Sadness


Today there is a sadness over me.  People who know me know I am a Christian.  And they know that I am not ashamed to speak of my love for the Lord Jesus.  Yet not one of them comes to ask.  I have taken this sadness to the Lord.   He reminded me that this is the case between man and animal.  Even though a man means no harm to the wild birds, not one will come to him because fear.  This is the fear that was instilled in the animals at the sin of Adam.

Does this mean that the Lord considers the wicked as mere animals?  The answer is yes.  Isn’t this the charge against us all if we remain outside the Lord’s provided salvation in Jesus?  Yes.  There is transformation from animal to man.  But few challenge their own fear.  They know they do not have peace with God.  Yet they encourage one another to remain in fear by making up stories.

Does this knowledge help my sadness?  In an odd way, yes this does help.  Because it defines the reason for the cause.  But the pain of watching them contrive a false sense of security abides.  All the while I am among them and can reveal true security.

They speak of money, knowledge, social position, angel worship, every religious ritual known to man, and entertainment, as if they hold the key to the complete security of eternity; that security which blots out all fear.  Every lie born from the imagination of man receives great praise or even debate.  All the while they purposely ignore the Lord Jesus and His people who hold the Gospel within them.  So this sadness continues, yet is abated a bit.

Sealed Forever


Jacob Matham’s engraving after Sebastian Vranc...

Jacob Matham’s engraving after Sebastian Vrancx’s The Rich Man at the Table and Lazarus at the Door (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

A wicked man was beating a Christian.  Afer he had vented considerable injury to the Christian, so that the Christian was near death, the wicked man suffered a fatal heart attack.  He had allowed his wrath to overtake his heart’s ability to sustain his hatred.   In just a few moments the Christian also died.  Silence was all that remained of them in this place of testing.

The next noise the Christian heard was, “Welcome home My good and faithful servant.  Come share in My Father’s Kingdom.”  But when the wicked man woke he realized that the object of his hatred was now in the company of God.  Full of the same hatred he had at death, he challenged God.  With spit leaking from his lips he screamed, “That one belongs to me!  Give him back!  I am by no means done beating him!  You have no right to what is mine!”

Guess what happened next.