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An article by Rev. Ole Skjerbæk Madsen, October 2012 / 2017

The term Christfulness was first coined by the Scandinavian Christian organization “In the Master’s Light” (I Mesterens Lys – IML) in November 2011 at an event called “The Mystical Universe” in Copenhagen. We offered to pray with people for Christfulness and received some positive responses. At a subsequent “Body, Mind and Spirit” event in February 2012, also in Copenhagen, I held a seminar about Identity and Life changing, where the participants were introduced to the term Christfulness. As part of this I led a meditation based around Christfulness. One participant exclaimed “I have always known in my head that I was loved, but now I know it in my heart.” The positive reception of both Christfulness as a concept and the corresponding practices designed by IML gave us the encouragement for further development. In 2012 we published a short book as a first step on the way to widening the knowledge of Christfulness as an expression of faith.

Fullness is ”a quality or state of being full” (Webster), an indication of containing all that it is possible to contain, i.e. a full measure. Fullness means completeness, abundance, richness, wholeness, saturation.

Christfulness thus means being filled by the presence of Christ, being saturated by Christ or surrounded by Christ.

Christfulness is characterized by an experience of:

In our times many people outside traditional Christianity, or Churchianity, witness experiences of Christ’s presence – in dreams or in visions. Muslims are having these experiences. Spiritual seekers and body-mind-spirit-practitioners have such experiences. A month ago I for example met a therapist and dream interpreter who shared her dreams of Jesus with me. The experience of Christ with me leads us into a relationship with God as the one Jesus calls “Abba”. It leads to an experience of comfort, of being loved as a child of God, of being safe and secure. Jesus has promised to be with his disciples “always, to the very end of the age”. A prayer that expresses this is Saint Patrick’s Breastplate, which I have shortened into a Christfulness affirmation: Christ before, Christ behind, Christ to the right, Christ to the left, Christ above, Christ below, Christ around, Christ within! Another practice is the healing of the heart that restores our innermost being in relation to God, to who I am, and to other people. When we pray with people for the healing of their heart in churches, at counseling and soul care, in our booth at Alternative Fairs, it often leads to an experience of Christfulness.

The great mystic, St. Paul, speaks of an inner secret, which is now revealed: Christ in you, the hope of glory (Col. 1:27). This inner secret revealed original human nature, which was seriously hurt, forgotten and stained by misconceptions, but which is now restored to us in Christ. Every human being is created in the image of God to grow into the likeness of God. What this means is revealed to us in the life of Jesus Christ. His life gives us an idea of a life where the presence of God runs through it, a life which is saturated by God’s presence. His life comes from within and moves outward – from the image of God in a person’s heart. Furthermore, Jesus Christ is the One in whom God became man. The incarnation of the divine Logos took place as the maiden Mary said Yes and accepted becoming the Mother of God’s Son. Mary shows us how we will become persons who bear Christ in our hearts. This happens when we, too, say Yes and accept God’s calling and make ourselves available for God’s plan for our life. This is when servant love becomes personified in Jesus Christ. St. Paul speaks of a cleansing and a kind of spiritual dying as a part of this Yes to God: “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.“ (Gal. 2:20) We may experience this through a prayer, or a guided meditation. It involves a cleansing of false conceptions of God, of one self and of the world around at our breathing out, and an infilling of Christ at our breathing in. The well known Orthodox Jesus-prayer is a good practice for maintaining Christ in Me. Focus on your heart and rest in it. Breathe calmly. Jesus Christ, Son of God. (breathing in) Have mercy on me! (breathing out)

When we experience Christ in us we realize the reality that every human being is created in the image of God. We begin to see our fellow humans and fellow creatures with new eyes. Christfulness leads to awareness and creates an attentive or heedful presence in the world and in the company of other people. We are now looking for the image of God in the other person. That is why Jesus teaches us to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. We learn that we have no enemies. Other people may consider us their enemies or act in a hostile way toward us, but in our eyes there are no enemies, just fellow humans who are created to be the children of God.

When we experience Christ in us we realize the reality that every human being is created in the image of God. We begin to see our fellow humans and fellow creatures with new eyes. Christfulness leads to awareness and creates an attentive or heedful presence in the world and in the company of other people. We are now looking for the image of God in the other person. That is why Jesus teaches us to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. We learn that we have no enemies. Other people may consider us their enemies or act in a hostile way toward us, but in our eyes there are no enemies, just fellow humans who are created to be the children of God.

Christfulness is spirituality, practicing a faith relationship with Christ.

Christfulness points to the fullness of Christ and God’s love in Christ. It is the revelation of a secret or mystery: Christ in you, the hope of glory (Col. 1:27). When we experience the revelation of this mystery and encounter God’s love in Christ with, around and in us as a penetrating and saturating experience, we are made whole. A process of becoming whole begins. This helps us see other humans and our fellow creatures in a new way, as we relate to the image of God within them, and it opens a vision of a redeemed humanity and Earth, which is the body of Christ.

In the Master’s Light (IML) was founded in Copenhagen in 1995, starting with “spiritual gatherings” and from 1997 engaging in Body Mind Spirit fairs and other alternative fairs all over Denmark and Norway. The aim of IML is to build bridges of understanding between Christians and people from Body Mind Spirit milieus, between Church and Holism, New Age, and Spiritualties of Life. IML is a part of the work of the mission society Areopagos. For the history of IML, see

http://www.inthemasterslight.net/history

Some books on Christfulness you might like

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