The Deeper Life That Isn’t

The problem “deeper life” books have had all along is that they have been written by people who have experienced the collasp into the true mastery by Christ, but they have been read by people who have not experienced this and who have gone on to take up deeper life teachings with the front door of their minds only.

In a Clock-work Orange, “deeper life” teachings can be assimulated into yet another set of Chrisitian routines to be gone through while he or she continues to deceive him or herself into thinking their continued self-control of their life apart from Christ is what the deeper life is.

In a struggler, an encounter with Deepr Life teaching can either be a blessing or a disaster. It can be a blessing if the struggler sees it as a bend in the road going over the landbridge from Romans 7 (control of the self by the self) to Romans 8 (control of the self by Christ) that gives them a view of Romans 8 while they are still on the bumpy road of Romans 7. But the encounter can also be a diaster if they are still struggling in Romans 7 territory and then take up Deeper Life teachings with the front door of their minds. The pressure of being in Romans 7 territory (control of the self by the self) will increase dramatically. But instead of it being the steady pressure meant to cause a collasp into Romans 8 territory, it may instead result in a “spiritual hernia” that causes cynicism and ship wreck of the faith.

It has to be remembered that Romans 8 territory is something Christ leads you into from the heart (the back door) that you cannot march into of your own accord (by the front door). That is because the key difference between Romans 7 and Romans 8 is who is doing things - you or Christ? The only thing you can “do” about getting from Romans 7 to Romans 8 is to continue praying concretely and receiving visits from Christ at the back door, where your heart is. (But even after that you begin to realize that that was not your work but Christ’s, who had plucked on your heart strings all those times when you felt compelled to pray and be with Him.)

Another problem with “deeper life” books is that they give the false impression that there are two kinds of Christianity: One for people who are confortable with a very superficial kind of Christianity, and another for those who are not. This has consequences for those who have decieved themselves into thinking they are Christians because they have taken up Christian accouterments with the front door of their minds only.