The Affirmative Principle

Does the Word have some sort of expiration date I didn't know about? A best used by but maybe could still be okay for a little bit after just not as good? Like food, does it become unhealthy to consume after a certain point?

Why would the Lord write something that would go out of date? After the Lord's first coming the old testament did not expire. 

Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. Matthew 5:17

Even after the Lord's second coming, the old and new testaments are not to be thrown out or disregarded. The Lord's Word is never going to be unhealthy. If we are allergic to it that is not because there is something wrong with it that needs to be changed. We can't substitute gluten free doctrine just so we don't react poorly to it. Of course we have sensitivities to the Word! It is not going to sit right with us, because we are not right!

And I went unto the angel, and said unto him, Give me the little book. And he said unto me, Take it, and eat it up; and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey. Revelation 10:9

The only way to approach the Word is to assume that the Lord is telling us the truth. That He is not misleading us or gave us some kind of Where's Waldo where we have to look through it for something we recognize.

There are therefore two principles; one of which leads to all folly and insanity, and the other to all intelligence and wisdom. The former principle is to deny all things, or to say in the heart that we cannot believe them until we are convinced by what we can apprehend, or perceive by the senses; this is the principle that leads to all folly and insanity, and is to be called the negative principle. The other principle is to affirm the things which are of doctrine from the Word, or to think and believe within ourselves that they are true because the Lord has said them: this is the principle that leads to all intelligence and wisdom, and is to be called the affirmative principle. Arcana Coelestia 2568:4

I'm not saying that understanding the Word is easy. But it's easier if you assume that is is right. The hardest thing we have to do in life is make decisions. Decisions are really hard, man! My last blog post was about how marriage is the opposite of dating. One of the things that makes marriage SO much better than dating is it's one less decision to make. With dating you have to figure out a HUGE decision: Do you want to spend the rest of your life with this human? With marriage the answer is always yes. You have already made the hardest decision. But it's made. All you have to do now is make a million more decisions, but that one is set in stone.

The same goes for reading the Word. If you constantly have to be wondering if the Lord actually means what He says then it's exhausting hard work. Just assume that He knows what He's doing. AND He knew what He was doing a couple thousand years ago when He told people to write down His Word. Our problems aren't new. He even knew about every single thing we're facing in 2018, and He wrote about it a long time ago. And it's still active and living today. There is no expiration date on the Truth.

Stop dating the Word. Be committed to it. It makes life so much easier if you do.

Look Into Each Other's Eyes.

Sometimes you put everyone else's needs and desires above your own. And sometimes you do it for so long and so often that you feel entitled to putting your own needs first for awhile.

I think that's a mistake. We are never entitled to putting ourself above others. There's no conversion chart for being nice for so long and then being allowed to store up on selfishness.

Yes there are moments when you have to take care of yourself. But there is a thin line where it becomes selfishness.

That thin line is a scary thing.

I have to stand up for myself. I have to hold my ground. I can't let myself be walked on or used or drained. But when does walling up inside become selfishness?

My calendar has gorgeous photos and often twippy little saying to go along with: "Be gentle with yourself and be gentle with others. Remember, you are all souls on a human journey, with lessons to learn along the way. Look into each other's eyes and see the innocent child that dwells within. Let compassion be your touchstone and your creed."

Compassion is something I have really resonated with for years. I mean, everyone strives for compassion, right? I hope so, anyway.

Several years ago I was reading Exodus chapter 2, the story of Pharaoh's daughter finding Moses. In verse 6 it says: "And she opened [the basket], and saw him, the child; and behold the boy was weeping. And she had compassion on him, and said, This is from the children of the Hebrews."

I was immediately struck by this because I definitely have a strong reaction to babies crying. I always want to hold the baby and take care of it. Sometimes to a fault where I just want to take the baby from its mother. Not because I don't think the mother can handle it, but because if a baby is crying I just want to hold it!

But there is more to this verse. In the Heavenly Doctrine for the New Church, it explains the deeper meaning to this verse:

"And she had compassion on him. That this signifies admonition from the Divine, is evident from the signification of "having compassion," as being an influx of charity from the Lord; for when anyone from charity sees another in misery (as here Pharaoh's daughter saw the child in the ark of rush and weeping), compassion arises; and as this is from the Lord, it is an admonition. Moreover, when they who are in perception feel compassion, they know that they are admonished by the Lord to give aid." Arcana Coelestia 6737

I read this years ago and that last line has always stuck with me. "Admonished by the Lord to give aid."

This applies to more than crying infants. I see a friend hurting and my heart aches. I want to reach out to them as Pharoah's daughter did to Moses. It is my dream to nurture people. I feel called by the Lord to give aid. But I don't always know how to follow through on a calling. I am often crippled (as I've said many times before on this blog) by perfection. If I don't know how to do a thing right, I won't even try, and that is not what the Lord wants.

But the truth is, having compassion is vulnerable. As my calendar said, "Look into each other's eyes." It is vulnerable and sometimes draining to take on someone else's sorrow, or even their joys! Compassion is a hard thing to balance. I am still learning how to care.

Stop Running

Worrying, worrying, worrying! A friend brought this passage to my attention a few weeks ago and it hasn't left my head: "They that hate you shall have dominion over you; and you shall flee when none pursues you." Leviticus 26:17

"They that hate you shall have dominion over you." He pointed out that this is like handing over the keys of your house to someone who hates you and saying, "Here are all the things I care about. Have at it!"

When we fret and worry, we invite evil into our lives. We invite all these bad thoughts in, and turn over our emotional state to someone who hates us.

"I feel awful. Come in, come in! Make me feel worse! Wreck my entire house!"

Do you remember when you were a child and you felt like the world was ending, and then your mom gave you a snack and you felt better? Like instantly? Or maybe you've forgotten, but observed a baby screaming and then food is presented and immediately they're fine.

As a parent you can watch and see that the world is ending for your child. You know that dinner will be ready in ten minutes and your child will be fine. But they can't see that. They can't see that in a matter of minutes whatever they think is horribly wrong with the world won't even matter as soon as they get some food in them. As a parent it's probably pretty easy to dismiss the meltdown.

But if we put ourselves in the place of the child, and the Lord in the place of the parent. Does He ever dismiss out meltdowns? I doubt it. I bet He cares, even if He can see that we'll be fine in a week/month/year/5 years.

A parent can foresee that their child will be fine once they've eaten, slept, or even just obeyed. In the same way, but with infinitely more love and patience, He is looking down at us knowing we'll be okay. It will work out so much better if we obey His Word, obey His loving commandments!

He can foresee that this anxiety I'm having will pass. He can see that this is a minor thing compared to eternity. I can see that too. When I stop to look at my life, I can see that wondering if anyone has ordered gray paint is not that important. And that perspective can remind me not to worry. But the Lord also doesn't want us to feel bad for feeling bad.

Back to the small child tantruming about supper not being ready. Imagine if the child could reflect on its actions. Given enough rationality and thought, maybe the child could reflect and realize that freaking out isn't going to help, in fact it might even delay dinner if mom is distracted by said child.

That's a good use of reflection, but sometimes reflection pushes into a dark place because we have given the keys of our mind over to someone who hates us. More common, I find, is that the child (adult) reflects, realizes they're being a pill about supper (life) and then gets really mad at themselves for tantruming over something so insignificant.

"You will run when none pursues you." We make life way more difficult on ourselves than necessary.

Reflection is good. It stops us from tantruming about dumb things. We should reflect and it helps us to turn and live a better life, but we do not need run when we aren't being pursued. We need to shun evils and live a better life. But a better life doesn't mean one of constant worry and looking over our shoulder for an enemy that isn't there.

Safeguard your home against such invasion. Kick out the evil from your home. Don't give evil spirits free reign on your mind. Don't run away from nothing. Calm down. The Lord is on your side.

The Only Love You Need

It is easy to feel alone in this world. Even surrounded by good people it can still feel like there's a lot of hard in the world. And, at least for me, it can feel really lonely. Even when people love me, I can feel really alone. So while out walking I had a really obvious realization:


The only love I need is the Lord’s love.


Yes I need to love and serve other people, but I don’t do that for their good opinion or to earn their love. I do it because I’m supposed to.

Can I do anything to make the Lord love me more? Can I do anything to make the Lord love me less?

No. The Lord’s love is unconditional. He loves us all. And we receive His love through grace. We can do nothing to change His love for us.

He will continue loving me no matter what I do. I think that too often I feel like I have done something that will make me unworthy of His love. But that is how I feel. Not how He feels.

His love is to eternity. His mercy is to eternity. Nothing we do can change His constant love reaching out to us, offering us His grace.

But the Lord’s love is not what saves us. We are given so much more than we deserve, but because of His love He does not save us.

Because He loves us He gives us freedom. Freedom to choose Him or to turn from Him.

But He will love us constantly. And that is what gives us the ability to choose Him. His love for us is constantly drawing us to Him. But we can choose to turn from Him because we have freedom.

He offers us unconditional love. He offers us redemption. He is constantly working to bring us back to Him, but He cannot do it against our will. We have to turn toward Him with all our heart, with our mind, and with our actions.

"Ye are My friends if ye do the things which I command you; I have chosen you, that ye should bear fruit, and your fruit should abide" (John 15:14, 16).