These days…
I am praying more these days that I will die strong in the Lord… a testimony somehow to His faithfulness, in some way magnifying Him… making Him BIG… showing Him off to the world, to unbelievers and saints alike. A witness, and an emboldener.
To make BIG is what magnifying is all about… to “magnify the Lord” is to make Him BIG. “Don’t make such a big deal about it,” is often said. But to “magnify” is to say “Go ahead… make a big deal about Him… draw attention to Him.” To cause others to stand up and take note, not of me, but of Christ! That would be my desire.
But I do not now know how I will die… only that it is certain I will. “It is appointed unto men once to die” (Heb. 9:27). So far, no one has beaten death… well, with the exception of Enoch (Gen. 5:24; Heb. 11:5) and Elijah (2 Kings 2:11). I may die just a slow, old death… “wither” and “fade” like grass and flower (Isa. 40:8). We are all like “a mist,” says James, “…a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.” (Jas. 4:14). We do well to pray now our sojourn will have meaning.
But for the believer this life is not a tragedy, but an opportunity. The believer knows we are all eternal. As French philosopher Pierre Teilhard de Chardin noted, “We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience.” We do not have a soul, we are a soul, and have a body. These bodies are perishing, but these souls will live on – “immortal horrors” or “everlasting splendours,” writes Lewis [C. S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory]. And this life is our opportunity to choose which.
This “getting ready” is in part the essence of our brother Joseph’s message this past Sunday… it is in fact the essence of many messages we have received in past weeks. Hard times are now. Harder times may soon be upon us. Make ready!
These are days for prayer… days for drawing near… for storing up treasure in heaven, seeking further the kingdom of God… choosing righteousness, and shunning evil. “These are the days of Elijah,” we have sung and may still sing in our hearts, days for declaring the word of the Lord, restoring righteousness. “And though these are days of great trial, of famine and darkness and sword, still, we are the voice in the desert crying ‘Prepare ye the way of the Lord!’” Soon, very soon, we will shout “Behold He comes!”
And so, till that day… in these days “Build yourself up in your most holy faith” as Jude urges, (Jude 20) and…
Press on…
To hear this past Sunday’s message, go to the Facebook page of Lincoln Baptist Church, or link to the livestream from the church website.
thebrokenrunner 