Walking Alongside Ourselves

The great Christian mystic Leanne Payne has a compelling phrase that she uses in one of her books: "walking along ourselves." She uses that term to describe when we live only in our own presence instead of living in the presence of God.

This morning as I was journalling I found myself telling God that I wanted to repent of walking alongside myself instead of Him. My thoughts were then drawn to the five instances in John's Gospel where he quotes Jesus saying that He comes, speaks or does nothing, as the New American Standard Bible phrases it, "on My own initiative."

English translators handle this phrase in a couple of ways. Looking just at John 5:30,

the New International Version says, "By myself I can do nothing," and
the English Standard Version, as well as the Holman Christian Standard Bible, renders the phrase, "I can do nothing on my own."

"Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on My own initiative, but the Father abiding in Me does His works" (John 14:10, NASB).

It's amazing and humbling to contemplate that the One in Whom "the whole fullness of Deity dwells bodily" (Colossians 2:9, ESV) would say such a thing; that even He lived in such absolute and constant dependence on God the Father for what He did and what He said.

Similarly, Jesus counsels us to abide in him.

Practising the presence of Jesus and of God.

Intentionally cultivating a moment-by-moment awareness of His loving participative presence in our everyday.

A continuous Dance of heart, mind, and life.