What's under the surface?

When I toured Israel I noted rounded hills in many places. They were usually covered with vegetation, like an ordinary hill, yet often were out of place, rising up from a plain incongruously. Our guide told us that these were 'tells.' A tell is a hill or mound created by human beings who lived on the site. They are like a layer cake. When one civilization was wiped out, usually by war, but sometimes by natural disaster; the next settlers on the site would level the rubble, use what they could, and build a new village on the site. Some of the tells have 20 or more layers! We visited one site where the tell had been dug into leaving a sheer face, so that visitors could see the various layers, the earliest of which dated back thousands of years. It was fascinating to think that I was looking at the work of people who lived hundreds or thousands of years before Jesus walked the pathways of Israel.

You and I live on tells, not physically, but emotionally! Under the surface of my life there is an accumulation of ideas, concepts, and values that were put there by previous generations. The way that I see life, the way that I think, didn't begin new with me, nor with my father, nor even with his father! My life is built on a foundation laid down layer by layer by those who lived before me. That's not always a bad thing! For example, I am very thankful for the Western values of self-determination and freedom that date back hundreds of years to the Reformation of Martin Luther. I am even more thankful for the ancient wisdom of Christianity that I now own which teaches me of love, compassion, and about knowing a personal God, who cares for me. But, under the surface of my life, there are also some not so good ideas, some parts of the foundation, that need to be dug out and discarded.

Part of becoming a person who lives wholly involves coming to understand what's in the rubble of the emotional tell on which life is built! Yeah, I know-- Psychologists work the whole 'parent' thing to death, so much that it is a kind of standing joke. "It's not my fault. I just needed better parents." Jokes aside, we are a product of our parents and our culture. The emotional and intellectual foundations that they passed along to us do effect the way that we think and therefore, the way that we live.

Here's the good news! The Divine Archaeologist knows what's under the surface and He knows how to make us into new creations that are built on the best foundations and rid of the worst parts of the rubble of the past. He promises - "Now we look inside, and what we see is 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

We must not mistakenly think that this is a magical process that happens without our participation. When you and I receive Christ as Savior, as Lord, as Master - He begins the work in us through the Holy Spirit that makes us alive to God. But spiritual formation is a continuing process, a kind of archaeological dig in our psyche, through the stuff of memory, through the cultural assumptions, that lie beneath the surface. He helps us to properly understand those things, to give them their right value. For Christ Jesus, by the Presence of the Spirit, wants us whole and holy, marked with the likeness of our Savior.

Do you have any idea why you do the things you do, why you think the way that you think?
Have you ever started to sift through the 'stuff' that is just below the surface?
It can be fascinating and frightening at the same time. There will be "aha" moments when you realize, "so that's why I believe that," or "that's where that comes from."
As we go under the surface with the help of the Spirit, remember this - we are not looking for excuses to continue to sin, but rather cooperating with God in the process of becoming whole for the glory of God.

Here's a word from the Word to ponder today. Take it, not as a threat, but a promise of healing!God means what he says. What he says goes. His powerful Word is sharp as a surgeon’s scalpel, cutting through everything, whether doubt or defense, laying us open to listen and obey. -- Hebrews 4:12 The Message
_________________________

Are you puzzled by the way that you're behavin'?
Do you wonder why you do the things you do?
Are you troubled by your lack of resistance?
Do you feel that something's got a hold on you?

Are you livin' in an old man's rubble?
Are you listenin' to the Father of lies?
If you are, then you're headed for trouble,
If you listen too long you'll eventually die.

If you're livin' as a new creation,
If you're listenin' to the Father of light.
Then you're livin' in a mighty fortress,
And you're gonna be clothed in power and might.

Well deep within you there's a spiritual battle,
There's a voice of the darkness and a voice of the light.
And just by list'ning you've made a decision,
'Cause the voice you hear is gonna win the fight.

© 1977 Word Music, Inc. (a div. of Word Music Group, Inc.) CCLI License No. 810055