Codes

Codes. Secret Codes. Mysterious codes. I can remember growing up and sometimes being fascinated with deciphering secret codes and even trying to invent codes by which to communicate with my friends cryptically. The biggest problem that I quickly ran into was the lack of any really important information to pass on to them that might need a code to mask it. So what quickly developed was an air of mystery created by the code itself. We wanted to be obvious enough in our use of coded symbols, numbers or letters so that people would notice we were communicating in code to make them very curious. We hoped that they might want to try to crack our code to find out our “top secret” information.

I suppose my greatest disappointment and what lead to the rather quick demise of our use of codes was the lack of interest by anyone else in what we were doing. No one got suspicious of what we were trying to communicate in our codes and so we gave them up rather quickly for something more rewarding.

A few minutes ago I sent off an email with some attached files. As I pondered what those files likely would look like if one were to simply open them with a note editor, I realized that they would make no sense at all in any text programs. They are likely just a bunch of gibberish that would look like trash to most people and indeed that would be their only use if one did not have the proper software and even the right version of that software to decode those digital files.

Even further, those files even when opened with a text editor that couldn't read them would still appear to make more sense than the actual content would appear at a more basic level. Those files are entirely made up of what computer geeks call binary language or simply 1's and 0's. But even to say that is not to get at the bottom of the codes used to encrypt these files. The format used to create the concept of binary language can be found in many physical forms. They may be electrical signals passing over wires or through the air. They may be subtle electronic differences on the surface of a computer disc or in a flash drive. They may even be slight differences in how light is reflected off of the media impregnated in a CD.

Our lives are filled and surrounded with codes of all sorts. Even the very words that we use in print and spoken words are all just codes for meanings and opinions about those sounds or hieroglyphs. If these hidden meanings are different between the people attempting to communicate to a significant degree, then the level of effective communication is seriously diminished. The only way that any of us can convey or receive a sense of what we want to share is greatly dependent our our agreed-upon assumptions about what our codes mean. And even then we can never really be sure that our interpretation is the same as that assumed by another mind.

Thinking about this very long can leave one feeling bewildered at best and can even drive you to distraction if you are not careful. But at the same time I think it is very healthy and helpful to explore the benefits and problems associated with trying to deal in symbols and codes. Our minds as well as our emotions are pre-wired to function in codes and to want to understand other codes. Our sense of curiosity was embedded in our minds to explore and seek to understand codes and languages as much as possible in order to feel better connected at the heart level to other beings that we want to relate to in a deeper, more meaningful way. And by a deeper level I mean any level at all beyond total ignorance and lack of contact whatsoever.

This problem of learning to decipher codes of all sorts becomes very evident in millions of ways. Consider the enormous challenge of trying to establish a new form of codes to communicate with someone whose brain or various communication senses have been severely limited. And yet we know examples of amazing breakthroughs by people who were persistent enough to sometimes spend years attempting to communicate with such people until both minds learned to connect in whatever ways proved to be successful. Even communication with animals is a fascination by some people. I have a very compelling book about a man who has spent years learning how to effectively communicate with whales and other sea creatures with very inspiring results. Another story of the man who talks easily with horses and even deer has made a deep impact of my own life.

One reason that I feel it is very helpful to think about this is to come into more sympathy with God's problem of attempting to communicate with us. Even though He originally created our brains and understands perfectly everything about how we function, sin has wreaked a great amount of havoc on the communication systems and decoding apparatus originally built into us and much of what we originally were designed to do to communicate freely with other beings and even with nature has become severely limited and handicapped.

I am convinced that there are at least a number of capabilities that have been lost or nearly lost altogether over the centuries with only traces of them still to be found in a few people. Because of the rarity of these residual communication techniques most people become very frightened even considering that they might be valid ways to communicate. I also believe that as this has happened that demons have exploited some of these original faculties and have more or less hijacked them for their uses more than for normal communications between humans. Thus there becomes a danger associated with some forms of communication that needs to be in our consciousness, though there is a lot of superstition that goes far past healthy caution and inflames undo fear in many people.

Learning to decode and figure out patterns that may be trying to tell us something seems to be one of the fascinations of the left brain. The left brain is very formula oriented and as such delights in looking for codes to decipher. But one of the greatest hindrances to establishing real and effective communication between many people is the suppression and even ignorance of the central importance of communicating with our heart as well as learning to live from our heart in a healthy way.

Some people have come to believe – and I think I agree to a great extent – that one of the most damaging and limiting things that happened to the human race when sin entered in and infected our thinking and abilities, is that our mind – our intellectual part, and our heart – our emotional and spiritual part, became disconnected in a very destructive way. When sin infected our thinking and feeling, we ended up experiencing conflict between the two sides of our brains. Indeed, this tension between what our right brain believes with its feelings and what our left brain believes with its factual logic is actually the feeling that the Bible calls guilt or condemnation.

Guilt and condemnation are not things imposed on us by God. They are simply descriptions of the very uncomfortable feeling we experience when we are out of sync with ourselves as well as others around us. It is the pain and tension from disharmony itself that creates most of the problems that we in turn blame God for inflicting on us even though that is not directly true. But the many ideas offered to fix this problem can become very dangerous if they only tend to exacerbate it instead of bringing us back into harmony and synchronization with the One who designed us to live in open and joyful bonding with His heart of perfect love.

We are designed to crave and thrive on love. This is the fuel that we were designed for and nothing else is going to make us function well except the original thing. Sin has offered all kinds of substitutes for this original love fuel for our hearts but all with damaging results. Our power is greatly diminished, our effectiveness is limited, our ability to think, to feel and to bond is greatly hampered because we are so often trying to operate our system on alternate fuels that promise to improve our performance but only add to our misery in the end.

The problem with all of the alternatives of sin is that they never allow us to understand the original codes of heaven. God created us to function and communicate using the language codes that would synchronize us with the rest of the universe effectively. But we lost much of our ability to understand that code when sin came in and scrambled the code itself. Now much of the code of heaven gives us mixed messages both in nature and in the lives of those around us. All of this has become infected with the virus of sin that creates great confusion and mixed messages about the God who created it all to start with.

But God has a plan in place to redeem us from this hopeless situation if we allow Him to place a presence in our heart that will train us to relearn the original codes of heaven. But the real issue that must be understood if we are to enjoy this heavenly decoder is that it must reside primarily in our heart and be allowed access to both our emotions and our logic. If it is not allowed to have wiring access to both sides of our brains, then sin's viruses may confuse us so much from either side of our hemispheres that we will come to believe that the decoder itself is mixed up and fail to allow it to fully do its work.

The decoder of heaven is the presence of Jesus in the form of the Holy Spirit that is the decoding agent of heaven sent to all who are humble enough to embrace it's presence and allow it full access to their lives. But it is extremely important to be willing to give that Spirit access to the plug-in terminals inside of us that it needs to begin rewiring and re-programming our whole operating systems. Those terminals are located in our heart where the most pain happens to be keeping us from wanting anyone to come anywhere near it. But unless we are willing to trust God with our pain, our confusion and our fears and let Him expose the lies that we are so sure are solid truth, He will never be able to accomplish the necessary transformations and repairs needed to live in open communication with the languages of heaven.

Father, I want you to fill me with the presence of your Spirit right now. I give you unlimited permission to access all parts of my being, my heart, my brain and my core sense of identity. Transform me into the likeness of the original design you desire for me to be. Teach both my heart and my mind to understand the real meanings of the words you have used to communicate your messages to this earth. Fill me with more insight and wisdom through your Interpreter, the Spirit of Truth that Jesus promised to send to everyone willing to receive it.

Thank-you for hearing my request and for eagerly providing far more than I can ever ask for or even imagine is possible. Make me a better communicator of your love through more of my capabilities than I have used before. Restore and heal the faculties of my mind and body that still confuse others and even myself with confusing codes that still are damaged from sin. Let your love glow more clearly from my face, from my body language and from my voice. Let your glory be more clearly exposed through your presence dwelling in my heart – for your reputation's sake.