Re-Reading Scripture: Self-Centered vs. Spirit-Centered (Romans 8)

Last updated on: July 22, 2016 at 6:12 pm by Brandan Robertson

Re-Reading Scripture: Self-Centered vs. Spirit-Centered (Romans 8) 2016-07-22T18:12:30-04:00 Brandan Robertson

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“But you aren’t self-centered. Instead, you are in the Spirit, if in fact God’s Spirit lives in you.“

Romans 8:9

The call of Christ is the call to die to our “self”, which is our egoic self, and to live our lives from the place of the Spirit, which is our truest essence. At our core, we are Christ, united fully and profoundly to the very Spirit and Substance that created and sustains the Universe. When we live from our Spirit, we recognize that we are all inter-connected, sharing the same essence. We realize that when we take care of ourselves, we are taking care of the Universe. And when we take care of others- people, creation, etc.- we are in fact taking care of ourselves, for there is not separation or differentiation. Christ is within us and we are within Christ. Christ is our truest self.

“So then, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation, but it isn’t an obligation to live our lives on the basis of selfishness. If you live on the basis of selfishness, you are going to die. But if you put to death the actions of the body with the Spirit, you will live. All who are led by God’s Spirit are God’s sons and daughters.”

Romans 8:12-14

You have an obligation, dear one, to live not out of self-centeredness and self-protection, but on the basis of selflessness, realizing that you share the very Spirit and Substance of all things. When we live from our egoic, physical self, we participate in the lie that we are somehow separated and individual, rather living in the truth that all of us live, move, and have our being in God and are held together by God. The fear of physical death is actually the fear of the ego, a fear of losing our “separate” or “individualized” self. But we know that we’re all made of the same substance, same essence, same Spirit. That Spirit cannot be created or destroyed, but is the very light that is life, the ground of being-ness. That Spirit, our True Selves, can never die. The spiritual journey in life is to learn how to die now, to our false, individualized, egoic self. For if we die to our sense of seperatness, our sense of self-centeredness, and move into the realm of the Spirit where we live and move knowing that we are in God, God is in us, and God is in all, we will live from a place of true love, life, sacrifice, power, and creativity.

Your truest identity is Christ. It is your position as as “son or daughter of God”, a partaker in the Divine Nature, a manifestation of God, a fundamental piece of the Universe. There is no separation between you and me, you and your enemy, you and the Universe. We’re all One at the most fundamental level. When you live from that place, you will find freedom and live a life of purpose, creativity, and generosity.

Today, may we be challenged to die to our False Selves and move from a place of Union, Love, and Connectedness. When each of us move from that place, we shift the energy of our lives and of the world. And we all know that our world needs that now more than ever.

Peace to you this day.

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