Sharing Space with Jesus
Sharing space with Jesus in a stance of patience overcomes the negative dictates of the world that rob, kill, and destroy an abundant life. Salvation is an ongoing journey in trading old man thinking and behaviors for new man renewal. When I accepted the fact that God so loved me, that there is nothing I can do to cause God to love me more or less for that matter, it was the beginning of embarking on discovering for myself how to access the Kingdom of Heaven. As a free will choice by pausing and waiting on the Lord to fill me with the Living Waters of peace, I can turn away from destructive reactions and choose the opposite. Patience from a Biblical standpoint does not mean waiting for a reward but it means waiting on the Lord. His nature, ways, power, and authority reign in patience in all situations.
Patience is the antidote
Sharing space with Jesus in patience is the antidote for learned helplessness. Learned helplessness means a lack of control over reacting to people, places, and things. Baptism into Jesus means that the old man has died and the new man is risen with Christ. I have surrendered control to Jesus and now I respond rather than react to people, places, and things. No matter where one is in terms of engaging in destructive reactions, patience gives space for the new man in Christ to share space with the Holy Spirit. I respond and literally change direction by making a choice to turn away from old man thinking and behaviors.
Patience allows me to pause and position myself with Christ for the strength to move towards a more fruitful direction in putting on the new man. Patience as a Fruit of the Spirit has also been called a virtue. The virtues have to do with the human condition; relationship with the self and others. Since the beginning of time, relationships with the self and others has often been the biggest dilemma we face in life. The philosophers Aristotle, Socrates, and Plato touched upon the virtues in two categories: the theological include faith, hope, charity, and justice; the cardinal include temperance, fortitude, and prudence. They had a lot to say about the virtues but nothing regarding how to in fact maintain them in the face of The Seven Deadly Sins including pride, greed, lust, envy, gluttony, wrath, and sloth. I believe wrath is an underpinning element in the second list and manifests in self-hatred. Self-hatred is a result of a lack of validation and love to an extreme; a side effect of abuse.
As I ponder these lists of opposites, it strikes me that in the first list there is a relationship with validation and love. In the second list, when there is a lack of love and validation pain and rejection initiates destructive reactions. However, both lists depict the human condition. I believe no matter who you are, engaging the The Seven Deadly Sins are not where you want to be. So how does one navigate the human condition? How does one learn to respond from the virtues of faith, hope, charity, justice, temperance, fortitude, and prudence? How does one put on Christ when they have been abused, rejected, treated unfairly to the point of infringing on their rights and dignity?