“12 I thank him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, appointing me to his service, 13 though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, 14 and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. 15 The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. 16 But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life. 17 To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.” (1 Tim 1:12-17 ESV)

The doctrine of Christ shadow boxes to the end of split-second decisions and the coming together realization: we can actually, factually, lean on this Belief. In the real encounter we can have adopted Excellent intuition and tasteful, energized, stylistically-profound ways of lauding Him vis-a-vis no proof-texting or Law but the culmination of a proper Theology centered, as ours is, on the Soldier God named Jesus.

Because all life is some rather unplanned urgent concession to a Trauma, and the strongman’s, strongwoman’s response most Humane or still intact, still fabled, feisty, functional. Because lancing in various, multitudinous directions, the center cannot hold. There is bifurcation. There are two competing Dialogs. We need teaching priests to identify and sign on the dotted line on behalf of the congregation, the Creed of Christ. Yes, Sermons on Mount and parables and healings; but to the Message most beloved, that all life is rebounded on the flipside, that we shadow talk, shadow box, around so much what-if Law as to come out extreme and spotless precisely because we’ve shorn ourselves of the Demand. Of the non spoken-over no go zones. Of the illusion that, after all when push comes to shove, we forget to see life through Gospel lens. Through Christ lens. That we push and shove one another out of a fantasy of revenge, revenge for the haphazard words off-kilter spoken, revenge for the contrived dialog violated, revenge for the unwillingness to submit to a Discipleship most erroneous.

We submit to discipleship around Christ front and center, the Pauline doctrines of Grace triumphing over Law, that we would rather risk infamy and Judgment than strait-jacket ourselves with something too uptight. We would rather the post-dying tar pit or salty marsh of Evolution peeping forth some sun-seeking life form, some breathing determination never mind the dastardly decay.

The post-trauma life form is not incapacitated, only is invited to the Call for Prayer, to ask Christ into her or his heart on account for example—any example will do—of the revenge fantasy or the anger or the sidelining dismissal or red card that lost sight of Christ. But more, even to speak of “losing sight of Christ” can become Law, hateful Law, onerous Law. We instead seek the mentalist’s new Awareness, the dimensional Shift of the waking mind’s posture, around a Christ discovered via Apology and Submission. Yes, pinch yourself, this was for real! Yes, this bore wings ready to fly! Yes, apologies not needed: this was victory, golden victory!

In this we are not only victors but servants, not only warriors but pacifists, not only Evolved but Historically-based. Christ came once for Sinners, of whom we are the first. Paul came that the fundamental Shove, Push, Yardage of Encounter with Grace would be paramount. We, the soldier, have died to self and died to appearances, to be alongside the world’s refuse, some bottom-dweller most ambitious and eager to see a shared tomorrow, a getting-along by-and-by, a comedy of manners around just Who and What is Christ for us this day.