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In the last days, the mountain of the Lord’s temple will be established
as the highest of the mountains;
it will be exalted above the hills, and all nations will stream to it.
Many peoples will come and say,
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
to the temple of the God of Jacob.
He will teach us his ways so that we may walk in his paths.”
– Isaiah 2:2-4
Friends,
So often we skillfully distance ourselves from pain, shame, loneliness, and fear. Heroically (and understandably), we set off on a myriad of self-salvation projects.
The contexts, details, and templates are different and often endless. But what if the parts of us committed to self-protective habits are not inherently bad?
The compulsive reach for relief from a false comforter.
The teeth-gritting heroism of doing the “right thing.”
The addiction to appearance and reputation.
Our regular rage against authority or our unquestioning posture of a bended knee before it.
What if the part caught in these compulsive behaviors is, at its core, a valuable aspect of our personhood that is ripe for redemption when connected to the love and life of God?
Friends, we want to suggest that there are no bad parts of our hearts as men and women made in the image of God, but rather, parts meant to reflect the image of our beautiful Triune God that have become disintegrated, marred, and desecrated.
Perhaps we would experience the compassion and unconditional love of Jesus in even greater measure if we took the next step in believing and embracing this.
Let’s keep diving deep—together. Here’s Part 4 of our series on Parts Work.
For the Kingdom,
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