Taking a Stable Stance

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(Romans 5:2) Through Him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we hope in the glory of God.

O

First, grace is something--a place, a wide and spacious place--that we can enter into. It's a place for us to permanently live because it's God's presence ... and He welcomes us there. Outside of God's grace, life is very different and sadly too familiar. Second, until we cross that threshold of physical death and get our new bodies in Heaven, our ability to dwell with God in His grace is dependent on us taking a particular stance. To remain in His presence, we need to stand up and resist the a noisy deceptions and crazy doubts that mock our privilege of living in God's grace.

A (Personal)
Why would I enter God's throne of grace with merely a pocket-size faith when I have both access and permission the haul off much more mercy and grace than that ... more than a fleet's worth? My faith in God's love and His faithfulness permits me to approach Him and to stand with great boldness and to ask for His grace with great confidence (Hebrews 4:16; 12:12,28).

A (Psychological)
One of the essential components of a good assessment of people in crisis (whether the person is a survivor of a natural disaster, a criminal assault, or a relational breakdown) is an inquiry about the person's resources--does he or she have a good support system of family members or a reliable network of healthy friends, for example. This Scripture gives evidence of a profound resource for people, better than a person with a financial crisis being given legitimate access to Gates' or Clintons' financial empires. The incalculable difference is the perfection of God's wisdom, power, and love that is as constantly good as it is constantly available.

P
Lord, when the hurricanes line up to assault my faith (and these storms have familiar names--Fear, Shame, Accusation, Unemployment, Cancer, Incompetence, Tiredness, Boredom), remind me, please, to stand erect with my shoulders, chin, and eyes defiantly free of sin. I choose to remain humbly receptive to Your love. Help me remember that my preferred, permanent address is in Your throne room of grace. I'm going to stubbornly stay there so I can watch Your glory.

Love vs. Truth

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(1 Peter 1:22) Now that you have purified your souls by your obedience to the truth through the Spirit so that you have a genuine mutual love, love one another deeply [constantly] from a pure heart (NRSV).

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Our souls [psuche] are that immaterial, psychological part of our being that we have in common with animals--the seat of our sensations, appetites, and passions. It's corrupted (impure), but God can progressively heal it through His Spirit's communion with ours. (Only people, however, have a spirit [pneuma] which can come alive to commune with God.) Peter defines purification as becoming holy--fully devoted to God. Peter explains that we purify our souls by obeying truth (which He defines as God's Word).

A (Personal)

So how do we know we walk in the reality of truth? What test may I apply so I know that I am purified in body, soul, and spirit (1 Thessalonians 5:23)? I'm glad Peter was so wonderfully clear. If I have a genuine, reciprocal, and continuous love for people, I know I have been shaped by the realities of God's Word and have been fully dedicated to Him (1 John 3:18,19).

A (Psychological)

The congruency or authenticity of a person's life is a key component of psychological assessments. In communication assessments, Virginia Satir believed one's looks, feelings, tone of voice, and body language should congruently (purely) reflect the same message. As a person-centered therapist, Carl Roger asserts, "the core of psychological maladjustment is the incongruity between the organism's total experience and what is accurately symbolized as part of the self-concept. The incongruence between self and experience is the basic estrangement in human beings. [Like] a house divided against itself [Matthew 12:25] ... psychopathology reflects a divided personality, with the tensions, defenses, and inadequate functioning that accompany a lack of wholeness" (Prochaska and Norcross. 2003. p. 144).

I disagree, however, with Rogerian unconditional positive regard toward clients. Prochaska and Norcross explain that, according to Existentialist and Gestalt therapists (pp. 124, 192), in order to be authentic (pure, congruent), the therapist can respond with positive regard only toward honesty and authenticity but never toward lying and pathology. Psychology struggles, therefore, in this double bind of recognizing the struggle and necessity of living in congruently with reality (truth) while also recognizing the struggle and necessity of sharing life and values congruently with others (love). Once again, Scripture (through this letter of Peter's) provides a realistic and beneficial means of doing that. God's Word is that objective Truth to the extent that we understand it from God's perspective rather than our individualistic human interpretations. The more consistently we align with it, then the more we will also be able to consistently experience a shared unconditional positive regard (love) for others. Our congruent, realistic integration of God's Truth with God's Love, therefore, answers this psychological dilemma.

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Lord, nothing could be more fun! I've discovered that I'm healthiest and happiest when I'm truly and deeply loving people--especially those hard-to-love people in my life. And it is certainly fun to be loved by people, tool Thank You for bringing us into Your life so we can know and enjoy Your love!