Knowing
how our emotions work, understanding the ongoing effect of past experiences,
learning about our personality can be quite useful. Therapists give us tools
that aid in overcoming self-destructive ways and addictions. But, Freud is no
replacement for Jesus Christ! At the core of the Gospel is the promise of our transformation.
A religion focused on self-help is not Christianity.
The
true Gospel offers spiritual transformation. If we turn Jesus into the Great
Therapist instead of the Great Savior, we are stealing His power, exchanging
the truth for a half-truth; yes, in essence a lie. People broken by the evil of
this world need more than someone who soothes. They want to be healed! Our Savior
reveals the deceptions. He is the Light that shows us the Way, to life and to
the love of our Father. Psychology is a tool for dealing with dysfunctional
human behaviors but it has its limits. At the end of the road of counseling, we
kneel and accept the Lord Jesus. The
Word promises that "anyone united
with the Messiah gets a fresh start, is created new. The old life is gone; a
new life burgeons! Look at it!" (2 Corinthians 5:17, The Message)
The
Therapeutic Jesus is a Friend that we talk to, sharing our burdens, finding
love and understanding. He is more than a Friend. He is the Lord, the Savior,
the Mediator who bridges the wide gap between us and our Creator! He not only
listens with empathy, He is able to change us and heal us by giving us the
Spirit to live in us! The Word says, "He
is also able to save to the uttermost
those who come to God through Him." (Hebrews 7:25, NKJV) Another
version states the wonderful promise like this - "Jesus is the one who guarantees this better covenant with God.
... Jesus lives forever, his priesthood lasts forever. Therefore he is able, once and forever, to save those
who come to God through him. He lives forever to intercede with God on
their behalf. He is the kind of high priest we need because he is holy and
blameless, unstained by sin. He has been set apart from sinners and has been
given the highest place of honor in heaven. ... he offered himself as the
sacrifice for the people's sins." (Hebrews 7:22-27, NLT)
Have
you 'psychologized' Jesus?
Have
you made Him a kind of super "Dr. Phil" without really realizing it?
Do
you talk over your fears, problems, failures, and sins with Him but without the expectation that He can
do more than just listen and advise?
He
is the Lord of Glory who came to 'save
us from our sins.'
When
you discover why you act in ways that are harmful, why you cannot trust others,
why you are full of rage; learn and understand. Tell Him you want forgiveness,
that you want to be healed, that you want to overcome fear, doubt, and
dysfunction. Expect the power of the Spirit to begin working deeply in you, not
just to comfort, but to change you from the inside out. He can, and He will. Receive Him with new faith. Follow Him to the
Cross, into suffering and death, and into a new life marked by the Eternal Life
of the Spirit.
The
word from the Word is full of promise of inner change- "Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite
value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything
else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ. .... I want to
know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead. I
want to suffer with him, sharing in his death, so that one way or another I
will experience the resurrection from the dead!" (Philippians 3:10-11,
NLT)
__________________
"Ye chosen seed of Israel's
race,
Ye ransomed from the Fall,
Hail Him who saves you by His grace,
and crown Him, Lord of All.
All Hail the pow'r of Jesus' Name,
let angels prostrate fall,
bring forth the royal diadem,
and crown Him, Lord of All!"
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