In this life, we are all journeying through a spiritual desert — a barren place where there is little life and little water. Just as Cain went out to wander in the wilderness and established cities to protect himself and carry on his independent life, we, too, build our own cities in the desert in the hope of securing our own refuge (Gen. 4:14-17). But these are merely a mirage; there is no water here. In the end, we remain stuck in this deadly desert, selfishly struggling for our own survival under the curse, gambling our life on our own toil. But there is a way out of the curse and out of the desert — a way to live the overflowing life we were made for.
From the moment we first meet the Lord and are saved, we have a fountain of living water flowing within us (John 4:14). The Christ in our spirit waters us and brings us always back to Him, our first love. This free-flowing love within is grace and has nothing to do with chance or our own toil; it lifts us above the curse. But our life depends now on what source we choose to draw from — where we set our mind. Setting our mind on the spirit brings us daily to this fountain; it is the beginning of our renewing (Rom. 12:2), of living a life reliant on a different source than the world as we journey through the desert.
This life is not only one of escaping the curse. When we set our mind on our spirit, we also have a way to reign with Him (5:17). And this reigning life — which is Christ Himself — is expressed through us as love. Rather than fighting for our own survival like Cain, we have an overcoming love for the church that can flow out of us; we become a source of water for others. We need each other desperately in this desert, clinging to one another as our life supply. This is the church life today — our real oasis, our Elim (Ex. 15:27), our destiny (Eph. 1:5). Churching is the living way to journey through each station in the desert wilderness as we make our way to the promised land.
(Above are notes of fellowship taken from a gathering on 9/1/2024, not reviewed by the speaker.)