Meditate | The Spirit of Adoption

“You judge according to the flesh; I judge no one. And yet if I do judge, My judgment is true” (John 8: 15, 16).

“For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, ‘Abba, Father’” (Romans 8:15).

“It is evident that no evil can be laid aside except by the Lord, working in those who believe in him and who love the neighbor…the Lord does not lay them aside by himself without our cooperation” (True Christianity 522).

For a large part of my life I have not felt much affinity with the language of battle used in the Lord’s name. I sort of peripherally acknowledged that yes, the Word is chock full of battle imagery and the Lord is depicted as fighting against hell, but more inwardly, I am aware that this image conflicts with my belief in what is fundamental in the Lord—mainly, that he is love and mercy itself. Recently, though, I found myself simultaneously aware of the Lord’s divine love and convinced of his presence and readiness to do battle for me with a new level of clarity.

In the passage from John, in those two, back-to-back phrases, the Lord says that he does not judge, but that if he does, his judgment is true. I read this passage one morning and felt completely incapable of making sense out of it. How can the Lord judge and not judge at the same time? The next morning, after having an experience I will relate in a moment, I felt my understanding had been opened. What gave me clarity on this was the experience of sensing the Lord as Divine Love itself willing to come and fight off the hells for me when I ask him to. I was in a state of temptation and I felt overcome by the apparent power hell had over me; in the blur of this temptation I managed to call on the name of the Lord. Over the course of the rest of the day, after a bunch of internal thunder and rain, I came to feeling peaceful and comforted. When the storm-clouds cleared, I was given the comforting vision that Divine love had enwrapped me as if in a circle of fire and this had repelled the hells with un-opposable force. The epiphany that came through this vision was that throughout all the action, the Lord loved the hells as much as he loved me! He has no will to injure anyone, not even the hells. It is not that the Lord comes in aggressively ready to beat them down, rather it is simply his presence and love that repels them. It is the evil in them that makes it happen this way. This is why the Lord says he does not judge, but that if he does, his judgment is true. Put in other words, the Lord does not want to hurt anyone, but if in the process of him becoming more present with people who call on his name, his protection repels the evil in the hells that are attacking, that judgment is true. It is not the Lord who is outright attacking them—“mercy itself and good itself can never condemn anyone; but it is the man who condemns himself, because he rejects good” (Arcana Coelestia 2335). The hells just can’t tolerate the presence of the Lord’s love.

This realization feels really powerful to me. I think it is useful to have a convincing image of the Lord as a strong presence of protection; I also hold the strong conviction that it is entirely false to imagine that the Lord would actively attack anyone. I see now that the warrior-like energy of the Lord is one of love. It is not that he somehow loves them while attacking them “for good reason.” The Lord doesn’t attack, but protects. When I call on him, his presence is revealed, he protects me, and the evil is repulsed. Rather than receive into myself “the spirit of bondage again to fear” the apparent power of evil, this experience has strengthened my trust not only in the power inherent in calling on the Lord, but the truth that this power comes from the fact that the Lord is love and mercy itself.

Comments

[Louise Hanel]

Hi Chelsea,
Beautiful understanding you received and I thank you for sharing it.

With love in Christ,
Louise

[Pearse]

Hi Chelsea,
In the past, I've struggled with this concept too. Reading through the minor prophets can be especially tricky, without a sense of what the Lord is trying to tell me when He describes all the woe that will befall Judah's enemies. An image from the movies I especially like (although originally from a book) is Gandalf coming over the ridge with the dawn to save the day in "The Two Towers." It does seem like when I pray to the Lord in despair, He and His angels can come riding in, but only if I "look to the dawn."
Thanks!

[Cortland Bell]

While reading this I found it quite amazing how The Lords providence works. I thought I had a pretty good knowledge about the influx of divine love and its perpetual manifestation yet what I just read showed a perspective in practical use that never crossed my mind. I guess I am trying to say that I have actually just experienced (although indirectly) one of the infinite examples of mutual love so often spoken of within New Church doctrine. Right now I am not even sure that my words directly correspond with what I feel but I pray it will suffice for now. Thank You Chelsea!

[Chelsea]

Thank you Louise, Pearse, and Cortland!

Cortland, I appreciate the difficulty of articulating spiritual insight! I love that mine could feed you. I'd be interested to hear more about what you mean by the "example of mutual love".

And by the way, Meditate will begin regular posts again in the new year (although on a slightly different schedule)!