Afraid of Who We Are

Posted on March 18, 2016 by America's Keswick in Freedom Fighters

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AragornIt is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that the dullest and most uninteresting person you can talk to may one day be a creature which, if you say it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship, or else a horror and a corruption such as you now meet, if at all, only in a nightmare. All day long we are, in some degree, helping each other to one or other of these destinations. It is in the light of these overwhelming possibilities, it is with the awe and the circumspection proper to them, that we should conduct all our dealings with one another, all friendships, all loves, all play, all politics. There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilisations—these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub, and exploit—immortal horrors or everlasting splendours. This does not mean that we are to be perpetually solemn. We must play. But our merriment must be of that kind (and it is, in fact, the merriest kind) which exists between people who have, from the outset, taken each other seriously—no flippancy, no superiority, no presumption. And our charity must be a real and costly love, with deep feeling for the sins in spite of which we love the sinner—no mere tolerance, or indulgence which parodies love as flippancy parodies merriment. ~C.S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory

See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know Him. Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when He appears we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who thus hopes in Him purifies himself as He is pure. ~from 1 John 3

Oh beloved, it is true. At least we hope it is. But what if it is even more? Read the text. We are being made into something so far beyond our imaginations as to bend the abilities of even the best writers to even begin to describe.

The beloved disciple John seems to have the best handle on this. He had felt the friendship of his Best Friend here on earth. John and Jesus hung out and enjoyed each other’s company for about three years. They ate together, laughed together, shivered in the night together, got sick together, prayed in synagogue together, and then spoke with each other while Jesus died for us all.

John saw something pretty amazing after Jesus death as well… What if you had walked in on the ‘smoking gun’ of the resurrection? What if you smelled the scent of the freshest air you had ever breathed in the tomb of dead Man who was no longer there? What if you saw the impact marks of the Light that rolled back the stone on that morning of mornings. What if? How would you live your life from that moment on? Ever wondered? Read the writings of the Apostle John, and listen to a man utterly, completely, astoundingly convinced that his Beloved had both died and conquered the grave!

And it gets better. John saw Jesus Alive AFTER His ascension.

John saw Jesus in His full glory and strength. It was a sight, that at first, dropped John to his own face in abject fear. John knew – instantly – that he was in the presence of The King of The Universe. And this same Jesus said something that should change all of our minds about the future: “Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the Living One. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades.”

Can we see it? Don’t shrink from it. Don’t let your pride get in the way of it. He said through His own dear friend. We are to be like The Jesus that John saw in Revelation. We are to be so beautiful that we will actually fit within the most amazing scenes of Heaven that we can imagine. We are to actually become what we were created to be by The Designer. We are to become men who actually take on the image of G_d.

Yeah.

So, do you struggle with parts of Scripture? This fool of a writer does. The depth and power of some of His Word frankly drives me to the edge of any sense of understanding. However, it does help me to remember what the old saint, Corrie Ten Boom, said one time: “God said it. That settles it.”

Tonight is your night beloved. Time to quit being afraid of who He is making you into. Let Him work. The outcome is going to be more amazing than you can imagine!

According to Viktor Frankl, “a person finds identity only to the extent that “he commits himself to something beyond himself, to a cause greater than himself.”

Written by Makala (Mak) Doulos: Makala Doulos is a child of God, a husband to his wife, a father to his children, and a teacher to his students. But mostly, he is a prisoner set free by Jesus. Love has invaded his life, crushed it, and made it new. Now, God’s Love is what constrains him to live in full surrender to the freedom The Father and Son and Holy Spirit have bought for us all. Grace and Peace to you all.

The Daily Bible Reading: Psalm 78; Proverbs 18

Click Here to Download our 2016 Daily Bible Reading Plan

Daily Quote: The meaning of our lives emerges in the surrender of ourselves to an adventure of becoming who we are not yet. ~Brennan Manning

This Week’s Verse to Memorize: For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. ~ Jeremiah 29:11  (NKJV)

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