One day I went for a walk with my Lord.
I asked Him the questions with no satisfying answers. The answers men spend their entire lives searching for. I asked my Lord those questions, longing, desiring the knowledge of some greater truth. I asked Him about evil, free will, foreknowledge and other great mysteries. As we walked along, His radiance lighting the way, I asked my Lord why He permits evil to run rampant. I questioned why He allowed a corporation of talking heads to produce a product that would kill my papaw after years of pain. I attempted to search Him for answers. How can He know the future and we still have the ability to freely choose our actions? I asked Him why millions are perishing from starvation and disease while we hoard our bounty to ourselves. Why are there children living in sewer pipes in Eastern Europe? Why are there children on the streets of the world huffing glue from soda bottles? Why are millions of people murdered by corrupt governments or fellow countrymen because they look or believe differently? I asked my Lord how He could let the Adversary continue to wreak these travesties on the earth.
“Why can’t You just show us Yourself that we may believe?”
My Lord listened patiently as we walked along. All the while, His eyes full of compassion while I rambled on; we continued to tread down this path. With every syllable that left my lips, my voice became more and more agitated and heated. My Lord listened on. My voice began to crack as we walked down this long and empty road. It was not well traveled, but the going was peaceful at His side, even light of my current predicament. These questions haunted me all the more.
I sat down on a log. It was perfectly placed right where and when I needed it. My Lord sat down beside me. I looked into His eyes while mine began to tear up. I paused and then asked Him. I, my feeble human mind, desired some long systematic theological discourse on the matter at hand. I desired to hear the answers to my passionate curiosities communicated in fine sounding, neatly wrapped arguments. He, true to His nature, did what I least expected. He put His hand on my shoulder and, in an instant, took me days long since passed.
He took me through time. I saw the pain of millions of people. Pain that manifested itself in so many different forms. Ways I never imagined and ways I could not begin to comprehend. I saw the pain experienced in the first murder. I viewed the millions being torn asunder by the ravages of war. I saw the explosions maim the sons of many. I felt the hunger pains of the broken masses longing for a tiny morsel of sustenance. I saw the anguish on the face of rape victims the morning after the assault. I saw the desire to die in the eyes of so many young people because their dads and moms had left them and they were the laughing stock at school. In these moments I saw the tears flowing down the cheeks of the young couples who lost their child during birth. I witnessed the atrocities of the human experience. I watched orphans running away from their new homes because they were beaten and enslaved. I look on, in complete dismay, as so many fled the swarm of steeple and pew clad buildings. They abandoned it because the love they had been promised was only given to them if they would agree with the whole. So, the love was rationed off. Right before I assumed myself correct and my claims justified, something happened.
I saw a man hunkered down in a foxhole. It was a frigid night, darker than any I have ever seen. There were very few stars shining through the clouds as the wind blew the sparkling snow in through the crisp night. The man was starving, his helmet cocked to one side from lack of concern. His muddy blanket was wrapped askew about him. A rifle lay next to him appearing to have slipped off to the side with little concern from its owner. The dirt in the foxhole was mixed with spent cartridges and splinters from trees, victims of intense shelling. He was cut off. His unit was experiencing a moment of rest; one of the few they had seen in the past few days. His canteen had been tossed to the side and the packaging from quickly devoured rations was pressed into the ground. This man, freezing, starving, his life at constant risk was huddled in this hole. Yet, there was an air about him. His green eyes shown with a sense of hope and peace from under the brim of his beaten helmet, characteristics that a man in his circumstances would not be expected to have. I saw in his breast pocket a small book. I knew what this book was. It was testimony of a man who poured Himself out; a man who gave His love even when people didn’t love Him.
Again, and quite suddenly, the scenery changed and the sun beat down. The dry dirt swirled in the sweltering wind as a baby began to wail. There were people everywhere. They were nestled around shanties made from debris, from plywood to tin sheeting to dirty, holey blankets. They too were clearly starving. Children ran around naked and barefooted, their ribs pressing through their skin. A man rode in on a bicycle. He was not much different than the people he came to see. He took off a beat up backpack and began to hand out what little food he had. The people gathered around him, anxious for the words he was about to speak. His mouth opened and the words that left were somehow comprehendible to my ears. He spoke a message of hope. His message was delivered with a fire in his eyes and most assuredly in his bones. He spoke of the coming of the kingdom of God! I could see into the souls of many of the people in the crowd. They lit up. No longer were their souls darkened. Their eyes shone with hope and joy even in their current tribulation.
I stood there, examining the situation, pondering the evens at hand. My Lord walked up to me. His words pierced my soul. “My child, my precious, precious child, do you not see? In the wars, I am there. In the famine, I am there. In every manifestation of evil I am there. I give hope to the hopeless, strength to the broke, I heal the afflicted and I set the captives free. I am their hope, their peace, I am their light! This world does not understand my love. Love is not something you are to withhold because someone does not agree with you. You do not keep it to yourself to change someone. To change someone you must love them. You must give of yourself. This is true love.”
The scene around me changed. All of a sudden, I was standing on a hill, the looks of which were like a skull. The ground was rocky and there were many soldiers standing around, their spears sparkling in the afternoon sun. I looked up and saw three men, all nailed to trees. There were many other common people around, and several men in fine robes with tassels and gold threat. They were taunting the man in the middle. They screamed at Him, cursing Him. They told Him to bring Himself down if He was who He claimed to be. They did not understand Him. In light of all I had just been told, my blood began to boil. Who were they to hate my Lord? Who were they to speak to Him like this?
My Lord spoke, “Forgive them, they do not know what they are doing!”
My knees went weak and gave out soon after. I sat there with tears streaming down my face. I put my head down. “How can I forgive them for what they have done? To me? To You? How can you let their evil continue? Why Lord, why?”
I felt a hand upon my shoulder bidding me rise. I looked up. No longer was I on the rocky slopes of the skull. There were no soldiers, no taunting. There was no death or blood. As I came to my feet, I saw a large rock sitting next to a cave like structure. The sun’s rays warmed my skin and gave me a sense of joy, of hope. The breeze rustled the glistening trees and pushed the brisk morning air through my hair. That, along with the sun, caused me to squint, but in the good, refreshing way. I looked at my Lord. His pierced hand was still on my shoulder. There was no death, there was life.
He looked deep into my soul. He paused a moment before He spoke.
“My child, since the beginning, I am. I was in the beginning as I am now, and as I forever will be. I have crafted the world from nothing and sculpted the heights with my hands. From the day the Adversary laid his evil hold on creation, the day of redemption drew ever closer. That was this day. Pain and suffering no longer rule. Death has been vanquished; now there is life! I am the light of the world, in Me there is no darkness!”
Again, in an instant, my surroundings changed. My Lord stood next to me. We were high above the earth. However, I could see people. People living in darkness. I saw the pains of the starving and suffering. I saw the anguish of those living in fear. I saw the anguish of those living in fear. I saw the darkness. Then I beheld the light in the darkness. People whose hope in their time of distress kept them alive. Those in the darkness beat them, cut them, and killed them, but they remained ever strong. With a tear in His eye, my Lord smiled. These were His people. He told me about the days to come. He told me of judgment and mercy, of torment and healing, of death and life. He stretched His hand out over the earth and spoke saying, “Behold! I make all things new!” The darkness subsided and the light penetrated all. “My child,” He said, “even though there is pain and suffering, my true light is already shining. I have been victorious! Have hope and faith. Do not be afraid, just believe!”
In that moment, I understood. I knew that I was no longer supposed to worry. I was instead supposed to love. I am called to tell people of this True Light.
And so I will.
I found myself back on the path with my Lord. He was standing over me I was sat on the log. His nail pierced Hand brought me to my feet. Comforted and assured, He led me on.
I asked Him the questions with no satisfying answers. The answers men spend their entire lives searching for. I asked my Lord those questions, longing, desiring the knowledge of some greater truth. I asked Him about evil, free will, foreknowledge and other great mysteries. As we walked along, His radiance lighting the way, I asked my Lord why He permits evil to run rampant. I questioned why He allowed a corporation of talking heads to produce a product that would kill my papaw after years of pain. I attempted to search Him for answers. How can He know the future and we still have the ability to freely choose our actions? I asked Him why millions are perishing from starvation and disease while we hoard our bounty to ourselves. Why are there children living in sewer pipes in Eastern Europe? Why are there children on the streets of the world huffing glue from soda bottles? Why are millions of people murdered by corrupt governments or fellow countrymen because they look or believe differently? I asked my Lord how He could let the Adversary continue to wreak these travesties on the earth.
“Why can’t You just show us Yourself that we may believe?”
My Lord listened patiently as we walked along. All the while, His eyes full of compassion while I rambled on; we continued to tread down this path. With every syllable that left my lips, my voice became more and more agitated and heated. My Lord listened on. My voice began to crack as we walked down this long and empty road. It was not well traveled, but the going was peaceful at His side, even light of my current predicament. These questions haunted me all the more.
I sat down on a log. It was perfectly placed right where and when I needed it. My Lord sat down beside me. I looked into His eyes while mine began to tear up. I paused and then asked Him. I, my feeble human mind, desired some long systematic theological discourse on the matter at hand. I desired to hear the answers to my passionate curiosities communicated in fine sounding, neatly wrapped arguments. He, true to His nature, did what I least expected. He put His hand on my shoulder and, in an instant, took me days long since passed.
He took me through time. I saw the pain of millions of people. Pain that manifested itself in so many different forms. Ways I never imagined and ways I could not begin to comprehend. I saw the pain experienced in the first murder. I viewed the millions being torn asunder by the ravages of war. I saw the explosions maim the sons of many. I felt the hunger pains of the broken masses longing for a tiny morsel of sustenance. I saw the anguish on the face of rape victims the morning after the assault. I saw the desire to die in the eyes of so many young people because their dads and moms had left them and they were the laughing stock at school. In these moments I saw the tears flowing down the cheeks of the young couples who lost their child during birth. I witnessed the atrocities of the human experience. I watched orphans running away from their new homes because they were beaten and enslaved. I look on, in complete dismay, as so many fled the swarm of steeple and pew clad buildings. They abandoned it because the love they had been promised was only given to them if they would agree with the whole. So, the love was rationed off. Right before I assumed myself correct and my claims justified, something happened.
I saw a man hunkered down in a foxhole. It was a frigid night, darker than any I have ever seen. There were very few stars shining through the clouds as the wind blew the sparkling snow in through the crisp night. The man was starving, his helmet cocked to one side from lack of concern. His muddy blanket was wrapped askew about him. A rifle lay next to him appearing to have slipped off to the side with little concern from its owner. The dirt in the foxhole was mixed with spent cartridges and splinters from trees, victims of intense shelling. He was cut off. His unit was experiencing a moment of rest; one of the few they had seen in the past few days. His canteen had been tossed to the side and the packaging from quickly devoured rations was pressed into the ground. This man, freezing, starving, his life at constant risk was huddled in this hole. Yet, there was an air about him. His green eyes shown with a sense of hope and peace from under the brim of his beaten helmet, characteristics that a man in his circumstances would not be expected to have. I saw in his breast pocket a small book. I knew what this book was. It was testimony of a man who poured Himself out; a man who gave His love even when people didn’t love Him.
Again, and quite suddenly, the scenery changed and the sun beat down. The dry dirt swirled in the sweltering wind as a baby began to wail. There were people everywhere. They were nestled around shanties made from debris, from plywood to tin sheeting to dirty, holey blankets. They too were clearly starving. Children ran around naked and barefooted, their ribs pressing through their skin. A man rode in on a bicycle. He was not much different than the people he came to see. He took off a beat up backpack and began to hand out what little food he had. The people gathered around him, anxious for the words he was about to speak. His mouth opened and the words that left were somehow comprehendible to my ears. He spoke a message of hope. His message was delivered with a fire in his eyes and most assuredly in his bones. He spoke of the coming of the kingdom of God! I could see into the souls of many of the people in the crowd. They lit up. No longer were their souls darkened. Their eyes shone with hope and joy even in their current tribulation.
I stood there, examining the situation, pondering the evens at hand. My Lord walked up to me. His words pierced my soul. “My child, my precious, precious child, do you not see? In the wars, I am there. In the famine, I am there. In every manifestation of evil I am there. I give hope to the hopeless, strength to the broke, I heal the afflicted and I set the captives free. I am their hope, their peace, I am their light! This world does not understand my love. Love is not something you are to withhold because someone does not agree with you. You do not keep it to yourself to change someone. To change someone you must love them. You must give of yourself. This is true love.”
The scene around me changed. All of a sudden, I was standing on a hill, the looks of which were like a skull. The ground was rocky and there were many soldiers standing around, their spears sparkling in the afternoon sun. I looked up and saw three men, all nailed to trees. There were many other common people around, and several men in fine robes with tassels and gold threat. They were taunting the man in the middle. They screamed at Him, cursing Him. They told Him to bring Himself down if He was who He claimed to be. They did not understand Him. In light of all I had just been told, my blood began to boil. Who were they to hate my Lord? Who were they to speak to Him like this?
My Lord spoke, “Forgive them, they do not know what they are doing!”
My knees went weak and gave out soon after. I sat there with tears streaming down my face. I put my head down. “How can I forgive them for what they have done? To me? To You? How can you let their evil continue? Why Lord, why?”
I felt a hand upon my shoulder bidding me rise. I looked up. No longer was I on the rocky slopes of the skull. There were no soldiers, no taunting. There was no death or blood. As I came to my feet, I saw a large rock sitting next to a cave like structure. The sun’s rays warmed my skin and gave me a sense of joy, of hope. The breeze rustled the glistening trees and pushed the brisk morning air through my hair. That, along with the sun, caused me to squint, but in the good, refreshing way. I looked at my Lord. His pierced hand was still on my shoulder. There was no death, there was life.
He looked deep into my soul. He paused a moment before He spoke.
“My child, since the beginning, I am. I was in the beginning as I am now, and as I forever will be. I have crafted the world from nothing and sculpted the heights with my hands. From the day the Adversary laid his evil hold on creation, the day of redemption drew ever closer. That was this day. Pain and suffering no longer rule. Death has been vanquished; now there is life! I am the light of the world, in Me there is no darkness!”
Again, in an instant, my surroundings changed. My Lord stood next to me. We were high above the earth. However, I could see people. People living in darkness. I saw the pains of the starving and suffering. I saw the anguish of those living in fear. I saw the anguish of those living in fear. I saw the darkness. Then I beheld the light in the darkness. People whose hope in their time of distress kept them alive. Those in the darkness beat them, cut them, and killed them, but they remained ever strong. With a tear in His eye, my Lord smiled. These were His people. He told me about the days to come. He told me of judgment and mercy, of torment and healing, of death and life. He stretched His hand out over the earth and spoke saying, “Behold! I make all things new!” The darkness subsided and the light penetrated all. “My child,” He said, “even though there is pain and suffering, my true light is already shining. I have been victorious! Have hope and faith. Do not be afraid, just believe!”
In that moment, I understood. I knew that I was no longer supposed to worry. I was instead supposed to love. I am called to tell people of this True Light.
And so I will.
I found myself back on the path with my Lord. He was standing over me I was sat on the log. His nail pierced Hand brought me to my feet. Comforted and assured, He led me on.