The Changing Church Part 7 of 8
An ordinary day, I thought, certainly nothing to be extremely excited about. What seems to be the onset of a hum-drum day, however, becomes extraordinary when touched by the Spirit of the living God. That day He touched me to again see into His supernatural world. This time the vision coincided with my own personal life.
In this vision, I could see before me a panoramic view of grassy, lush hills accompanied by the sweet odor of Spring. I was walking with our Lord. What could be more delightful than this? Appearing, almost as an answer to this question, came a group of young maidens all clad in white robes. They were bounding, singing joyously, talking back and forth; enthralled with the fellowship they were obviously loving. Fascinated, I watched as they came to a flat piece of ground. There stood a white pole festooned with brightly colored ribbons. It looks like a May-pole, I mused, as each maiden picked up a ribbon and began to do a synchronized-like dance in great merriment around the pole. They seemed delighted with their unity, the perfect sun-kissed day, and their joy-filled-to-the-brim existence. This happy camaraderie looked attractive to me at a time in my life when I had little fellowship, hardly any joy, and few friends.
I turned to go after the group with anticipation! Something I had not experienced since becoming a Christian – acceptance – especially acceptance by a group was available to me. How brutal it is for many of us to go from a life of popularity to a life of persecution. I, for one, like popularity better! Don’t you?
Often, though, the Lord gives us a choice between the two. He did that here. Looking longingly after these maidens, my heart began to stir. Something was wrong! Wrong was an understatement! Consciously averting my eyes from the happy scene, I saw something I never want to see again. The Lord had left my side! He was walking slowly away from me up a hill. “Choose, choose this day whom ye will serve,” He seemed to say. I turned, somewhat regretfully that I could not have both—acceptance from the group and fellowship with the Lord. He is a jealous God and requires our all: “. . .for you shall worship no other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God” (Exodus 34:14, NKJV). I turned from the maidens to follow, once again, Jesus Christ my Lord.
You may say, “This is not good news. I thought we were to preach good news!” It is WONDERFUL NEWS in the end. Eternal life. No sorrow or crying. Golden streets! However, it is a little tough getting there. John 16:33 says, “These things I have spoken unto you, that in Me ye might have peace. In the world you shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” The great promise is that through it all, He will be with us if we will only follow —“I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee” (Hebrews 13:5b).
So, we can “give it all up,” knowing He will “. . .be all in all” (I Corinthians 15:28). Undue reliance on anything or anyone except Him will be stripped away if we choose to go the way of the new move of God.
“So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple” (Luke 14:33, (NKJV).
