Union...Revealed Like an Onion?

The verse that Holy Spirit laid on me with a resounding WHOMP within my heart on three separate occasion back in 2017 and 2018 was John 14:20 which says, "In that day, they will realize that I am in the Father, the Father is in me and I, in them."

Union, inclusion, oneness. For years I had read this verse to be talking about the the church, and it is...yet there is so much more.

There is always more.

We may be familiar with the idea of union (or you've heard me talk about it), but do we understand the implications of this joining together with the Godhead, the three of divine nature yet distinct in their own right and our inclusion within this relationship? Dr. C. Baxter Kruger refers to this union expression as Perichoresis. The Greek reference denotes rotation of the necessary being-in-one-another or circumincession of the three divine Persons of the Trinity. Basically, a dance of the triune relationship that since the death AND resurrection of Christ resides within mankind. WITH and IN each of us.

This dance is not something we strive towards or shove down with a gulp of wine and a cracker, but rather we discover, or uncover.

I came to a crossroads in my "Christian walk" where I experienced cognitive dissonance. A subconscious unrest from trying to be a good Christian but getting tired from all the trying that seemed necessary or expected and a sense that the words I read in scripture pointed to the freedom given for us NOW but no one really getting too irritated that they were not exactly living from it. Finally, I just asked Jesus to show me how in the world I could actually live more of what my mouth was speaking but not living. Little by little, union teachings and language began to surface. As I began to see that Christ actually finished everything on the cross and His life was and is available both now and later, and my only part in seeing this through is and was to acknowledge this and have a willingness to claim my innocence and freedom, regardless of what anyone else might have to say about that notion. As I began to experience transformation simply based on where I positioned myself in Christ, shifts came in so many other areas of my life. As my realization of what's been done and my inclusion in this act actually meant, I could participate in that iconic communion feast which actually means "an act or instance of sharing the realization of a spiritual union between Christ and the communicant" (us). But... there is always a bit but in the way.

For me, this was not instant. It was and continues to be, like an onion. I may be free, and the cage door may be open, but I am not always stepping out and flying. I am growing in the realization after decades of believing otherwise, and I think this is ok.

It took more than a minute to believe the lie the world says about us and it might take more than a minute to reprogram the mind and heart and what our natural eyes see to believe that we are in Christ, complete and perfected and dare I say...whole.

More on this as time goes on and this blog and vlog evolve. Trust me though, it is foundational to what I do and share. As I grow, I share. It is how I am wired.

I suppose this is why I love walking with others. I have been blind and still have moments where I cannot see. We all need others to re-mind us of who we are when we are in a season of forgetting. Check out some of the unique ways I enjoy walking with others as they step out to renew their minds, too.

(For some great union-based teachings, visit Perichoresis Connection by Dr. Kruger)