Your Interior Castle (the King awaits . . . )

At a time when Copernius was advancing his riveting observations about the solar system, Columbus had already found his way to the Continent of North America, and the Church was under great fire from science and the Protestant Reformation, a young, twenty-something woman from the home of a nobleman had a wake-up call from eternity.

Her name was Teresa of Avila. Attractive, worldly-wise, and pursued by many suitors who desired her hand in marriage, Teresa was suddenly and literally struck down with a mysterious disease, which to this day remains somewhat of a puzzle to physicians.

However, as is often the case when there is an inner, soulful attentiveness, Teresa became alert to movement of God who was Himself pursuing her, wooing her to His own heart. We are, needless to say, richer as a result of Teresa's attentiveness, obedience and ability to write down the insights she gained from her on-going physical challenges--challenges that became only a reminder of a greater, deeper, hidden reality.

It is from one of her classic works is The Interior Castle, that I would like to share today:  

To have a strong, inner life with God . . .  "You must begin by seeing that each of our souls is like a splendid castle. The castle is fashioned entirely out of the clearest crystal--better still, out of diamond. Because of this, you and everyone around you may look within to the very center, to the throne room itself, the seat of majesty where One sovereign authority . . . governs from this center of your soul . . .  If you reflect on this very carefully, you will realize how apt a picture this is, because His Majesty, our Lord Jesus, told us that His Kingdom is a spiritual one (John 18:36).

And so the soul that is built on the spiritual foundation of His righteousness can be a heavenly paradise. In the soul that is awakened to this understanding--the soul that gives total reign to its Majesty--God takes His delight.

All this is a mystery that even the great intellect can never take in, just as no one can fully comprehend God. . . So I will tell you from the outset, you will only exhaust yourself if you struggle to understand with human intellect this interior castle and its beauty. You must enter the castle with your soul.

And all the while, hold these truths in mind: while He is within us, he is still, also, the high and holy Creator and we are His creations. And there is a vast difference between our comprehension and His. He is Spirit, and we are flesh. How can we ever create with our own hands, by our poor efforts, a place fitting for His Majesty, since we cannot form the slightest conception of Him on our own?

We begin this way: we choose to bring all things--our rebelling thoughts, will and emotions, and every external circumstance, however pleasant or miserable--and lay them at His feet. In short, we start by allowing our sovereign King to govern--and in this way we begin to see, as through a mist, the first dim outline of the castle He longs to reveal within us--an interior dwelling place of sublime dignity and great beauty."

(From Majestic is Your Name, by David Hazard, emphasis mine)

"One thing I ask from the LORD, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple." Psalm 27:4