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Safe Passagesupport for those struggling with homosexuality
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Eternal and Incarnational, In His Image
The essence of what makes us persons--mind, soul and spirit--is "unseen"; symbolic, eternal--these cannot be reduced to merely tangible terms. As mortal ("embodied") vessels which hold and reflect the image of God (as Male and Female; Genesis 1:27 and Matt. 19:4), we "live and move and have our being" in the Eternally Begotten One (Acts 17:28, John 1:1-4 with Rev. 13:8, etc.). There is a yearning for heavenly communion because we were created for it--created to partake of His glorious redemption. Therefore, the Scriptures hold a much higher, glorious view of what it is to be a mortal person than the relatively mechanistic world view of modern materialism, which reduces existential reality to the measurable and/or definable. Being steeped in an atmosphere of western modernism, it is helpful to openly examine what we believe about creation and existence in the light of Scripture, so that He can burn away the psuedo-academic fog that would otherwise dull our vision of the greater realities He holds for us.
The scriptural view also differs from gnosticism, which dualistically vilifies the physical realm as inherently evil (i.e. physical things are all "base" and only spiritual things can be holy/ good), whereas the Bible teaches that as mortals we are fallen and subject to sin (we struggle with sinful tendencies; Romans 8), but also part of the Creation that He longs to reclaim through the sacrifice of His own incarnate Son. From scriptures such as Luke 2:11-12, John 1:14, Gal. 3:13, Eph. 1:3-10, Eph. 2:12-18, Eph. 3:9, Phil. 2:5-11, Col. 1:27-28, Hebr. 2:14, Hebr. 10:10-20, Rev. 13:8, it is clear that His sanctifying work includes both the incarnational and the transcendent realms, for it is in both that His image is revealed in creation. If we fragment these realities, we lose the fulness of abiding in Him, wherein as Christ showed us, (John 5:19, John 15:5) identity is found in His presence. Our essential being, therefore, is rooted neither in animal "drives" nor in ascetic detachment from our bodies, but in relationship--in knowing and being known by the One Who calls us to be partakers of His life (John 4:10-14, John 17:20-26).
Time and the Presence
Like space (three dimensions), time is a created thing that "Eternity" is outside of. The crucifixion and resurrection are part of the eternal reality (Luke 22:19, Hebrews 10:12, 1Cor. 15:21-22, Rev. 13:8)--His redemption permeates all of history and touches all of creation (and we are made alive to it when we believe on Him and receive Him into our hearts). Time alone does not heal--it only dulls and hides the awareness of wounding--the pain is stored at full intensity until the point of readiness (e.g. prayer, support, understanding, courage) at which it comes forth. Furthermore, insights alone (no matter how true) do not heal, although they can help define and contextualize difficult issues and give helpful form to the process of healing. For genuine transformation, we need His larger life to contain and hold us together--we need the presence of the One in whose image we were created--we need to know and be known by the Lord of Life, recreated in His love. (See Teaching 4 for Athanasius "Incarnation" quote on Author's restoration of His original "portrait") It makes sense that as relational beings (ones created to know and be known), we developmentally emerge into the fulness of who we are relationally--ideally in early life through healthy parents who reflect His nature, or later through restorative relationships that reveal who we are becoming. Healing prayer is one way of mediating His presence, and the effect is union with the One Who loves us, and into the image of Whose face we are transformed by His Spirit simply as we behold His glory! (2Cor. 3:18)
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