Meat Head part 3
Wanna know why forcing Jesus down people's throat doesn't work? They'll choke on Him. "Because the carnal mind is enmnity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be" (Romans 8:7). You can't force Spiritual stuff on a meat head. You can't MAKE somebody believe something. In order to believe something you have to know it first. You have to experience it. That's what happened to Paul (then Saul) on the road to Damascus. He was literally knocked off his donkey--figuratively knocked off his high horse--and had an experience with Jesus. An experience that changed everything. See, Paul was pro-God but anti-Christ. He knew the Law backwards and forwards, and persecuted those who would dare to transgress it. He described himself this way, "Though I might also have confidence in the flesh. If any other man thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh, I more: Circumcised the eight day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, and Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee; Concerning zeal, persecuting the church, touching the rightesousness which is in the law, blameless" (Philippians 3:4-6). Basically Paul was the most religious "religious dude" you could ever want to meet. He was as self-righteous as they come. In the flesh--or human effort--he was getting it done. So why then did Jesus knock him off his donkey? To shine His light on Paul and show him--showing is much more effective than telling--how things really are. To show him that the carnal mind had passed off the scene at the cross and that the mind of Christ was now in Paul! So that Paul could BE transformed (into what the cross had already transformed him into) by the renewing of his mind. That's why in verses seven and eight of Philippians 3 Paul says, "But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord..." All the religious knowledge in the world--all the head knowledge--didn't mean anything. It's not head knowledge that we need--knoweldge puffs up. The more we know the more we think we can do. That's the lie of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. It's heart knowledge that we need. Experiential knowledge. That's what God--who is love--is all about. He's all about relationship. He's not about working in order to earn something. The work is finished. The eternal life that IS the knoweldge of the Father and the One whom He sent--the knowledge that God is our heavenly Father and we are His beloved Son in whom He is well pleased--is the GIFT of God. You can't earn a gift. But to a meat head, earning your bread by the sweat of your brow makes sense. The carnal mind is enmity against God. The carnal mind can't understand or accept the true nature of God... the true nature of love. It doesn't make sense. It seems too good to be true. That's what the mind of Christ came to show us... came to give us... the truth that God's love isn't too good to be true. It is so good that it MUST be true. And it can't be earned, it can only be received!