Welcome back to the 4th way podcast. Today, we are continuing our series on incarnation by looking at a 4th type type of incarnation. So far, we've discussed proximate incarnation, where one can physically live or, buy or be in proximity to someone else. Then we discussed positional incarnation, where an individual can enter the same social position, actually, or in solidarity with another. 3rd, we talked about a very powerful type of incarnation, but one which we have a limited control over, and that was what we called experiential incarnation.

Experiential incarnation is where through our experiences, like being robbed, assaulted, experiencing suicide on families, being alcoholic, etcetera, we can enter into the world of someone who experiences a similar situation. In this way, we earn credibility with them, and at other times, it also allows us to empathize more with those to whom we minister. Today, we're gonna talk about the last type of incarnation, which is Volitional Incarnation. There's not that much to talk about in regard to Volitional Incarnation, so I I assume this episode is going to end up being pretty short. Essentially, Volitional Incarnation is that we can incarnate to another person by making similar meaningful decisions.

On the positive side of this, we can see things like choosing to be a Christian. That choice is a significant one, and you are therefore immediately drawn to others who who have made a similar choice. On the opposite side of things, you can choose to make negative decisions. If you have chosen to have an abortion, or if you have chosen to do drugs or commit some crime, you will immediately be connected with others who have made similar decisions. To a certain extent, this is like experiential incarnation.

However, significant difference is that the experiential tends to happen to you, whereas the decisional is something that you choose. Certain situations can overlap like, say, being an alcoholic. If you look at the addiction side of things as something that happens to you, there is an experiential component of having lived through something. But if you look at it, as a choice to choose to drink and, elevate the importance of alcohol, then that becomes decisional. So decisional incarnation is is pretty straightforward.

Obviously, there are many aspects of decisional incarnation that we wouldn't purposefully want to pursue, like becoming a murderer, so we can relate to murderers. However, the beauty of the negative side of decisional incarnation is that it is a way that God can actually use the negative in positive way. Alright? He can take the negatives, the the sins, of those who have repented, and he can turn those into ways that they can incarnate to other people. It's a powerful type of incarnation that one should, like with the experiential incarnation, view as a community asset rather than an individual aspect.

So that, like I said, pretty straightforward and simple. That's all for now. So peace. Because I'm a pacifist, when I say it, I mean it.