In our life experience, we often find ourselves oscillating between the highs of joy and lows of sorrow, triumph and trial. This duality, this dance between opposites, is not just a facet of human existence but the very essence of it, as Dr. John Demartini’s insights in “The Breakthrough Experience” resonate deeply with the Christian understanding of a balanced life centred on Christ.
The sober reality of life is understanding that every positive has its negative, and every negative, its positive. Our emotions often deceive us. For instance, if you delve deep enough into the life of someone who seems perpetually positive, you’ll likely uncover underlying hurt, pain, or misery. Conversely, in the midst of depression, there’s always a glimmer of positivity, however faint it may be. This could be the simple yet powerful realization that things could have been worse – a recognition of what hasn’t happened, rather than what has.
Consider the profound wisdom of St. Augustine, who noted that “the will of God is equilibrium.” This equilibrium is not a static state but a dynamic balance, much like the one Jesus Christ exemplified in His life on earth. Jesus, in His earthly ministry, embraced both the joys of community and the solitude of the wilderness, the praises of the crowds while entering Jerusalem, and the scorn of the crucifixion, illustrating that life is not about seeking one without the other but finding God in both.
The Bible narrates the creation story with the words “fiat lux,” or “Let there be light.” This echoes the scientific understanding of particles and antiparticles, matter and antimatter, which, when they meet, birth light. In a spiritual sense, this can be seen as an allegory for the human experience, where our joys and sorrows, strengths and weaknesses, meet to birth enlightenment and understanding, a Christ-like love that transcends mere emotion.
In this light, we understand that true happiness is not the absence of sadness, nor is sadness the absence of happiness. They are two sides of the same coin, just as Paul reveals: Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. (Phil 4:11-12) You miss the blessing when you remain stuck in either only positive or negative experiences, for it is in the synthesis of both these experiences that we find the essence of love, the very nature of God. God’s love transcends the positive and the negative: “But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8). Even we as earthly parents we love our children regardless of their faults. When falling in love, we say: “Love is blind”.
Our journey, then, is not about the avoidance of pain or the pursuit of pleasure alone. It’s about embracing both and understanding that each has its place in God’s grand design. This is the equilibrium that St. Augustine spoke of, the balance that Christ exemplified. It is in this balance that we find the essence of life, the Christ-centered equilibrium. Paul understood this axiom for life very clearly: Praying three times that God will remove the thorn in his flesh: And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
Just as in the physical world, where light is birthed from the collision of matter and antimatter, in our spiritual journey, enlightenment and understanding are born from the confluence of our joys and sorrows. When we embrace this, we step into a realm of higher consciousness, a state of divine love, where we no longer see separation between ourselves and the world around us.
Most of the WARS and TENSIONS between people are manufactured when someone transgresses against us; we take a photo snapshot judgement in our mind and then consequently hold a negative view of that person. We do not continue to engage directly. We rather disengage, not getting to know the person better or understanding the real motives or causes that may have perpetuated the transgression.
This is why Jesus taught: “Love your enemies!” (Mat 5:43) Love opens you up to no longer be a victim paralysed by wrongdoing but become an initiator of healing. For in love, you are aware of all your wrongdoing, too, thus having empathy for the transgressor. Maretha Martens does an excellent job explaining difficult people in her book: Moeilike Mense. These difficult people’s personalities are different and sometimes opposites to the more amicable personalities on the spectrum, but this does not make them evil, you must just learn how they are wired, how they listen, perceive and react to the world. See Jordan B Peterson’s Personallity Analisys:
The big 5 personality traits
- Agreeableness: Compassion and Politeness
- Conscientiousness: Industriousness and Orderliness
- Extraversion: Enthusiasm and Assertiveness
- Neuroticism: Withdrawal and Volatility
- Openness to Experience: Openness and Intellect
Humility is not having an over or under-estimation but a sane, righteous, fair, sober view of who you are. Again embracing and loving my shortcomings: for it is what makes me unique. Spiritual maturity is the process of identifying your shortcomings, change what you can but gracefully accept those that you can’t change.
The Life of Redemption that Christ offers is not a form of escapism or denying that bad things happen to good people; it is a divine enablement to FACE the bad, overcome it and grow stronger as a result of it. Today, there is a huge cloud of witnesses who can testify of how God led them through the wilderness into rich fulfilment.
For You, O God, have tested us;
You have refined us as silver is refined.
You brought us into the net;
You laid affliction on our backs.
You have caused men to ride over our heads;
We went through fire and through water;
But You brought us out to rich fulfillment. Ps 66:10-12
All the great inventions were at first great problems! If it was not for those problems, we would never have thought to come up with these unique solutions!
This state of nonseparation, of divine love, is what Jesus lived and taught. It’s not a distant, unattainable ideal but a reality that we can experience here and now. It’s about seeing the world not through the lens of our narrow desires and aversions but through the eyes of Christ-like love and compassion.
No Bible Book explain this view on life better than the story of Job: In the Book of Job, we see a man who is righteous and prosperous, enjoying the positive aspects of life. However, within this positive scenario, the negative emerges as Job faces immense trials. He loses his wealth, his children, and his health. His friends tries to explain life in terms of a cause and effect, positive negative duality but Job remained balanced in his mind: Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity?” In all this Job did not sin with his lips. (Job 2:10) See my complete blog post on how to handle tragedy as a believer.
When we look through the lens of LOVE, the world changes!
In conclusion, the essence of life, as revealed through Jesus Christ, is about finding balance, no longer tossed and thrown between the pursuit of positive and prevention of negative experiences, but rather we find love, we find God. This is the Christ-centered equilibrium that we are called to live out, an equilibrium that brings us closer to the divine and to each other.
The best way to walk and remain in His love, is by always being thankful! Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice! Phil 4:4
