Joyfully Upside Down

This past weekend I was with some dear friends (long-time and new ones) to see what Papa would do among us. It was a joyful time, and it emphasized to me how "joyfully upside down" God has caused my life to be. Indeed, "upside down" is a phrase that seems to describe much of what I sense God doing in the world today for those who have hearts to hear and see what He is up to. And compared to my view of things about five years ago before my Secret Place encounter with Him, and compared to how most believers seem to view things, I am indeed completely upside down! I felt that I should share some of the things that are core to this new joyful upside down state. I may elaborate on some of these over the next few posts. For today, I will mainly just list them. Partly this is for the benefit of those whom I served this past weekend, but it will also give us lots to dialog about, methinks!

The Bible really is true, and it is true for all who will come on the journey with Jesus. In other words, when the Bible says that the Kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power, and that the Kingdom of God is righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, that the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, etc., it means that every believer, without exception, can indeed live a life characterized by love, joy, peace, righteousness, power, etc. This raises the obvious question of why so many believers' lives don't match this reality, which I will not try to answer in this post (check out some of my earlier ones). My intention at this point is to simply state what is now a continuing and increasing reality in my life and the lives of many others I know.

To use Wayne Jacobsen's term, "living loved" is the key to everything. For many reasons, many followers of Jesus struggle with the foundational reality of God's delight in them, His unrelenting commitment to do what is best for them always because of His infinite, unchanging love for them.

Those closest to us should be the primary recipients of all the good that God is doing in us, not the recipients of “leftovers.” Think about this one and you will get it, I trust!

It is possible to live in a place of peace that is so deep and pervasive that any attempt to push, coerce, point to myself, impress another, etc., is instantly noticeable. This is where I am occasionally privileged to live. Peace, as readers of this blog know, is becoming the compass within me that lets me know if I am walking away from dependence and surrender and heading back into self-effort.

It is possible to live, at least most of the time, from a perspective that is always able to see that God is working in every situation (and if you do, it becomes almost impossible to worry or do anything but rejoice!). The whole earth is already full of His glory, already God-bathed and God-permeated. The reason Jesus was able to live as He did was that He saw the glory (the goodness!) of God continually. (I am grateful to Dallas Willard for most of these insights.)

Every person we meet is a treasure, and remembering this changes everything and enables us to treat everyone with honor and become fully present as we listen to them.

Every follower of Jesus can hear His voice all the time (John 10:27) and indeed, this is essential to this lifestyle of joyful upside down living I am describing.

Authority, true authority flows from humility and intimacy, and humility is a crucial measure for how much we should trust those who lead us. We were created for intimacy with God and one another and it is God's desire that all doing will flow out of being, with Holy Spirit inside of us leading and supplying all things. We really can do nothing apart from Jesus, the Vine!

The life of following Jesus is a dance and a delight rather than duty. Anytime I feel duty or obligation beginning to form in my thinking, I need to stop and re-center my life!

Invitation is much preferred to confrontation. Much of "Christianity" in the past has been, unlike Jesus, based on confrontation (He saved that for the religious people of His day), rather than invitation. Our joyful, peaceful, loving lives are to be a paradox that becomes an invitation into this journey.

Delighting in His Word, having it truly in our hearts, is easy if we are living loved and delighting in Him and it is also essential to living this life.

Prayer for me has now changed. I now find myself praying while I am standing in the stream of God’s goodness and/or praying with God on one side of the table, me on the other and the person I am praying for between us (think about it).

Okay. This is a boatload of some of the things that Papa has been doing in me, showing to me over the past couple of years. They are submitted to you for your pondering, for your comments.

I close with an interchange between Papa and me on December 24, 2008 (from my journal).

Ah, Papa…David said, “I delight to do your will…”
“Yes, child. That is my desire and my plan for you and for all my people. Many serve me, but few do so in my ways, from delight and wonder, as my children. Most serve me from duty and responsibility and that accomplishes some good things, but how I love it when my children dance with me as they watch my kingdom explode in and around them! Yes, child, I continue to move you from duty to delight, from obligation to desire, from walking/trudging to flying! Fly, joyful yet fierce Eagle, fly!”

Stay lost in Papa's love!

Tom, one of Abba's little boys