I beleive Jesus is God. God Himself came to humanity in the person of Jesus Christ. God put on a human face for us to understand and embrace Him in our hearts, minds, will, soul and being. We could have a restored relationship with the the almighty creator God. Through the wonderful plan of salvation, one can come to know God. By embracing Jesus Christ, one is embracing God, for they are one in the same.
When Jesus left us in human form and returned to His throne, the Holy Spirit was and is sent to those He so desires and to those who have come to know Him or seek Him. I shall call this Spirit. Spirit is Gods mighty force and influence. Picture an exploding star of perfection showering on us in the form of Spirit. Spirit is now the essense of our spiritual attachment to God. Through Spirit I am one with Jesus, I am one with God, for Spirit IS God. Sounds pretty tradtional Three in One thought to me.
Perhaps here now is where I have strayed. I beleive God almighty made himself known to All of humanity. I beleive the plan of salvation will be worked miraculously across all religions, all cultures, all peoples.
I beleive that God also manifested Himself in many "Christ-like" or "Christ figures" to many culture groups. For example, Peacemaker arrived in a white canoe. He shone like the sun. He taught the natives the way of peace and ended the generations of war. He taught the way of cooperation and the greatest thing Love. When the peoples hearts turned back toward the Creators intent, the Peacemaker turned into an Eagle and flew away.
Many native stories talk about the son of the creator who taught them everything about how to live in harmony with the creator and mother earth. I read about the White Buffalo Calf Women, who became the face of the creator for tribes and helped define how one might properly address God. Other natives eagerly await the return of Wakitanka. These are all many faces of God expressed in humanity, just as He expressed Himself to us through Jesus. Am I saying they were Christ? I cant say because I dont know. However, the yeilding of one's heart to God has to do with accepting God in us..Emmanuel.
Jesus taught me how. Peacemaker taught the six nations how. White Buffallo Calf Women taught the American Natives how. All have helped restore the relationship between a people and their God.
So how do I resolve this? Easy. It has to do with Bible prophesy. Jesus Christ will return. He will sort the whole mess out. Bible prophesy tells us he will rememebr our sins no more. Regradless of our crazy misconceptions and misunderstandings and even utter evilness, He will cleanse us and restore us....a double prophesy.
Who is us? I beleive those who have turned their hearts to God, regardless of their culture and religion. They may not know the Jesus we know, BUT, They will know Jesus when He returns! Their hearts will have been prepared.
Interestly, there were promises made by God to the house of Jacob and to the house of Israel. These promises appear to be independant of whether or not they have accepted Jesus Christ here and now as their personal saviour. No simply He said exactly what He was going to do. He was going to restore His poeple. There is nothing anyone can do about it, and therfor there is nothing anyone can do to cause it or stop it. Man will have no influence on this. He will do it because He said and because that is what He intends to do.period.end. Its another model of grace.
While my immediate faith in Jesus Christ has been a blessing to me, It is Spirit that I count on now to guide me. It is Spirit that tells me to love with all my heart, regardless of doctrine. It is Spirit that tells me its OK to join in with the joys of my brothers and sisters as we worship the same God in differant ways. The Mighty Lord God forgave me of my differances on the floor of a Seikh gardwara. The Spirit bekons me to simply be. Simply live in the freedom and joy of a restored relationship.
I wish that all these things I talk about would be seen in how I live, not in what I say. I want to just simply be. I beleive that once you know Spirit, you can simply be. That is the point when all the doctrine in the world is just words and talk and banging gongs and chasing of the wind.
Brenda. I promise I will never turn from Christ, its simply not possible. Endulge me or even challenge me as I look beyond the words of man and doctrines argued by man, in search of the simple and pure love that Spirit enables and even demands.
Watch for the fruits of the Spirit and you will be amazed at where they can be found....then follow the path back and you will be even more amazed where it came from.
love daddio