Mother Basilea Schlink searches for the Key

from chapter 2  http://www.canaaninthedesert.com/books/my_all_for_him.pdf


For a long time I could not find the key, the answer to my question‘ What is true discipleship? What does Jesus want? On the one hand, He calls us to an uncompromising discipleship: to give up everything, to lose our lives. He calls us to leave father and mother. on the other hand, we are to honour father and mother. '

The Bible also says that the whole creation is the work

of God’s hands. Since human intelligence and skills are part of

that whole creation, should not those aspects of human civili-

zation and culture that are “true. noble, right, pure, lovely, and

honorable” (Philippians 4:8 TIN) be held in high esteem? But if

we give up everything and live a life of uncompromising disci-

pleship, we become ascetic escapists, rejecting everything God

has given. Surely that cannot be right. So what is the answer?

Many voices reached my ears. Leaders from a variety of

Christian traditions tried to convince me that theirs was the only

way.

 One view was that, as the body of Christ, we should dissociate

ourselves from our contemporaries, virtually leaving the perishing

to perish. In addition, we were not to concern ourselves with events

of national significance. Discouraged from exploring the worlds of

art, music, and literature, we were not even to enjoy nature. We were

to live in one realm only-the Word of God and the fellowship of

believers.

For a while I went along with this, but the reality proved dis-

appointing. Those who subscribed to this view tended to be Joyless

and lacking in thanksgiving for the heavenly Father’s good gifts.

Gratitude for the revelation of His awesome greatness in nature was

somehow missing. Furthermore, I often found such people narrow-

minded and rigid, lacking love for others. At the same time they

were very self-righteous, convinced that they had a monopoly of the truth.

Then I heard a very different view, and this, too, I explored.

Here were people who were more open, loving, natural, and

relaxed. I discovered more of the love and warmth of Jesus in their

lives and personalities than I had found in the others. 'These peo-

ple did not insist that they alone were the Body of Christ. Actu-

ally, they did not speak very much at all about their conversion

and seemed to be quite at home in the world. Yet this very point

made me uneasy Often they had so conformed to the world

that they appeared to have lost sight of Scripture’s warnings:

“Do not love the world” (1 John 2:15); “Do not be conformed to

this world” (Romans 12:2); “Do not be mismated with unbeliev-

ers” (2 Corinthians 6214). They seemed to have forgotten that the

Bible calls us as Christians to follow Jesus and go the way of the cross,

dying to self and doing without.

Still I wondered, What did God want? What was His way? At

all costs I wanted to walk In the way of the Lord After following

first the one path for several years and then the other, I still did

not feel that I had found His way. But eventually He did answer

my plea to lead me “in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake”

(Psalm 23:3) that one dayI might reach the goal of heavenly glory.

First, though, He had to show me the truth about myself before

He could show me the right way. He had to bring me to the point

of spiritual bankruptcy so that I would weep over my sin and see

myself for the sinner I was. It was at a time when I had difliculty

in getting on with someone who made life extremely hard for me.

Resentful and bitter, I could see no way out We seemed to be

hopelessly at odds. I knew this was not right Yet I was helpless in

the situation, unable to resolve it, not knowing how to overcome.

Then the Lord showed me that I was to blame. Had I been

loving and merciful towards this woman, she would have been

won over. The Lord convicted me of my sin, giving me tears

of repentance. And this experience drove me into the arms of

Jesus, because Jesus and the penitent sinner belong together. Iesus

began to reveal Himself to me in His love. It was no longer a mat-

ter of any particular teaching-Jesus Himself was the answer. My

intellectual questions began to fade into the background All I

wanted was to love Him who had forgiven my sins, redeemed me

and loved me so dearly. He was now the great love of my life.

To me He had become the “fat rest of the sons of men” (Psalm

45:2). The Jewel of my heart, the joy of all joys, He was dearer to

me than anyone or anything else. With Paul Gerhardt, I could

raise my voice in song:
God is the greatest, the dearest and noblest,

Faithful and worthy, unchanging and true,

Best of all treasures, delight of my heart.

He is indeed the dearest of all-He of whom the psalmist

writes, “You give them drink from your river of delights” (Psalm

36:8 NIV). Having drunk from this river, I came to love Him more

and more.

My love for Him helped me find the answer to my ques-

tions. I had found the key-love for Jesus, first love, bridal love.

Love became my teacher. I saw that following Jesus had nothing

to do with asceticism; I saw that it did not mean renouncing and

forsaking the things of this world just for the sake of it. Suddenly

I was struck by the significance of the phrase used by Jesus when

calling someone to uncompromising discipleship: “for My sake”-

“for My name’s sake.” In other words, we are called to tread this

path of uncompromising discipleship out of love for Him. Walk-

ing in His steps, we draw very near to the One we love. And this

is what true bridal love is all about: being as close as possible to

the beloved.

Having shown me that uncompromising discipleship is a

free-will decision springing from love, He further revealed that

love is the key to Christian freedom. Being the very essence of

love, would Jesus not have relaxed at times with His disciples,

enjoying God’s good gifts? And did He not draw their attention

to the beauty of nature-"Consider the lilies of the field... even

Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these”

(Matthew 6:28-29)? 80 I, too, was able to enjoy nature-not apart

from Him, but with Him, being joined to Him in love.

Now the gifts of the Creator were no longer remote from

me, nor were they to be avoided lest they divert me from true dis-

cipleship. Rather, they were tokens of the Father’s love. I could en-

joy them in the right spirit because they Inspired me with thanks-

giving and an even greater love for God. I could take pleasure in

the beauty of art and music, for instance, seeing the glory of God

reflected in them. I was no longer in danger of getting into bond-

age or being sidetracked from my commitment to Jesus. I could

make use of the things of the world insofar as they deepened my

love and commitment to Jesus, inspired me with thanksgiving to

the Father, or increased the effectiveness of my ministry.

Now everything took on a different appearance. Previously,

when I had been trying to lead an ascetic life, I scarcely dared to

travel, but now I felt free to do so. Now the motivation was dif-

ferent. In later years, in order to give the Creator glory, I made

“praise trips” to scenic spots where praise plaques with a Scrip-

ture or song verse would be set up as a pointer to God, inspiring

others to offer Him love, praise, and thanksgiving. Similarly, I was

blessed when I saw pictures of the marvels of creation or pictures

of the beautiful locations in various countries where God had

met with me in a special way. Previously, too, I scarcely dared to

admire religious art But now, when I saw pictures of Jesus, I was

filled with greater love and thanksgiving. And all this, in turn,

had an impact on my ministry, enabling me to glorify Him more.

No longer did I feel cut off from my fellow countrymen,

aware only of belonging to the Body of Christ. Now that I

shared in the concerns of God’s fatherly heart, I loved my peo-

ple and all other peoples, because each originates in the Crea-

tor’s heart, reflecting something of His love and glory. Now I
felt pain when my nation turned from God and rejected His

commandments, knowing how this grieved the Father’s heart.

According to Scripture, although Israel had a special place

in God’s heart, He was concerned at the prospect of having to

destroy pagan Nineveh (Jonah 4:11). And in the light of impend-

ing judgment, I came to feel deep concern for my people.

All my questions had been answered. More than that, now

I was free. In the past I had feared being trapped either in a life

that was too narrow and legalistic or in a life that too readily con-

formed to the world, neither of which seemed to be true disciple-

ship. Now I had entered the freedom of a child of God, because

love bound me to Him completely. Now I belonged unreserved-

ly to the One who is the centre of the universe and from whom

comes all that is good and noble on earth. In the fellowship of

His love I could share in everything that is His-the earth and

the whole universe. Though broadened, my love always remained

firmly anchored in Him, the focal point of the universe.

Just as I had been unhappy and torn with inner conflict be-

fore I found this answer, so I was happy and at peace afterward.

Joy had come into my life, because I had found the One who loves

me and whom I was privileged to love above all else, with all my

strength and being. And for many years now I have gone through

life with Jesus as the Bridegroom of my soul. I could never find

enough ways to tell Jesus how much I love Him and to praise Him

in song as the loveliest and purest of all, majestic and noble, the

joy of my heart, the One who brings true fulfilment to my life.

Jun 05, 2012Sarah rated it 5 of 5 stars

I loved the emphasis in this book on simply learning to love Christ our Bridegroom. I was encouraged, challenged, and moved by the many beautiful portraits painted, the prayers and hymns and the heartfelt love of the Father expressed by Mother Basilea in the pages of this book.

Program for Men

http://www.kanaan.org/en/generation-hope/sommerprogramm-maenner/
Young men in discussion

Men working together in the garden

men eating together
ENQUIRY
Time

… alone with God
… together with like minded men
… to examine your life
… to make changes

For many years young men have benefited much from a stay on Kanaan. Life in our KanaanTeam offered them distance from the distractions of the world. In time alone with God, in fellowship with other men, in discussions about our daily Bible readings or the challenges facing young men today, they came to see their relationship to God in a new way. In confidential counseling and under prayer a break was made with the past and a fresh start could be made.

Young men who want to learn to live their lives according to God’s will and live responsibly in his presence are invited to come and spend time with us. We challenge them to examine their past and establish new goals. Mutter Basilea’s vision for Kanaan was, that Jesus command, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” (Matthew 22:37), would become the guiding light in our lives. We want to help you see how that can happen in your life.

In August and September we spend time teaching about the basics of christian life and our community. The rest of the year allows for more personal prayer time for those who would like to live and work with us for a while. This can be from a few weeks to a year. One critical requirement is the ability to understand and speak English well.

Chris Welch was in a young people's Summer Jugend event in 1974 with Bruder Sylvestro while Basilea was away praying against Chairman Mao who had assembled his troops along the edges of China ready to swoop onto Europe. She returned charged in the Holy Spirit and gave two of her most blistering hot talksSeeking the Face of God like Jacob at Peniel   and
Go the Way of the Lamb it is a Way of Great Power

These messages contained the UNION WORD seed that was later confirmed through R.Edward Miller, and Norman P Grubb  and became the foundation of this wider third level message for individuals and whole churches which is the whole basis of this blog.  (Third level or third stage of growth in 1 John2)

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Basilea Schlink could never have known some of the effects of her life