Week 25
A Promise and a Principle: The Relevance of Resources
Our experience of God’s presence in our lives is powerful for healing the troubles of our bodies and soul. He heals first our minds, which supports the healing of our emotions, which supports the healing of our wills (for making wise choices). There cannot be any other outcome. It is a promise of God who cannot fail. Also, darkness cannot prevail against the Light, so it is also a principle.
However, our experience of God’s Life in our hearts, powerful as it is to dispel darkness, despair, and disease, is still only the beginning of our healing.
This means, we may be filled wonderfully with the full measure of “who God is” yet still not quite have the full experience of health which is available to us.
That’s because, God’s Life within us does not substitute for our inborn need for home and church leadership resources in our lives to support our temperament needs (for information, affection, and decision-making), or our biological needs (for water, oxygen, and food).
Nor does it fully make up the difference for their absence (although it does make their absence seem not as critical).
To illustrate, if we gave a value of 1 to biological needs, 2 to temperament / psychological needs, and 3 to our need to experience Christ, 6 would represent optimal health. This means, 1 is not the same level of health as 2, 2 is not the same as 3, 3 is not the same as 5, and 5 is not 6. Only 6 is 6.
But for clarification, we do not mean to suggest that diet and exercise (a value of 1) and connection to leadership resources (a value of 2) are equal in benefit to our experience of Christ (illustrated by a value of 3) - because they are not. So to better illustrate this concepts, we add one zero to the value of diet, two zeroes to the value of leadership resources, and three zeroes to our experience of Christ – which changes the values to 10, 200, and 3000 respectively.
DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 12F22
Success: The Result of Receiving Support
GracePoint does not receive support from those we serve. Also, we insist on paying for the services we need. This is based on our understanding that, in our relationship to God, we do not give to him (or to his resources to which we are connected); instead, we receive from him so that we are supported in our giving to others - and so that we are not attempting to give what we do not have, which results not only in failed service, but also injury to ourselves (the same as an athlete who attempts to perform beyond his/her conditioning).
This is a hard concept for the mind of fallen man to understand – for this reason: He has a religious nature which senses he is in trouble with God, so needs to give to him in order to win his favor. He would dare consider asking or receiving from God only after he had given (and given and given).
So, not only does the mind of fallen man insist on giving to his resources (although not freely or with rejoicing but as a payment and because of requirement), he also resists receiving from them.
But the Bible teaches,
“He gave his life to all who received him.” – See John 1:12.
“It is certain and unfailing that all who receive God’s abundance provisions of grace (beginning with Christ) will reign in life (be healthy and happy).” – See Romans 5:17.
DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 12F21
The Enjoyment of Beauty in the Context of Health, Heaven, and Holiness
God’s purpose for community (home and church) relationships is to provide support for health and happiness. He did not need to give aesthetic value to those relationships (create people with features that are appealing/attractive to others), but he did. And we are glad he did, because it increases our enjoyment of people. We would hate to live in a world without ever having the opportunity to enjoy sights, sounds, and fragrances.
Heaven will be filled with such experiences. This means, to whatever measure we are filled with the righteousness/ holiness of Christ in this life, we can find/observe people on earth to be attractive, and be energized by the experience of it, the same as we will in Heaven.
DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 12F20
Christ’s Life Manifested Through Us, Transforming Us to Make Choices for Health
In the same way that making choices for pain relief, instead of for healing, results in brokenness, so too, if our relationships to others are driven by meeting their superficial pain relief needs (codependence), instead of by helping to meet their redemptive needs for healing, the result will also be brokenness.
Also, if our relationship to God is driven by our need to win his favor, instead of receiving support from him for our healing, the result will be brokenness – this, in the same way that, if our relationship to his resources for us in the home and church is driven by serving them, instead of receiving their support, the result will also be brokenness.
Also, if our relationship to God is driven by our need to win his favor, instead of receiving support from him for our healing, the result will be brokenness – this, in the same way that, if our relationship to his resources for us in the home and church is driven by serving them, instead of receiving their support, the result will also be brokenness.
Our experience of God’s Life (Christ) in and through us will transform us to make choices for ourselves which increase us in health, and also enables us to support others for making the choices that increase them in health.
DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 12F19
Serving Others in Behalf of Service to Others
The question is asked, “If resources serve in the home and church, do those served get a pass on serving?”
No, they serve also. That’s because, service (in the organic context) means “investment in behalf of others.”
In the church, pastors support others, ultimately, in behalf of others.
In the home, parents invest in the redemptive/health needs of their children, and husbands invest in the redemptive/health needs of their wives - to provide physical needs (food, shelter, and safety) and also spiritual and psychological needs (for information, affection, and decision-making support) – so that, out of the strength received, those served are supported in their redemptive service to others.
The return to leaders for their investment is incidental in that they (for illustration) live out of the garden they sow, and also rejoice in the health of those they serve.
DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 12F18
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