I'll Just Have a Sandwich

It’s an amazing thing to witness a true believer’s faith in times of testing, especially in death.  My family has seen its share of death in the last couple of years and, at times, it has been very trying, but a good friend once said that, “If you live long enough, you are going to die”.   It’s a funny quote but so true; death is something that is afforded to every man (Heb. 9:27).  

In praying for strength and comfort God chose to give me a dream that proved to be a great blessing to me and my family.  I have so often thought of how overwhelmed John the Revelator was as he received his vision of Heaven.  I guess we could never imagine what the feeling of complete freedom is like; living without the burden of sin in our bodies, being removed from the pressures and tragedies of the world that we live in now.  To finish your race and to receive that crown of righteousness that He has laid up for us in Heaven (John 10:9). 

I was lying in bed contemplating the losses that we had suffered and I began to imagine the contrast of being confined to an illness to the total freedom that we have in Christ.  I drifted off into a dream.  Suddenly I was standing at the edge of the most beautiful meadow.  It was a first person experiences, were I was seeing everything from my perspective.  The meadow was surrounded by snow-capped blue mountains silhouetted against a cloudless summer sky.  Knee-high grasses covered the valley of the most beautiful shades of browns and greens. 

I was getting lost in the scenery when the grass began to sway in a coming breeze.  Then a wind like I have never felt blew in from behind me.  It was invigorating and brought me to life like jumping in a cold river.  My eyes opened wide and my hair stood on end as I began to sense something behind me. Before I could turn around horses started running past me and out into the meadow.  They were unlike anything that we know.  They were so tall and strong, hair slick and shining like the sun.  They were so strong, unbelievably strong and fast.  It was like they were gliding on ice, effortless power and grace; they were beautiful.  

As I watched them run past me and into the meadow, it was my natural instinct to wonder why they were running or to what purpose did they have.  No more did that thought cross through my mind than the answer struck me.  They are running because they can! There is no task to complete, their race is already run.  Now they have been turned out into a greener pasture and they are simply running because they can.  They are completely free.

In my human mind, I guess that is as close as I could get to imagine the complete freedom that we will feel when we enter into the Kingdom (Ezekiel 34:31).  Any image of joy that we might concieve will simply pale in comparision to what God has prepared for us.  What a beautiful hope we have as Christians and what amazing grace our God has shown us (Romans 5:8).

It’s funny how at different points in your life things take on different meaning.  This is a little couplet that I wrote a while back and I rediscovered it this morning looking through some old files. 

At the time that I wrote it, I was struggling.  I had so many questions about salvation, mainly how to be sure that I had it and how not to loose it.  In reading through the simple lines of this poem I could feel those same feelings cropping up again.  I see a man who is trying to assure himself that his sorrow is great enough for God to save him.  That his lamentations are sufficient and that he has done all that is required to receive forgiveness and, more importantly, never loose it.  The problem is, he is worried about what “he” can do. 

The beauty of it is that this man later realizes that salvation is God’s work, not his.  He saved through the finished work of Jesus Christ at the cross.  By His Grace through faith he is justified.  The price that was owed by all of us was paid in full by God’s Christ as he boar our sins.  I grew to realize that to bring any of my own righteousness or works before the throne is an insult to the free gift that He offers.  We as believers are clothed with His righteousness, not our own.  So in the sight of God we are as righteous as His own son. 

Know that as a believer your salvation is secure because it rest in the hands of God All Mighty.  He describes Himself as the Good Sheppard, and tells us that, “of all that the father has given me, I have not lost a single one” John 6:37-39.  And if you are seeking Him, it is because He called you, and He says, “My sheep know my voice, and they will not follow anyone else” John 10:27.  Our salvation is rest in Him and He assures us that “no one can pluck them from my hand” John 10:28-29. What a great place to be. 

Today the simple rhymes of this poem take on a different meaning and I see it as a portrait of a man who is seeking God but doesn’t realize that he has already been found. 

The Precious Vine

In this world I find no rest

Enmity upon my breast.

The weight of chains I can not bear

Yoked to sin by that I swear.

Crying in the wilderness a voice I hear

Mighty God the One I fear.

Upon my face I lament my sin

And by His grace new life begins.

Chosen in love I’ve been set free

Only to Him I bend my knee.

Leading my way He holds my hand

Firm upon the rock I stand.

Longing for the day I drink new wine

Grafted to His precious vine.