After over a year of thinking I was having bad sinus headaches, the reality of my real illness came closer as I began to experience intermittent double-vision. As the fact of my brain tumor was being revealed and my diagnosis determined, I began a journey on which the ultimate revelation was unfolding.
First, I was lifted up in prayer by the Christian Community I was so fortunate to have been a part of for many years. Second, I was intentional about letting people know of my situation and not trying to keep it a big secret. Through all of this, God revealed Himself to me through His Spirit. I felt an overwhelming love and forgiveness. Even though I had been told all my life that I was forgiven through Christ's atonement, I never really felt it until then. I felt as if I had been brushed clean with a wire brush using the strongest cleaning compound. God communicated to me non-verbally that He loved me and I felt totally secure no matter what the outcome of my illness and surgery. Being with Him was the comfort and He gave me a glimpse into His Eternal Kingdom. I lost my fear of death and all worry about my family disappeared as He showed me the love that He has for them as well.
God Showed me through His Spirit that I'm already in Eternal Life and that I need not draw a line between life and death. Yes, I can begin to experience His Kingdom right here and now. This is only a snapshot of His revelation to me. There were many images that helped build this newfound reality. The impact on me was that all doubt was removed concerning God's existence and I now can freely celebrate His Kingdom and my part in it , as I seek His Will in all things.
Marcus Borg comes very close to describing what I experienced during my brain surgery event. He says, "Enlightenment as an archetypal religious metaphor belongs to a mystical way of being religious...........Such an experience leads to seeing everything differently. It is not simply an intellectual or mental 'seeing', as when we say, 'Oh, I see what you mean.' Rather, enlightenment as a religious experience involves communion or union with what is, an immediate 'knowing' of the sacred that transforms one's way of seeing." Borg goes on to say, "The language of enlightenment connects to John's emphasis upon knowing God. For John, such knowing is the primary meaning of 'eternal life', not a future state beyond death, but an experience in the present. To know God is eternal life: 'This is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God.'" Add a touch of forgiveness and you've got it.
[Marcus J. Borg, Reading the Bible Again for the First Time, (c)2001 by Marcus J. Borg. Part Three, The New Testament, 8-Reading the Gospels Again p. 214.]
First, I was lifted up in prayer by the Christian Community I was so fortunate to have been a part of for many years. Second, I was intentional about letting people know of my situation and not trying to keep it a big secret. Through all of this, God revealed Himself to me through His Spirit. I felt an overwhelming love and forgiveness. Even though I had been told all my life that I was forgiven through Christ's atonement, I never really felt it until then. I felt as if I had been brushed clean with a wire brush using the strongest cleaning compound. God communicated to me non-verbally that He loved me and I felt totally secure no matter what the outcome of my illness and surgery. Being with Him was the comfort and He gave me a glimpse into His Eternal Kingdom. I lost my fear of death and all worry about my family disappeared as He showed me the love that He has for them as well.
God Showed me through His Spirit that I'm already in Eternal Life and that I need not draw a line between life and death. Yes, I can begin to experience His Kingdom right here and now. This is only a snapshot of His revelation to me. There were many images that helped build this newfound reality. The impact on me was that all doubt was removed concerning God's existence and I now can freely celebrate His Kingdom and my part in it , as I seek His Will in all things.
Marcus Borg comes very close to describing what I experienced during my brain surgery event. He says, "Enlightenment as an archetypal religious metaphor belongs to a mystical way of being religious...........Such an experience leads to seeing everything differently. It is not simply an intellectual or mental 'seeing', as when we say, 'Oh, I see what you mean.' Rather, enlightenment as a religious experience involves communion or union with what is, an immediate 'knowing' of the sacred that transforms one's way of seeing." Borg goes on to say, "The language of enlightenment connects to John's emphasis upon knowing God. For John, such knowing is the primary meaning of 'eternal life', not a future state beyond death, but an experience in the present. To know God is eternal life: 'This is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God.'" Add a touch of forgiveness and you've got it.
[Marcus J. Borg, Reading the Bible Again for the First Time, (c)2001 by Marcus J. Borg. Part Three, The New Testament, 8-Reading the Gospels Again p. 214.]
