Human beings have a natural affinity for strength, excellence, and beauty. To cling to self-defeating and weakness would be contrary to our nature, and it is, however all we have to go on is self-perceived weakness and self-percieved strength, which is hopelessly myopic. If we are intended to seek out strength, excellence, and beauty, then how can it possibly make sense to take one's own ego and will and sacrifice it on a crucifix? The answer is here in Zechariah 4:6 cross-referenced with Revelation 11:
Zechariah 4:1-6
1 Then the angel who talked with me returned and wakened me, as a man is wakened from his sleep. 2 He asked me, "What do you see?"
I answered, "I see a solid gold lampstand with a bowl at the top and seven lights on it, with seven channels to the lights. 3 Also there are two olive trees by it, one on the right of the bowl and the other on its left."
4 I asked the angel who talked with me, "What are these, my lord?"
5 He answered, "Do you not know what these are?"
"No, my lord," I replied.
6 So he said to me, "This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: 'Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,' says the LORD Almighty.
I answered, "I see a solid gold lampstand with a bowl at the top and seven lights on it, with seven channels to the lights. 3 Also there are two olive trees by it, one on the right of the bowl and the other on its left."
4 I asked the angel who talked with me, "What are these, my lord?"
5 He answered, "Do you not know what these are?"
"No, my lord," I replied.
6 So he said to me, "This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: 'Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,' says the LORD Almighty.
Revelation 11:4-6
4These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth. 5If anyone tries to harm them, fire comes from their mouths and devours their enemies. This is how anyone who wants to harm them must die. 6These men have power to shut up the sky so that it will not rain during the time they are prophesying; and they have power to turn the waters into blood and to strike the earth with every kind of plague as often as they want.
The key is in understanding that God insists that His children replace their own will and strength with His. There is no sign of conceding weakness in the passage above from Revelation 11. The reason for God's wrath here in Revelation 11 is similar to His wrath against Sodom and Gomorrah, and if you know your bible you'll notice that turning the waters into blood was precisely what Moses did in order to persuade the Pharaoh to free the enslaved Israelite people. So what's God trying to say? if I truly value excellence, beauty, peace, love, joy, then I must let His Spirit override my own will and ego otherwise I'm going to mess-up and be utterly clueless as to whom it hurts. Ignorance truly is bliss, a bittersweet conundrum.
Some believe that God wants one to live and to continually improve oneself to become a better human being. What does the bible actually say? I think Mark Gunger puts it most succinctly condensing the gospel into a phrase.
"But this is backwards! surely this is an incorrect interpretation because it's all upside down and backwards!" well, Matthew 5:1-12 suggests that the gospel is intentionally upside down and backwards. Honestly, what do you think it would take to lead an incurably self-centred species to transcendent holiness? Answer: it would almost certainly mandate some backtracking and forgetting everything you know.
Some believe that God wants one to live and to continually improve oneself to become a better human being. What does the bible actually say? I think Mark Gunger puts it most succinctly condensing the gospel into a phrase.
"But this is backwards! surely this is an incorrect interpretation because it's all upside down and backwards!" well, Matthew 5:1-12 suggests that the gospel is intentionally upside down and backwards. Honestly, what do you think it would take to lead an incurably self-centred species to transcendent holiness? Answer: it would almost certainly mandate some backtracking and forgetting everything you know.
The popular notion is to simply strive to become a better version of oneself. Putting faith in that idea makes it impossible to have communion with God because it is still self-focused and the scriptures command Christians to die to self. I may be a capable, noble and commendable human being, but communion with God requires heading back down and taking a different road.
