirit gives through revelation, and some people get to taste it. In our relationship with God we go from glory to Glory to glory to Glory and there's always more.