Sleep now in the fire

[InfernalFather]

Matthew 18:
12: How think ye? if a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and goeth into the mountains, and seeketh that which is gone astray?
13: And if so be that he find it, verily I say unto you, he rejoiceth more of that sheep, than of the ninety and nine which went not astray.

I was just wondering. You say that you have found Jesus. You who are of the ninety-nine.

Isn't it possible that you could become one of the sheep in which Jesus rejoiceth in more?

You are all herded into a temple, where the flock is fed; but once you have found Jesus never do you say, I shall stray from the flock, leave the temple and goeth into the mountains.

I mean if Jesus is the greatest man then don't you think you should love him to the greatest degree? Forsake family, forsake property--sell all that you have and go out into the world to climb the mountain.

And doesn't Jesus say, those who are close to the fire are close to me; and those who are far from me are far from the kingdom? And what is the nature of fire? To consume, to burn; but I find most Christians content in their lives of physical desire--the conformity to the world; to have a job, family, home, car, etc...

Do you really believe by what you have worked for in this life that you are close to Jesus? Consider for a moment, reflect upon your life. (Those who are close to the fire are close to me...) Jesus is the fire. How close to Jesus do you really consider your self to be? Is the fire hot or are you comfortable and well off?

Does life burn? Does it hurt? How deep does your pain run? The pain is divine--the narrow and strait path through life.

And who here is brave enough to take a leap of faith into the fire?

Gospel of Thomas
108 He who drinks from my mouth will become like me, and I will become like him, and the hidden things will be revealed to him.

Who here is close to Jesus Christ? Are you close to the fire...are you the fire--the burning bush?

My main question is how close to the fire are you? Is the burden heavy or light? Are you worthy to carry the cross? Are your problems mediocre and vain or is your life full of tragedy and loss?

It takes courage to leap into an inferno.

 

[dlamberth]

My main question is how close to the fire are you?.

My guess is that not very many are. If there were an overwhelming number who were close to the fire as you described, the one image coming out of that that I see is that so many people would be helping the poor and those in need that the world would be seeing very little starvation, hardly any homeless people, abundance of clean water, very little if any war, all people getting their medical needs met, and so forth.

.

 

[Lord_Marx]

What you advocate sounds a lot like what Mother Teresa was trying to do.

An attempt to invoke a religious experience by putting yourself in circumstances that result in great pain. Pushing yourself to the limit trying to force a specific survival mechanism to trigger.

 

[ArchaicTruth]

A cushy life? I almost wish...almost. Of course, it's not hot either, just really cold. Hell frozen over. I never imagined it would be this cold, I always thought it would be warm, so why is it so cold? Not that I mind really, heat makes me sleepy, the cold wakes me up, keeps me sharp, keeps me going.

 

[DailyBlessings]

He who drinks from my mouth will become like me, and I will become like him, and the hidden things will be revealed to him.

This verse, I do like. You get credit for quoting it, and a further extra credit for quoting Rage Against the Machine in the title. But, I think God is not quite so cruel as you imagine. He demands all that we have, but there is joy in the giving. And giving things up physically does not help you let go of them spiritually as much as you might think. You believe that abandoning your wife, abandoning your children (who Christ has named inheritors of God's rule) will bring you closer to Christ who lives in the them and in your love of them? No. This only does the Lord require of you: to embrace the beauty and blessings of your life, and use them for the service of the Lord rather than your own ends. So I say that the answer to this question

Who here is close to Jesus Christ? Are you close to the fire...are you the fire--the burning bush?

is that We all are close to Christ. We all sleep in the fire, and are the fire, of God who blesses us all in peace and righteousness.

 

[Verv]

One of the issues with what you are communicating is that you open up by suggesting none of us have ever been astray. That just was a little insulting to me -- I personally did not like that. It seems condescending to call us one of the ninety-nine, basically proclaiming that Christ does not rejoice in us...

Then the tone of the thread changes to asking us to give up our property and our everything. However, I think that is unfair... God does want our happiness and He does want our commitment, but some of us do not feel that strong of a calling towards that sort of behavior. Some of us feel like we also have a great calling in the direction of family.

 

[Sojourner<><]

I was just thinking about that last night...

To live for physical comforts must be to walk after the flesh and not the Spirit. But does it always mean that one will not have physical comforts if he lives for the Spirit? I don't think so... God is free to do what He will with his own. Some of us must suffer for a time and some of us are blessed with physical things. But one thing I do know, wherever we find ourselves in life we must seek the Lord with our hearts and the love of physical comforts can definately get in the way.

 

[Eudaimonist]

Didn't your mother tell you not to play with fire?


eudaimonia,

Mark

 

[ArchaicTruth]

Didn't your mother tell you not to play with fire?


eudaimonia,

Mark

Didn't your chem teacher tell you to experiment with fire?

 

[Emmy]

Dear InfernalFather. When Jesus tells us about the one sheep which was lost, and which He found and saved. Jesus came to find the lost, the sinners and all who do not know the Way back to God. When Jesus talks about the 99 sheep, He knows they are still in the fold, not in danger. I cannot recall Jesus ever telling us, He is the fire, I know Him as our Saviour and He paid the price, which God`s Holy Law demanded, and we could not pay ourselves. I also know that Jesus vanquished Satan on Golgotha, and Death had lost its sting. Jesus reconciled us to God, and we are free to follow Jesus back to our original home with God. All we have to do is Repent, exchange our selfish and wilful natures into loving and caring ones. Love God first and foremost, and love each other, as we love ourselves. Jesus will not only lead us to God, He will also help and guide us on the Way. I say this humbly and lovingly, InfernalFather, and send greetings. Emmy, your sister in Christ.

 

[The Nihilist]

Oh, you silly gnostics.

 

[ArchaicTruth]

Silly RecoveringPhilosopher, Trix are for people with horrible tastes in cereal.

 

[DailyBlessings]

Oh, you silly gnostics.

What know thee of gnosis, journeyman?