June 21
  
THE MINISTRY OF THE INTERIOR 

"But ye are . . . a royal priesthood." 1 Peter 2:9

By what right do we become "a royal priesthood"? By the right of the Atonement. Are we prepared to leave ourselves resolutely alone and to launch out into the priestly work of prayer? The continual grubbing on the inside to see whether we are what we ought to be generates a self-centred, morbid type of Christianity, not the robust, simple life of the child of God. Until we get into a right relationship to God, it is a case of hanging on by the skin of our teeth, and we say - What a wonderful victory I have got. There is nothing indicative of the miracle of Redemption in that. Launch out in reckless belief that the Redemption is complete, and then bother no more about yourself, but begin to do as Jesus Christ said - pray for the friend who comes to you at midnight, pray for the saints, pray for all men. Pray on the realization that you are only perfect in Christ Jesus, not on this plea - "O Lord, I have done my best, please hear me." 

How long is it going to take God to free us from the morbid habit of thinking about ourselves? We must get sick unto death of ourselves, until there is no longer any surprise at anything God can tell us about ourselves. We cannot touch the depths of meanness in ourselves. There is only one place where we are right, and that is in Christ Jesus. When we are there, then we have to pour out for all we are worth in this ministry of the interior.

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As priests, which according to scripture we are, we are to be other centered to minister to others.  Any time we allow ourselves to dwell on our "unworthiness" to "intercede for" or "minister to" others, we grieve the Holy Spirit.  The "at-one-ment" of Jesus is the only thing that makes us worthy to minister to others at all.  If we think that we can do anything to help make ourselves worthy, we challenge the idea that Jesus blood and His blood alone redeems us.  Any challenge of the complete sufficiency of Jesus sacrifice for us, renders our prayers and intercessions for others as useless.  Any prayer which is "dirtied" by any self focus or self rightness, is thwarted.

If we dwell at all, on our continued failures to live perfectly sinless lives, we in essence wallow in penance.  Penence itself is sin, since it is selfish and self focused.  Penance suggests also that I can by self flagelation pay for at least some of my sins.  But since the essence of sin, is any selfishness, I deny both the power of God and the grace of God.

You might as well be engaged in your favorite activity as opposed to being in prayer if your prayers leave any room at all for selfishness.  It is all about God.  It is not about me.  Dwell dear christian on the presence of God within.  Seek only that God's presence within you increases while the self presence within you decreases.  This the model of Jesus for us.  And as we are filled with the Holy Spirit (not with our own spirit), all of our actions and attitudes then become those of God Himself.  We cease to be imitators (imposters might be a better word) and begin to be Jesus incarnate today.  This is what Paul penned in Galations 2:20.