Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Be And Agree, Pt. I


















On some level we're all connected and interdependent, which is why I've been teaching and talking so much lately about the power of AGREEMENT...remember Paul said that the eye cannot say to the hand 'I don't need you'...he used the metaphor of the operation of the human body to explain the mystery of the Body of Christ (where two are more are gathered together in My name), and the truth that we all totally need each other for survival and creativity...that being said, I want to underscore the fact that, even though eye indeed needs the hand, the eye is still an eye, and the hand is still a hand...their agreement with one another doesn't morph them into the same thing (same DNA/different function)...

An important part of understanding the miracle of agreement and how to walk in it is learning and accepting the fact that your individuality or uniqueness will not be compromised in the process...that's why Paul went on to say, "you are the Body of Christ and MEMBERS IN PARTICULAR"...

You need to be connected, but you also need to be you...

"You're blessed when you're content with just who you are — no more, no less. That's the moment you find yourselves proud owners of everything that can't be bought.” (Matthew 5:5 - The Message)


One of the greatest things about the Man, Jesus, in His earth-walk, was that there was absolutely no one else like Him ("Never a man spake like this Man")...Jesus reveled in His own uniqueness...that's one of the main reasons that He was always at odds with religion...religion discourages uniqueness in individuals, and fosters conformity...

Agreement is not conformity...

It certainly may include some compromise of ideas ("How can two walk together unless they agree?"), but never the compromise of the sense of self...there's a reason why Jesus chose such a diverse group of men to be His disciples...His choosing of them, just as the were (no background checks, no screening process, no trial period) was a celebration of their individual strengths (and weaknesses)...His only original instruction to them was "Follow Me"...

To be nobody but yourself in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight; and never stop fighting.
- e.e. cummings, 1955


Perhaps one reason that Paul grasped the concept of "members in particular" is that he, himself, was so very different from the other Apostles...they only knew the Christ through the pre-resurrection Jesus, the Son of Man...Paul only knew Jesus, the Man, through his post-resurrection revelation of the Christ...while the others went to Jerusalem, Paul went to Arabia, and eventually ended up writing the majority of the New Testament...

If you really follow his writings closely, you'll see Paul working through and learning to accept his own different-ness, while all the while giving us the greatest revelation of the Christ expressed through unity that we have...

“But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.” (1 Corinthians 15:10 - Today's New International Version)


Paul did say, "Follow me as I follow Christ", but he also said "Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling"...that's where the balance is...that's where the harmony is...

Maybe I should sum it up with three words: BE AND AGREE!

Be in agreement, but be yourself...

Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else's opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation.
- Oscar Wilde


In other words...U B U!

To be continued...

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wow!!!

Pamela H

Anonymous said...

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! "Be AND Agree" Wow. That's good! It is never too late to Be...

cheryl tiedemann said...

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! "Be AND Agree" Wow. That's good! It is never too late to Be...

Pamela H said...

Bishop, this is so good - I am so glad it is only part 1. I have to say again - WOW! I may just fill your comment section up with WOW'S!

Looking forward to part 2 etc. Oh wow! By the way did I say WOW!? I guess I need to update my vocabulary or should I say increase it. WOW!

Pamela H

David Teems said...

I am in agreement with the comment before mine. This is why I have always considered you one of my few mentors, even at a distance away. I just released a book [Harvest House Pub.] AND THEREBY HANGS A TALE. In the book is a section on agreement, just like you described it. The book also goes into selfhood, or I should say authentic selfhood, that slippery thing that eludes most of us. Here is a quote:

"...most of us live according to the myths we grew up on. Our lives take shape around them. Some are pleasant, some unpleasant, but either way they are fiction, and if I live outside the truth, if I live according to my illusions even innocently, my perception, my judgment, my desire, are all contaminated, spoiled.

To live outside truth is to misperceive God, and if my perception of God is distorted, nothing can be clear to me. All life is askew. I may be saved, but I live just shy of redemption, the kind I might enjoy daily, continuously. To deny God in the least part of him, is to deny him all. To overturn such a life, half measures will not do."

I don't post this to promote the book [though shamelessly, I admit I wouldn’t object if it did]. But I say it because I have always been drawn to that particular reward of the gospel, that is, simply knowing who I am. I think holiness is being who we ultimately are. That is, free of the counterfeits.

The book uses the dog as the metaphor of the devoted life. Dogs love being dogs. And they know exactly what that means. They live closer to creation, to their origins than we do. They don’t strive or torment themselves with options. Eden is easy for them. We however, struggle with what it means to be human. I am not sure if we even know what that means. It is sad, and you are right, most of us live according to this principal:

I am not what I think I am
I am not what you think I am
I am what I think you think I am

Anyway, before waxing too long, I just wanted to say, as always, I am in agreement with you. Always have been. You need to be in print.

David Teems

BrendaY said...

Walking toward just being me as I allow others to map out their own path. It's a work in progress but at least it's working. Thanks for the inspiration.

Phil Howard said...

I love the concepts of both BEing and Agreeing. I posted this on FB a couple of days ago...
When you feel the urge to dis-agree with someone, remember Oneness. You may not embrace their ideas or world view, but u can do so without dis-agreement. Celebrate the diversity of, and, unity with, others. We are all like islands in the ocean--separate on the surface but connected in the deep.
Looking forward to Pt.2
Peace

P Nancy said...

Love it Bishop!
"Being comfortable in my own skin"--Seeking until I find_-the POWER of agreement ..

and Phil_
We are all like islands--separate on the surface but connected in the deep-this too has great impact on me now..after "island hopping" and diving into the deep blue ocean..
Healing water flow and overtake us!!

Melissa Hall said...

Yes....

Anonymous said...

Nicola Mason said...

So enjoying your teaching on Agreement. I mean I totally enjoy your teaching whenever I hear you but there is something special about the AGREEMENT that has me agreeing...