You severed the umbilical cord to the world, and you are
standing before Jesus. In the presence of the Light that opened your eyes, you
see the filth in your garments. In the darkness of the world, the sin was
unnoticeable—you blended in. With deep remorse and shame, you tear off your
garments. Jesus graciously places a robe of righteousness around your shoulder
to cover your nakedness. You did not earn the status to wear it, to be called a
son or daughter of God. You were unworthy, yet God called you out from the
world, and in faith, you received Jesus in your heart. At that moment, you
became worthy to receive God’s righteousness.
“Come, follow Me,” Jesus says, and you scamper after Him as a
child does with his or her daddy, although He appears no older than you, maybe
much younger—He is wise beyond time. Jesus takes you to a clearing, majestic
and glowing with gold walls and towers. You are now at the gate; the door
stands wide open. Golden light emanates through it. Jesus walks ahead and
enters His Kingdom. You are about to enter, your chest puffed with pride, your
head held high, and hold the lapels of your robe—your outward righteousness. You
are a son or daughter of God.
“Do you desire to experience the Kingdom of Heaven?” Jesus
asks.
“Yes!” You boldly cry out and stand with mock authority.
“Then rend your heart,” Jesus says.
Astonished, you ask, “What do you mean, ‘rend your heart’? I
tore my filthy garments.”
“That was only your outward appearance. Tear off the pride in
your heart. I placed you in the circumstances in the world to test your loyalty
to Me, but you rebelled against persons of authority that I placed over you.”
“But, I am a follower of You.”
“Yes, you are My ambassador in the world to represent Me, but
I AM a heart of Love and Humility. If you are loyal to Me, you will rend your
heart of pride and enter My Kingdom with humility, and then you will represent
me.”
The epic circumstances that followed my pursuit of Jesus and
my transition from the world to be alive with Jesus in my heart taught me a
valuable lesson. Jesus will not do His work in the spirit of pride. Our labor
is in vain when we toil in the satisfaction of our salvation or the dignity of
our calling. We did not earn salvation—it is by grace that we are saved,
through faith, not by works, so that no one can boast (Ephesians 2:8-9).
Labor with a heart of humility and there you will experience
the Kingdom of Heaven. Rip the pride out of your heart—don’t just tear your
clothing.
“Rend
you heart and not your garments.” ~Joel 2:13 NIV
“The Lord does
not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward
appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” ~1 Samuel 16:7 NIV
“It
is only the loyal soul who believes that God engineers circumstances.” ~Oswald
Chambers
a
Copyright 2017 © Jeff Cambridge
No comments:
Post a Comment