Vol 4 No. 2

June 1979

Dedicated To An Expanded Awareness of God's "Mystery ... Which Is Christ In You"

Bill Volkman

You search the Scriptures, because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is these that bear witness of Me, and you are unwilling to come to Me, that you may have life. John 5:39,40

T he Bible labels Solomon as the wisest man to have ever lived in the past, or to ever live in the future. But that label was an enigma to me for many years when I thought of his seven hundred wives and three hundred concubines and the resultant confusion in his life. How could a person who had "wisdom and very great discernment and breadth of mind, like the sand that is on the seashore", that "surpassed the wisdom of all the sons of the east and all the wisdom of Egypt" (1 Kings 4), start his reign as king with such an advantage and end it in total disillusionment and frustration? The answer lies in seeing the proper distinction between the words "knowledge", "wisdom", and "understanding". A failure to properly distinguish these words will keep the door of comprehension closed on many Scriptural passages, as well as on many life situations.

KNOWLEDGE, WISDOM

AND UNDERSTANDING

DISTINGUISHED

The term "knowledge" can include both intellectual knowing (information) and inner knowing (enlightment). The former, without the latter, is impersonal and deadening, but the two together are creatively life-giving to both ourselves and those around us. As used in this article, "knowledge" is assumed to include spiritual knowledge-a mature recognition and enlightenment of the One who is THE PRINCIPLE and THE LAW of all of life.

True knowledge includes both the knowledge of THE PRINCIPLE ("the knowledge of the Holy One", a person) as well as the knowledge of spiritual principles ("the knowledge of His will", as revealed in the Bible). To know THE PRINCIPLE is to know principles, but the reverse is not true. Though exposure to God's principles can teach us much about Him who is the PRINCIPLE, it is imperative that we see Him in the principles, as all objective principles must be subjectively applied to life situations. Paul's longing was "to know Him" (Phil.3:10), not

UNION LIFE JUNE 1979 Page 3

just to know more about Him and His principles.

"Wisdom", or advice, is a recommended decision or course of conduct based on knowledge. Wisdom is the application of proper principles (laws-the way things work) to life situations. Faced with major decisions in the kingdom which he inherited from his father, Solomon asked for wisdom-the gift of "discernment to understand justice". Though the granting of this gift enabled him to properly judge and serve the people of his kingdom, it was no guarantee that he would apply wisdom in the personal decisions affecting his own life.

"Understanding", or demonstration, is personal application of wisdom to a life situation. All understanding is wisdom, but wisdom is not necessarily understanding. Solomon was able to discern good and evil for the benefit of his people, but he failed miserably to personally apply his wisdom. He wrote most of the book of Wisdom (Proverbs), but another of his books, Ecclesiastes, reveals the frustration that ensues when knowledge and wisdom are not properly applied in our personal lives. This explanation of the distinction between wisdom and understanding accounts for the disparity between the good advice given by Solomon to others, and his personal, miserable performance.

The application of "understanding" in a marriage relationship is a prime illustration. Have you ever noticed how simple it is to give good marital advice compared to following that same advice in your own marriage? If I had followed my own advice to others through the years, the first 34 years of my marriage would have been a lot smoother. A lot of people raised their eyebrows when they heard recently that Ann Landers, the respected marriage consultant, was being divorced after 25 or 30 years of marriage. Giving advice is always easier than following it.

Many books agree that 1 Peter 3:7 is key advice for husbands-"You husbands likewise, live with your wives in an understanding way as with a weaker vessel, since she is a woman; and grant her honor as a fellow-heir of the grace of life." But what is the primary ingredient in "an understanding way" that is so all-important? The answer is: a willingness to die that others may live. 2 Corinthians 4:12 says, "So death works in us, but life in you." Nature and Scripture are replete with illustrations that there is no new life without prior substitute death. A husband must live in a way in which he constantly acknowledges his co-death and co-resurrection with Christ, that his wife might live. (Wives would guarantee themselves happier and more fulfilling marriages if they too lived with their spouses "in an understanding way".)

Understanding is demonstrated by self-giving love. Once again, acknowledgment based on inner awareness is the key. Acknowledge union-life. Acknowledge your death to sin, the Law and the flesh. Acknowledge the replaced life-that new life in Christ with its resultant self-giving love. This is the volitional response that will bring you to a new awareness that you truly are a person of understanding.

PRINCIPLE,

OR PRINICIPLES

A couple of years ago I completed the syllabus for a Christian growth seminar which I entitled "The Designer's Blueprint For Happiness". Based on the eight qualities of life listed in 2 Peter 1:5-7, I had developed a practical systematic theology using a multitude of scriptural insights. The mimeographed materials that were to be given to students consisted over three hundred pages of principles, illustrations and readings.

Only recently I saw that to try to see Scriptural principles without seeing Him who is THE PRINCIPLE is to try to see truths without seeing Him who is Truth. To try to see life without seeing Him who is Life is like trying to see love without seeing Him who is Love. The entire emphasis and approach of my syllabus had to be changed. (Do you know anyone who wants to buy 30,000 sheets of scratch paper cheap?)

There is a wonderful emphasis today on the principles of Scripture. Those who are called to this emphasis (as I was for many years) are heeding the admonition to "teach and preach these principles" (1 Tim.6:2). When properly seen as witnesses to Him who is THE PRINCIPLE of life, principles are great. But these principles must not degenerate into a new law. Man has always gravitated toward the law, because there is always that residue of hope that in our "separated selves" there dwells some good thing (even though Romans 7:18 says unequivocably, "For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh").

The songwriter brother of the evangelist, John Wesley, was Charles Wesley. He bordered on union-life truth when he capitalized the word "Principle" in his song, "I want a Principle within". But his use of the word "want" is to speak a word of separation and unbelief, instead of a word of faith. Another song needs to be written with a title that is a positive acknowledgment: "I have a Principle within".

Unless we come to Christ when we come to the Scriptures (or to a Bible study, or to a church service, or to a "Jesus" rally, or to a Seminar on principles, or to any other meeting or fellowship), we will not receive Life. We might receive mental comprehension, or have our ears tickled, or experience a subjective "high"; but we will not receive that Life which manifests itself in love to others.

"Let no one act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day-things which are a mere shadow of what is to come, but the substance belongs to Christ" (Col.2:16,17). As mature, free spirits, we have a single eye on Him who is THE PRINCIPLE, and we do not have to look to human advice or even Scriptural principles for our decisions. Though I appreciate many of those who are involved in the current "shepherding" emphasis in some Charismatic circles, the failure of the leaders to adequately help the "sheep" to see their full competency in Christ will retard their growth and reinforce feelings of guilt, inadequacy and incompetence. It would not be inaccurate to say that the shepherding emphasis is turning many legitimate groups into "cults".

Many of us have been challenged for years to study the Scripture because of the admonition of 2 Timothy

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0

2:15-"Study to show thyself approved unto God, etc." We interpreted this to mean that the more we studied the Scriptures, the more approved we would be of God. Once again we erroneously assumed that performance based on principles would gain God's approval.

But that same verse paraphrased from a union-life perspective brings you to a far different and far superior application. "Study the Scriptures and 'handle accurately the word of truth', that you might prove to yourself that you are approved by God. Study to show how approved you are in Christ." The primary purpose of the Bible is not to underscore our need, but to reveal the fact that complete Supply is available within each individual.

What is your reaction when people interrupt your Bible study or devotional times? Would your spiritual temperature drop substantially if you couldn't have those times for a couple of weeks? As important as the Scriptures are, they are still just a witness of pre-existing inner Truth. We must have an inner consciousness of Union and Oneness with God when we come to the Bible, or we will not experience His Life, which is Love.

THE FOOLISHNESS

OF HEAD KNOWLEDGE

When we are exposed to someone who really "knows the Word", most of us tend to be very impressed. We erroneously assume that there is a correlation between how much one knows about scripture and his empirical Christian performance. If only we knew more, we too would act more "Christ-like". If only we read our Bible more, memorized more verses, and meditated more on the Word, we too would have more faith, more power, and more love. But all head knowledge, even knowledge of scriptural principles, is merely wisdom of this world, which Paul classified as "foolishness before God" (1 Cor.3:19).

Since I am a lawyer, it is not surprising that for years I have catalogued the commandments and principles of Scripture just as lawyers catalogue the legal rulings of the various courts of law. Only a proverbial Philadelphia lawyer can understand some to the fine-line distinctions which courts have drawn to justify their decisions. And only a Philadelphia theologian can distinguish all of the seemingly conflicting statements of the Bible. Certainly most reasonable men would have trouble reconciling the two statements in each of the pairs of verses set out below, as well as a hundred other pairs that might be cited.

Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee. Mark 5:19 (Share your testimony with others.)

And he charged them that they should tell no man Mark 7:36 (Do not share your testimony with others.)

Carry no purse, no bag, no shoes. Luke 10:4 (Take no provisions.)

But now, let him who has a purse take it along Luke 22.•35 (Take provisions when you go out.)

++++

There remains no sacrifice for sins. Heb. 10:26 (You can fall from Grace.)

No one shall snatch them out of My hand. John 10:28 (You cannot fall from Grace.)

Undoubtedly, some readers will have no trouble distinguishing and delineating one or more of the above pairs, based on historical context, or on another translation of the Greek, or on dispensationalism, or on Old Testament prophecy, or on something. But I said "most reasonable men" would have difficulty.

In any event, we must learn that none of the above principles, nor any others, are meant to be absolutes that are to apply to every comparable situation. The fact is that it is just as impossible to identify the "comparable situation" as it is to delineate the principles. Have you ever noticed how often godly men with different persuasions and contrary advice come up with a reasonable scriptural basis to justify their approach to the same problem? Who and what are we going to listen to? Any attempt to make decisions based solely on the outer application of supposedly objective principles of Scripture is foolishness.

Man's desire to classify truth and automatically apply principles to life's questions is just another manifestation of his love for creeds and mental beliefs. I'm surprised that some enterprising Christian has not devised an IBM computer program which would "scripturally determine the will of God" as to any question fed into the computer. With the advent of computerized dating and mating, why not a computerized will of God?

I am convinced that God purposely introduced the contrast of seemingly conflicting principles in the Bible so that in his frustration man would turn to the inner Source for his answers. Inner knowing, not head knowledge, is the proper basis for making a decision. Both wisdom and understanding are given to man by intuition and revelation. "If any man lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all men generously" (James 1:5). The asking does not necessarily take the conventional form of prayer, but rather is an attitude of Christconsciousness. With such an awareness we have confidence that our decisions are His decisions.

God's advice is "Be still and know that I am God" (Ps.46:10). Man has changed it to, "Become something on earth by knowing more principles about God who is in heaven." Instead of just "being" (experiencing unified existence), we stress "becoming" (attainment). Instead of inner knowing with the heart, we stress outer knowing with the mentality. Since our premises are based on a separated outlook (we are earthbound and God is in heaven), our final conclusion is also separated. Instead of coming to the truth that "I am a form of the unified God right now", we conclude that He wants us to be quiet and worship Him as an external God, with the hope that someday (presumably after the rapture) things will be different.

John 5:39,40 could well be paraphrased, "You search the scriptures for principles, as if in the principles you have life. Though the principles do bear witness of me, you must see through the principles to Me if you really want Life." It is the awareness of our union with Christ and his expressions here on earth that brings life, not the mental absorption of principles. Face the truth that even Scriptural principles are foolishness unless we see through to THE PRINCIPLE within.

UNION LIFE JUNE 1979 Page 5

Editor: One of our readers in California (Elanor) sent me a copy of a letter from a close friend in Illinois (Agnes), together with her response to that letter. The light that comes from this sequence of letters is well worth sharing. Letter writing can be a rewarding ministry if our letters encourage our friends to see with a single eye and refocus on the Christ within.

Dear Bill,

I'm free, praise the Lord, I'm free!

First, I want to apologize for not writing sooner to tell you what has happened to me. For many years, I have known that God was opening my mind to receive more and more truth, and many times I would rejoice in knowing this and in the measure of freedom from various self-bondages. "Ye shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free." However, the feelings of freedom were so fleeting, and the joy that I expected seemed almost never to be there. But always there was deep peace that I was on the right track.

When I wrote you last September, I had just about finished reading my third Lanyon book and was really discouraged because the reality of freedom that I saw in the books appeared to be beyond my grasp. And I tried so hard to "grasp" it. Ed Gregory, in his periodical, "Spirit of the Word", said that his readers might like to order the three Lanyon books and the three Grubb books that had ministered to him and many others. He casually said, "If you do, you will never be the same again."

I ordered these books and remember saying before opening the first one, "Lord, Ed promised that whoever reads these six books will never be the same again. You know the desire in my heart to be free inside, and I'm expecting You to do the same for me as you have done for the others. Thank You, Lord." Within a week or two after talking with you on the phone I read the last chapter of the six books that I had ordered, and joy welled up within me. There was no more grasping, but a complete relaxing-and that rest in my spirit and feeling of free-ness has been with me ever since. Praise His Name!

Secondly, I am writing to ask you a favor. As you can see, I am enclosing a letter I recently received from my friend, Agnes. My heart goes out to her. Since you are both in the same state, I thought that you might be able to help her as you feel led. I'm also enclosing my letter of reply to her.

Thanking you, In Him, Eleanor

Dear Eleanor,

You haven't heard from me in all this time because I once again landed in the hospital for over a month. This time it was because of severe depression. I became afraid of harming myself, so I signed myself in.

Along with all my physical problems I am diagnosed as a manic-depressive having never reached the mania stage just normal, then depressed. I am being treated with lithium for this state but notice no difference in mood with the medication. I was in a great hospital with fine nurses and doctors who were extremely kind and concerned about each patient.

My doctor doesn't feel I can work for the next six months, if then, so I am on Public Aid which gives me a whopping $175.00 per month while my rent is $180.00. So to make up some of my other expenses I am baby sitting two days a week and looking for more such work.

Eleanor, my doctor says I was dealt unlucky cards, but maybe he can help me play the game. I don't know why God gave me such a deck and I do "fret" inside, but sometimes I'm with you and feel that it all is for a purpose and that the purpose has to be a glorious one. However, this feeling is still a fleeting one, and much of the time I feel all alone in a large universe. Some of my loneliness probably stems from living alone.

I thank you for the literature. I have read some of it and will have to get back to reading it some more and back to reading the Bible which I have not done in years. Slowly, slowly I believe God is working in my life, but He has such a stubborn, angry vessel in me that "fighting the good fight" has been a long, tedious, one-step-forward-three steps-backward fight.

I told you I write poetry. There is much that is angry, much that shows deep hurt, and much that wishes to be able to start life all over again. I wish you lived closer and that we could spend hours and hours talking about these things. Your letters and visits are always an inspiration to me, so please write soon, and I promise I shall answer.

Love, Agnes

Page 6 UNION LIFE

Dearest Agnes:

"Come up hither-in the Son realm, No dragon here abides.

For the sure Word now has conquered, And in Him we have our Life.

As the kingdoms of men crumble, Have no fear just stand and see; That the kingdom of our Father Is brought forth in you and me!"

"The kingdom of God

is within you." Luke 17.-21

That's where it's taking place, honey-in you. All the beasts to be overcome and the battles to be fought and won are inside of us. We are so used to eating of the tree of knowledge of good and evil and seeing with duality, that sometimes it takes years (and some never seem to realize)

before we come to know that there is a higher realm. And in this realm, we have chosen to reject the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and to partake of the tree of life. We have chosen to look not with a double vision, but to see with a single eye.

The knowledge that God is within (he that is joined to the Lord is one spirit) and that His love for us is unchangeable and eternal enables us to see and understand that He has ordained that we go through everything, so that we might ultimately be conformed to the image of His Son. No longer do we blame Satan, other people, or ourselves, for the socalled bad luck.

We want so much to be accepted and loved. So we take a look at ourselves and see how unlovable we are, look at our own faults and despise ourselves. It's no wonder others don't love us, when we can't love ourselves. But we are beautiful, lovely, priceless, perfect, whole, and fully capable of loving with a pure love, unconditionally accepting people as they are, not condemning their faults. Impossible? No! Christ lives and loves and walks in our shoes. We are crucified with Him. No longer do we live, but He lives in us. "I live, yet not I, but Christ lives in me." We reckon ourselves dead. We died with Him, were buried with Him, and are resurrected with Him. Those no-good thoughts, words, or deeds that seem to originate from us-that's not the real us. Our spirit is joined to His spirit, making one spirit; and His life is being lived in our fleshly bodies. If He chooses for a time to live a negative life, knowing that someday we'll see that that is what was necessary to change us into a positive life, then that's His business. But we don't have to be condemned by our negative thoughts! We are His business. What He has begun in us, He will consummate, and it has to turn out beautiful and perfect.

We really have no choice in the matter. He has made all of His children in His image, and if that image seems warped or deformed for awhile, just relax and watch Him put the finishing touches on.

That worm that is so ugly and works so hard squirming and fighting and struggling within the cocoon will emerge a soaring, free, beautiful butterfly. That's why it was created. The worm is perfect, though ugly; the cocoon is perfect, though struggling; and the butterfly is perfect, the finished product, free from all bondage. A baby is a perfect person, though helpless; a child is a perfect person, though going through stages of learning and struggling, and not understanding; and when a person reaches maturity, full maturity, he will be free, responsible, and perfect, for Christ is perfect. No matter where we are right now, we are a perfect manifestation of Christ on this earth. So is everyone else, from the President to the skid-row bum.

To have a single eye means to be able to look at another and see him as God sees him, without condemning him, knowing that he is exactly where God wants him to be, and

that he will become that finished product that God has destined him to become.

Relax and begin to realize who the real you is. You are so in union with Christ, that you cannot be separated. Begin the day saying, "Father, You and I are one." In everything that you do, be conscious of the fact that it's not you, but you and the Father, we, all the time. It takes conscious practice. What we are really doing, is practicing the presence of the Father every moment of the day. We are exercising mental muscles and after awhile, we automatically are aware of His presence always.

But what you mainly need to do is just to relax and allow yourself to learn to love yourself. And it is possible when you realize that you are not you, but Christ, perfect and lovable. Therefore you can love yourself, because you and Christ are inseparable and you can love Him. Set your will to no longer eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil but of the tree of life.

Your letter was precious to me. The voice that came through loud and clear was the one that is so miserable because of the circumstances, but I could also hear a faint and weak little voice that says, "I'm going to make it. I was created for a purpose and it's going to be a glorious future. I'll take one step at a time and eventually those steps will be sure and sound." The loud voice was the voice of the temporal-judging from appearances, but the other voice was the voice of the eternal. The eternal is that which is lasting and based on facts, while the temporal is counterfeit, unreal, and based on appearances.

[love you!

In Him,

Eleanor   El

UNION LIFE JUNE 1979 Page 7

Editor: The same day's mail included the two letters set out below. Each letter contains an honest, but diametrically opposed, opinion of Judi's article entitled "Oneness" from the December 1978 issue of

FROM ONE READER

No other publication is challenging me at the present as much as UNION LIFE. From cover to cover it is a tremendous blessing. I have only received four issues, but I treasure each one. Every time I look back over them I see something more to identify with. Much stands out clearly in each issue, and several writers have spoken strongly to my heart. In the March '78 issue I especially appreciated the poem by Judi entitled "I Always Have Been, I Always Will Be".

When the December issue appeared with Judi's article "Oneness"-that was almost too much! I wanted to see eyeto-eye with her, and I felt she might be right, spiritually speaking, but I wasn't quite sure. Thinking I'd better play it safe, I conceded to a friend that it probably would be wise to lay aside UNION LIFE-no use wasting time with "way-out" ideas and questionable things. But more and more I was seeing my own experiences unfold over and over again the

EDITORS RESPONSE

My dear V.S.:

How good it was to open the mail this morning and receive your stimulating letter. Believe me, the concern you address is not unique to you. I suppose that the occasional comment in the magazine that seems to ignore the distinction between the container and the contents is the basis of most of the periodic objections and admonishments.

In fact, because of such concerns, it is just this matter which is addressed most frequently in the March issue of UNION LIFE. One article is called "The Eternal Duality", and two other major articles seek to clarify this problem of people speaking as though they were Christ.

Most of the negative reactions arise because of a failure to distinguish between soul and spirit. On the spirit level we are one and it is perfectly right to say that our actions are His actions. The concept of "replacement" does not mean anything if we deny that. "It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me." Either it is true on some level or it is not. On the other

UNION LIFE. Part of my response to the one objecting to certain statements and emphases in Judi's article is given at the bottom of these pages.

same truths I had already seen expressed in the magazine.

I found myself often rereading here and there, and occasionally I'd reread Judi's article too. As God worked more and more in my life, I suddenly discovered that God was letting me "see" what she was saying. And how opposite a thing can be from what it first seems! Now I know what it means to have a "single eye". Everything becomes different within and without. Behold, He makes all things new!

UNION LIFE does much to stimulate into consciousness the maturity of Christ within. As we put Him on, He puts us on. Truly it is even as it is written, "He that is joined to the Lord is one spirit"! Jesus said, "Except ye eat my flesh and drink my blood, ye have no life in you." Thank God, we can be His will in the earth today. We can be the broken bread and poured out wine; we can have the words of eternal life through Him Who loved us and made us in His very own image!

F.S.- West Chester, PA

hand we still add: "And the life I now live...." This is the eternal duality.

I know what you mean when you said, "I can only reply to this sludge with a big 'Yuk' ". But do you reply "Yuk" when Joseph says to his brothers, "You meant it to me for evil, but God meant it for good"? Certainly that statement takes a lot of explanation. But it is in that sense that Judi said "that all sins when committed one to another are really God loving me in a perverted form". Hebrews 5 is clear: "The mature discern good and evil." But that discernment becomes the eating of the knowledge of good and evil when we fail to see God in all situations.

We all feel at times that our "understanding is split right down the middle." But in more times than not that split is a failure to see with a single eye. You say: "We cannot mix the container up with the contents..., so why give this impression?" But it is impossible to add a "caveat" to every statement in the magazine which speaks in the spirit of

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FROM ANOTHER READER

Thanks for the present issue of U/L magazine. It was much enjoyed, with the exception of the article by Judi on "Oneness".

Time and time again, after being blessed and thrilled to my spiritual core, I come across something in UNION LIFE that "throws" me. Examples are: the poem that suggested ultimate reconciliation, and then the item on the death of "Benji"- a precious and uplifting treatment until we come to the words, "It was not Benji that died but Christ again." Then the letter by a lady in which she states, "By my stripes she (her neighbour) was healed." Just the other day we received a phone call from a lady who was distressed by just such references. Though we visited her to try to explain, she no longer comes to our U/L meeting.

We cannot mix the container up with the contents. I know you will agree with me on this point, so why give the contrary impression?

Now in the article by Judi you tell us, "A sin fact musi

oneness. It is always assumed that readers know that we embrace the paradox of "unified individuality"-of "oneness within the context of twoness".

I have just written my answer to the "attacks" on me for allowing any reference to ultimate reconciliation and other such doctrines that I do not personally embrace. You can read that in the "From the Editor" section of the June issue of the magazine.

Sorry that all of this has made it necessary for you to resign from membership with your church, but the "replacement" truth of Galatians 2:20 throws a lot of people. I hope Dan and Norman and I will have an opportunity soon to meet your ex-elders, especially the one who is contemplating a booklet against U/L. If they have an explanation of Galatians 2:20 that is better than "replacement-without-the-loss-ofindividuality", I would like to hear it.

You must understand that most of us have been brought up to see in duality rather than in oneness. When the inner con

CON

somehow be a love act, from cancer to insanity." In the process of talking about an "enormous stretch of spirit understanding" my understanding is split right down the middle. When I am painting in oils, I try to keep the colours fresh and unmixed. If I mix them all together I get a muddy, sludge effect. So let's keep our colours clear in UNION LIFE and not conclude "that all sins when committed one to another are really God loving me in a perverted form, etc." I can only reply to this sludge with a big "Yuk".

The point I am trying to make is that there is enough opposition to the basics of U/L without giving our critics mud to sling about in "over-views" which in fact become error. Some of the Elders of the church I used to attend scan each issue of the magazine, and one of them is about to write a booklet against U/L teaching. Don't let us give him unnecessary ammunition.

After Norman's visit here, our Elders recalled all Norman's books and sent them to their Bible College to be reviewed by their Head-man. You will be pleased to hear that they were returned with his "OK", although some of the Elders are still suspicious. Their typical reaction is, "Though Norman Grubb's books have been a blessing through the years, has he and the other folks at UNION LIFE become so 'expanded' as not only to have lost the 'common touch' but also to have lost their roots in the Word of God?" This is the feeling amongst not only the Pentecostal but also the Evangelical Christians in our area. I love you all dearly and I do not want to see anything hinder the spread of the message God has called us to minister to the present generation.

V.S.

sciousness finally takes us we are at last content to sense continuing inner oneness even though we operate as separate individuals. Then we see "I" and "Christ as I" as the same thing. Rest assured: I will be more careful than ever to limit the "over-views" so as to minimize the misunderstanding. But when it occurs, be assured that in the "overkill" many will finally see the difference between U/L and typical Christ-in-you teaching.

The tone of your letter was wonderful. I trust that you see from this letter that I do not necessarily disagree with you, but that a measure of "Christ as me" statements in letters and articles need not be avoided. We are co-redeemers, cosaviours, co-Christs. This is the mystery of Colossians 1. If it could be easily explained by a few simple words, there would be no mystery. It will remain a mystery and secret until men "know from the rising to the setting of the sun that there is no one besides Thee!"

Kind regards, Bill Volkman

UNION LIFE JUNE 1979 Page 9

(Editors: One of our Union Life family from California sent us the letter below, together with the poems on this page. We encourage others of our readers to share something of their pilgrimages and of the light that has resulted.

Enclosed are some poems that I would like to share with you. They are a witness of the Christ in me. You should understand that to me, a woman with little academic training or education, God makes His presence within very real by sending this gift of expression through me.

I first experienced the writing of these poems as therapy which helped to bring me out of the deep depression and attempted suicide resulting from my recent divorce, loss of my home, and rejection by misunderstanding friends and family members. But now the poems just flow from me as I have come to see all these adversities as God's all-embracing love, meant to reveal Himself to me and through me.

Currently God is removing more of my crutches, and I now find myself living 3,000 miles from all that has been known and familiar to me for the last 30 years-a stranger in a strange land. My copious tears and panicky feelings attest to my pain. But, praise God, He has assured me that He is taking me to the Promised Land. Having brought me out of the land of my bondage, across the sea of my fears, through the wilderness of my doubts, to this last river of tears, He has let me know that I have come to this place for total immersion in Him. To be lost in Him is the "good" I am now ready to take-have already taken in faith-and so I stand and will see the salvation of the Lord.

For all His sons and daughters who serve me as confirming witnesses through Union Life Ministries I give thanks and praise. Because of our oneness of faith, and the countless variety within that oneness, I know what it is to belong to the family of God.

Thanks and praise be to God Who is the Author and Finisher of my faith. Bless you all.

Yours in Christ,

Edna Price-Pacifica, CA

FEAR NOT HIS SWORD

Though His sword be raised against you, Oh, do not fear its fall, In pruning, the Master Gardener Shows the tenderest love of all.

I

IN THE SHADOW

Reluctantly I come to the shadow For it is in this place of pain, That I would rather curse the hurt And run away

Than bless it

And stay and learn.

THE TRINITY

He reigns - governs - the Father He rains - gives - the Son He reins - guides - the Spirit.

AT THE JORDAN

Out of the land of my bondage, Across the sea of my fears,

Through the wilderness of my doubts, To this last river of tears, You've brought me, Lord, And I thank you,

That at last I long to be Immersed and lost in Thy Spirit, Forever one with Thee.

THE SECRET

The feel of knowing Christ in me,

The sense of "all is well", Is far beyond All written words To ever, ever tell.

THE LETTER VS. THE SPIRIT OF THE LAW Discipline imposed by demand Reaches only the goal of another remand; Discipline released by desire Goes forward to goals higher and higher.

Page 10 UNION LIFE

Content As

Contained

A fellow "Found Christian" recently shared with me these basics of his heart and life: "I wouldn't change a single thing in my life: I wouldn't want to be younger or older, richer or poorer, more or less educated, married to any other woman, father to any different children, have my children any less a comfort or challenge, change the color of my skin or even have better health."

Needless to say, this Believer had learned with Paul and others the joy of being content in our containment of God, whatsoever his "state of BEing" happened to be (Phil.4:11). Who can add a cubit to his stature anyway? Our destiny is already His determined will, not for us only, but also as us.

The practical outworking of this inworked contentment in full salvation was evidenced in this Finder's happy outlook on (in) Life. There was no room for pessimism or distraughtness because none existed in true reality. This is always the testimony of ONE Who sees through the clouds of life to the ever-present blue sky. Though that particular encounter lasted but a full day, the day was one of unique pleasure. It was sheer delight to share an entire day with one who was a resting, quiet spirit come alive as the Spirit of God. Eternity now, as then, has the promise of endless similar encounters.

Once containment of God is realized, contentment is both eminent and often immediate. The overflowing will be our consistent testimony of Him as our Grace. Restlessness arrested in Him will be substituted by quietness of soul and Spirit, even when outer surround