As I reflect on my first 86 years and consider my final ones, counting all my many blessings, remembering family and friends, achievements and trials, and realize that my greatest blessing is the
assurance of knowing God’s ultimate purpose for human life. All the houses, cars, titles, recognition, travels and other soul-pleasing experiences pale in the light of knowing that there is a God-determined purpose for my life, and for everyone’s life, that is eternal.
As a Christian, I believe that Christianity was never meant to be a religion; it is a relationship with God through His Son Jesus Christ. The Bible records that the early followers of Jesus were first called Christians in Antioch. It was meant to be a slur against Christ followers, those disciples of His who were becoming more and more noticed in the Jewish communities, and until the reign of Constantine (AD 306-337) believers met wherever they could get together safely, and in some of those gatherings became known as “churches,” simply meaning groups of believers, not a formal organization. Constantine codified Christianity as the formal religion of Rome (AD 312), long after the Apostles had died.
Christianity is not a religion, it is a relationship; a personal relationship with God through His Son, Jesus Christ. His eternal purpose is to deliver us from what we are by human nature and to bring us into what is Christ’s nature as God’s Son, Who is the human evidence of God’s divine, eternal life. We are, through God’s eternal purpose, to be transformed into the image of His Son, and the embodiment of His nature, His character (See The Missing Link- A Guide to Spiritual Reality).
How do we enter into a personal relationship with God? The Bible clearly explains that it is a spiritual transaction between God and man via His own spiritual Life known as The Holy Spirit. Humans are spiritual beings with a body to house the spirit so that the Spirit (life) can be seen and communicated with. That is why Jesus said if you want to see what my Father (God) is like look at me. He was not referring to His appearance but the fact that His own life, which was God’s life in Him, mirrored God’s own life. That is why He said “I and my Father are one.” He was saying that He (Jesus) was united with the Father (God). And, Jesus said, as recorded in John 10:10, I have come that they might have life, and that they might have it abundantly. He was not offering a magical lifestyle, He was saying that He was brought into this world as a human so that anyone who received Him would have new life, Divine life: But all who believed Him and accepted Him, He gave the right to become children of God (John 1:12).
Hall Powell With Four Generations of His Loved Ones
When someone asked what they would have to do to have Divine Life, Jesus responded, You must be born again. He was saying that in order to have His life as our own life, a person must have a spiritual rebirth. And when a person does receive Christ Jesus as a spiritual faith transaction between God and man, God brings that person into a union-life relationship with Himself. The Apostle Paul referred to this as a mystery that has been hidden from ages and generations. And he went on to say that the mystery was “Christ in you the hope of glory.” (Colossians 1:27).
Now, what does what I have been saying have to do with the title of this article? Just this: When a person receives Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, he or she enters into a union-life relationship with God through Jesus. That means that a life in Christ puts us into a direct relationship with the mind of God and the life of God whereby we can hear the Spirit of God in our spirit and live by His mind and not our own earthbound thoughts. In fact, the Bible invites us to participate with Him: Let his mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus (Philippians 2:5). We are also told, …we have the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16), and instructed to be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is the good and acceptable, and perfect will of God. (Romans 12:1,2). By being in union with God’s Mind we can know His thoughts for us. A case in point:
I believe that when Jesus was confronted with the situation with an adulterous woman who some Hebrew religious leaders were wanting use to trap Him into saying something they could use against Him (John 8:1-11). They demanded an answer from Him. What did He do? I am sure He already had thoughts that would be valid and perhaps persuasive, but instead of immediately responding to the evilly-intended Pharisees, He bent down and began writing in the sand. After a while He stood up and responded, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her (vs.7). The Bible records that Jesus’s accusers, convicted by their own consciences walked away and left Jesus alone with the accused woman. Game over; a potentially deadly situation avoided, and a guilty woman set free.
How does this story relate to you and me?
- You must be born again, be in union with God; be one with the Lord by the indwelling Holy Spirit
- Wait upon the Lord (Isaiah 40:31)
- Let this Mind be in you (Phil. 2:5)
- Seek the Mind of God in all things
- Do some “sand writing” before speaking and/or acting
- Ask God to transform you by the renewing of your mind
ABOUT THE MISSING LINK
The Missing Link will unlock the door to spiritual power and peace if, like all spiritual truths, you receive His Word by faith. It’s up to you to allow Him to be Himself in you, to produce the fruit of His life, pressed down and overflowing, like freshly made wine. Reader…let me share with you the key to eternal joy, peace and power, by revealing the mystery of The Missing Link.
