Zeal: an Afterword   If the works of Y'shúa were not chosen, but the works of YHWH in him, how then shall our works stand? Beliefs and the works that follow after are but the mammon of righteousness, having their conception in the gift of faith; for there is nothing we have not first received. We are called, first and last, to receive into ourselves the state of being called the Son of Elohim: Yahushúa, the Projection of Yah. As we are enabled to accept this unspeakable gift into ourselves, the Son of Man is conceived, being furnished unto all good works prepared for him on the path to perfection. Having ceased from his own works, the Son can do nothing of himself because he is occupied in the administration of the Father's works. This is shabbat, the seal and perfection of faith. Blessed is he who waits upon YHWH! Consider the stave of mashiyach-his alignment in the will of YHWH! Knowing his calling and election before the baptism of Yahuchánnan, he confirmed that all righteousness is fulfilled by demonstration of willingness to drown in the waters of karmic Earth (aretz), with trust that the Father is able, there, both to hide the soul from the faces of corruption and to revive and renew it in the midst of the overflow-- both as pertains to the depths and to the emergence upon the shore of His choosing, in resurrection. Arising to walk upon the waters in the newness of the Father's life, mashiyach went not to Jerusalem to purge the Kingdom, but to the wilderness: to purge himself, utterly, of the habits of self. This is the fast YHWH accepts. Mashiyach is tempted, in the wilderness of thought, to investigate and to prove his anointing, to put on works, and to worship that which appears. He chooses, instead, to wait upon YHWH, relying upon the Author and Finisher of the faith found in him. This rest is the posture of the true priesthood. To walk in this rest is to know the power of the King. As Mashiyach enters into his earthly ministry, he faints not, nor is he overcome by it: because he speaks what he hears and does those things that are shown unto him, of the Father. Step by step in its time, he performs the will of YHWH by performing the daily sacrifice of self: not by might nor by power, but by continuance in the Spirit of YHWH. No doubt there were times, in his walk among his fellow men, that mashiyach understood the Father's intent before the hour of its appointed performance. He understood also, however, that it is YHWH that must build the house made without hands, and that our labors below are blessed only as they reflect the work done above-- that to employ saw or axe at his own will, even for good works designated for his hands, is to war against faith. Y'shúa did not surrender the reins of his heart and mind, only to take the bit between his teeth to run, headlong, into confusion. He conformed himself at all times, with patience, to the transformation that is from above. We who follow in messiah's footsteps are no greater than he. Whatever our gifts or callings or the urgency of the works given into our hands, we are blessed in our ministries only as we abide in faith. In our weakness, our wills and works are perfected together as they proclaim that YHWH lives and reigns and is fully able to accomplish His will in us, according to His good pleasure. What, then, shall we understand by our shortcomings? Have we not believed? Have we not surrendered? Have we not dedicated ourselves? Yes, but only as we have been able within the continuum of maturation-within the ongoing process of a perfecting salvation. When we stumble, we are reacting to the goad of instruction. Let us have ears to hear! Should we fall, we are nevertheless sheltered in the hands of Him who first loved us; and we shall arise in Him again for His Name's sake and for the love by which He has loved us. Let us have eyes to see! When the brief moment of His chastening anger is overpast, only the glow of renewed zeal according to knowledge will remain; for there is healing in His wings. Let us have hearts to understand! All of the works that the Father shall give into our hands by the agency of His Son will continue to direct our feet away from the pitfalls of self and unto the highway of our El. All things are lawfully accomplished in Him. Let none of us suffer as evildoers by yielding to haste. Let us continue even as we first began. Thus does Tsion return unto us, and by this are the walls of Yahrushalíem raised anew in truth, with mercy and justice. This is the Father's will: that we believe and rely upon Him who He has sent to live in our mortal tabernacles. This is power, and the patience of the saints. So abiding, we cannot fail to accomplish His will, because we are enlarged by the river of divine love flowing into and through us, which cannot issue forth in vain. B'shalom, Bora ben Yosef wa Elazar-Finton 1999 C.E. mainmenu bookmenu