Serving in the Spiritual Domain: II. Maturing the spiritual sense

𝑅𝑒𝑎𝑑 𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑡 1 ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒.

These days, serving is at a new stage—the world around us is changing and challenging how we live, walk and coordinate together. Before, when we were physically close to one another, we could do and plan many things in the church together. Now that we are apart physically, more than ever, we must coordinate and serve with a different perspective or understanding of the physical sphere.

There are many things that serving ones “do.” Not many realize, however, that it’s not about what happens outwardly, but rather what the spiritual reality is. That’s what the church life is really for—𝒕𝒐 𝒈𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒂𝒏 𝒆𝒎𝒃𝒐𝒅𝒊𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒑𝒊𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒖𝒂𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔, 𝒕𝒐 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒛𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒑𝒊𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒖𝒂𝒍 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚. On the one hand, the church is physical; this aspect is very much appreciated and treasured these days. On the other hand, the church has to be spiritual. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬 𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐝𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐡𝐲𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐭𝐚𝐬𝐤𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐮𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐞 𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐝𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐧. Otherwise our churching is missing the spiritual substance. If we do have the spiritual reality, it doesn’t matter what we are doing. We can eat together or spend time together, doing nothing specifically, 𝐲𝐞𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐞 𝐝𝐨 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐚 𝐩𝐡𝐲𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐝𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐢𝐟 𝐰𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐮𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐭.

The nature in which we interact or serve is very important. People like you and me have been raised in a very fleshly way; our senses are tuned very much to physical things. But 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐰𝐞 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐝, 𝐰𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐚 𝐤𝐞𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐝𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐧. 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞: 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐞, 𝐚 𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐞. On the first day of our being reborn, we were introduced into a different way of living, different way of sensing, a different way of feeling. We used to be very easily stirred, either happy or sad; that was in the old life. When we came to the church life, however, everything changed. The value changed, the senses changed, the outward enjoyment changed, and even our frustrations can be changed because we’ve been introduced into 𝑎 𝑑𝑖𝑓𝑓𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑠𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑙𝑖𝑓𝑒.

This sense substantiates our daily life; it makes us a group of fundamentally saved people, even though we still live, work and walk in a physical world. For example, many people know how to cook, but a good chef doesn’t just cook the food; he uses a different, more refined sense to procure, process and present the food. To the chef, a potato is not just a raw potato; it’s something with layers, texture, flavor and the potential to be more than just a raw potato—something that can be enjoyed by both chef and diner. Likewise, the sense within us as believers brings us into a different depth as “chefs” with keenness and capacity for serving. 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐮𝐬 𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐝—𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐝𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐚𝐬𝐤𝐬—𝐛𝐲 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐮𝐬 𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞, 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥.

People can preach, pronounce the truth, and memorize the Bible. They can read aloud the Bible or spiritual books in a meeting. They can present themselves as a leading one. People can say that they are a serving one: “I’m doing this. I’m doing that.” Eventually, however, they have nothing substantial to show for their “serving.” A lot of effort can be spent trying to “save” or “help” the church life, but in the end, none of the efforts are validated, recognized, or accepted. This is like cooking food without the sense of the chef.

Serving the Lord with that spiritual sense is also like raising children—it doesn’t just happen in the physical sphere. For example, when we are with our children and watching them grow, we need to see beyond activities to sense their condition, needs and stage of life. If we are not present in a “life” way in addition to a physical way, we might miss crucial moments that are actually opportunities to serve our children. When we are all together singing a song, the most enjoyable thing is not ourselves, but watching our younger generation. There is a certain stage in human life in which children are in a maturing process where they are partially mature, partially naive, not yet fully awakened. This is a critical period of development in children. Parents should be the first ones to notice these changes in their children, and they need to be present when their children are changing. When those moments happen, we are available. We are present. The joy—the fruit of the love—will actually nurture all of the parents, all of the servants of the Lord, as well. This is the only reward to the parents who are raising their children, to those servants.

Just as parents, all the servants of the Lord need this spiritual sense to serve. They need to be present, sensitive, and alert to the small changes in their children, to notice and participate in the changes underneath the surface. Servants of the Lord need to dive deep—to have another sense beyond the physical things—to be able to serve the deeper things. Many people may know how to cook, but an experienced and mature chef has a deeper sense for the material and method to serve fine cuisine. We need to not only have that specific sense of life, which is fundamental to our salvation, but also 𝑚𝑎𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑠𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑒 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑠𝑒𝑟𝑣𝑖𝑛𝑔. When we serve our relationships in the church with that precise, matured sensitivity, that is where the realization of truth is. The word “truth” means the reality incarnated in the Body. Our sensitivity to life makes us realize the truth in reality. Without this understanding, churching is just teaching and doctrine; it is just a good theory, a good idea, a good religion. In our churching, we need the incarnation—the spiritual sense realized in us. The church is the last Adam. The word “last” means ultimate—the full completion, the total consummation of a reality. Joined to Christ, the church hosts the truth as reality, as a sphere of being: a sphere where your being is true, where nothing is unreal. The church life is courageous: we are tabernacling, we are ushering in and entering this spiritual reality in the physical domain.

We are not claiming we host the reality of all things, but we do have that entrance. And that entrance is hiding in plain sight among us everyday. We must grow in this spiritual sense in our daily life. For instance, we might think, how can we talk about or experience the cross on a family trip, at work, doing the dishes or exercising? We may not see the cross being taught, but the cross is always there. There are many spiritual things like this often hiding in plain sight. Calling on the Lord’s name, doing morning watch, reading the Bible, being in fellowship or having that intuition are no longer theory. No matter if someone’s condition is fleshly or spiritual, no matter if the environment is good or bad, no matter what we do—parenting, working, talking with a brother or sister—we don’t do anything without hosting the sense of life, the truth tabernacling in us. It is not an exercise as a chore, but simply living out the reality of the spiritual domain.

𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜 𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐝𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭. 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐲 𝐚𝐧 𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐧 𝐝𝐨𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐝𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐧. That spiritual sensitivity is everything from the beginning of our spiritual life to the end. It is not a theory or something you can be taught. It is all from that very source of life, the Word tabernacling among us, full of grace and reality. Don’t miss this. When we have a wonderful church life we can accomplish many things, but for what? What memory will last? Don’t be fooled by the outward physical things; we may secure our houses and miss the Lord, or secure our children’s futures and lose our relationship with them. Don’t get caught or frustrated in the physical things and miss out on the spiritual domain. If you have this sensitivity, you have a great responsibility to usher in the reality of churching, to make your churchlife memorable and meaningful in the spiritual domain.

Serving ones can never only serve the surface things of the church, and the church life can never be frustrated by physical things not going a certain way. Everything is planned by the Lord, including the physical. Even a twisted ankle or a car accident can be because of the Lord. In these physical circumstances, serving ones know to stay alert to the Lord in their spirit. They are not distracted by the outward things. True serving ones are those who know that nothing is because of our work. If nothing goes according to plan, then these are the ones rejoicing that it is the Lord’s way. The only way for us to understand this is if we are romantic, loving, watchful and loyal—then we will be desperate to have a mature sense to serve the church in the spiritual domain, not just in the physical.

(𝐴𝑏𝑜𝑣𝑒 𝑖𝑠 𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑡 2 𝑜𝑓 𝑎 𝑠𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑠 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑝𝑖𝑙𝑒𝑑 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝑛𝑜𝑡𝑒𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑓𝑒𝑙𝑙𝑜𝑤𝑠ℎ𝑖𝑝 𝑡𝑎𝑘𝑒𝑛 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝑎 𝑔𝑎𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑜𝑛 06/14/2020, 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑟𝑒𝑣𝑖𝑒𝑤𝑒𝑑 𝑏𝑦 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑎𝑘𝑒𝑟. 𝑅𝑒𝑎𝑑 𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑡 1 ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒.)