A Few Thoughts From Sheldon Swartz

"God has chosen to make known...the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. - Colossians 1:27

One of my favorite kinds of stories to read are murder mysteries. True crime stories will do also, since there is always some real mystery in them. (I'm actually reading one now by the queen of true crime stories, Ann Rule. Makes for good bedtime reading!) By the time I get to the end of the book, however, the mystery is no longer much of a mystery
and I need a new book in order to engage a different mystery.

Well, one of the mysteries that blows my mind that I suspect I will never understand, or "get", is this thing of Christ dwelling in us, and us dwelling in Christ. There are references to both of these in the New Testament and one is as mysterious and wonderful as the other, in my opinion.

What is it like to have another person dwelling inside you and at the same time you dwelling in them? Sounds to me like the definition of enmeshment! I do know that enmeshment of humans with each other provides for a lot of intimacy and closeness. It's what people do when they "give up" themselves in order to be close to another. It can feel really good, for awhile, until our true self starts trying to get our attention and complains that it is being ignored! We begin to feel smothered and controlled, and that is exactly what is happening. And then the necessary conflict takes on a sense of urgency.

Now what is different about Christ dwelling in us and us dwelling in Him is that the experience of that gives us ultimate security and unlimited room to grow. And that's where we leave the idea of enmeshment behind, because enmeshment hinders room to grow and cannot provide ultimate security, no matter how tightly we cling.

So, in the interest in my own spiritual growth (more good room in me to invite others in and to share out of) I am pondering a question, two days away from Christmas: What characteristic of Jesus Christ do I long to have born more fully in me this next year?

A number of things go through my mind, like his compassion for the hurting and lost, his freedom to speak the truth no matter what it cost him, his investment in the lives of those who really didn't catch on to very much at the time, his unceasing and indiscriminate love for those who seemed for him and those who seemed against him, his ability to tolerate people's evil choices without interfering with their freedom to choose, his willingness to forgive the most horrendous crimes against humanity (and therefore against himself), his detached relationship with money and possessions, his freedom from seeking glory, etc., etc. The more I write, the more that comes to me, and I have to quit somewhere!

One of the good reasons to have a prayer for oneself that one earnestly and habitually prays is that when things happen in life that seem like blessings or curses in themselves, one is more likely to ask questions like "I wonder if this is in some way a response from God to my prayer" and that may change how one sees the situation. Now I believe the life of the Spirit is mysterious enough that we most often can't be sure whether it is or isn't a response to our expressed longing. But we can be suspicious! And we can decide how we respond to it. And we can take the chance that it is a response of God without knowing for sure. Sounds like what faith is about!

So I don't know yet what my answer is to my own question above. I'll have to keep asking it and see what comes.

"God, I sure am glad I don't need to understand the mystery of Christ in me and me in Him in order to enjoy it and benefit from it. All I ask right now is that you help me live out the reality of that more fully, and help me to let go of the conditions I am tempted to put on what should or should not be part of that process. I am at your mercy. Amen."