Pillar 5 ~ Separation
Soul Snack 42/14 ... Separation and holiness are two sides of the same coin.
Separation is the foundation, the first vertical pier of solitude. Where there is no separation neither can there be silence, secrecy and stillness.
Through separation the believer becomes dead to the world and alive to the Lord. They are choosing to stand free, for Babylon (the world) is the graveyard of the soul.
In separation the company of Heaven is found, and the cries of the world dim. Then the soul is first stirred and raised.
Therefore, ‘Come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you.’ (2 Corinthians 6:17)
God's unremitting call to His sons and daughters is to flee Babylon, to avoid defilement. In separation purity is gained.
Departing Babylon is a choice.
Obedience is the sacrifice of self-will. ~ James Hannay.
Babylon conjures and enchants. It delights the Christian with all manner of allure. Babylon weaves a manipulating magic to interrupt (corrupt), and suppress your spiritual yearnings.
Self must be excised from all that commandeers your attention away from Heaven.
It is in separation that you become available to God. (Remember that God is gentle and only whispers, so separation is always pleasing to the soul.)
Separation ensures each son and daughter does not simply expend their breath on the meaningless and the decaying. Rather separation builds to all that is eternally good.
Separation was practised by your Lord, and modelled to you.
But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed. (Luke 5:16)
Withdrawal from one world permits union with another one.
Remember - Love by its nature seeks union. ~ Brennan Manning
Today's Soul Snippet:
"He who hurts or slanders another is a man after the pattern of the devil." ~ James Hannay
INTRODUCTION To the 5 Pillars of Devotion
Pillar 1 ~ Solitude Pillar 2 ~ Silence Pillar 3 ~ Secrecy Pillar 4 ~ Stillness
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