My Unusual Journal
My Unusual Journal 52, Tuesday, November 15, 2011, 12:05 PM
Is There No Balm in Gilead?
My heart is heavy, saddened by the state of the visible church of God. The visible church is the entire body of professing Christians and it is manifestly a mélange of all sorts of people who call themselves followers of Christ.
I happen to be a Pentecostal believer in Christ. But this definitely does not mean that I am locked into every belief arising from the febrile mind of any stray person who claims to be Pentecostal. We Pentecostals, like many other religious groups, have a hodgepodge of sub doctrines that tend to weaken our authenticity. But, as I have indicated, other religious groups are similarly plagued; they have many ragtag affiliates who want to be known for their “deep” thinking – even if they have to dip into the shallows of their largely untutored minds to create their own brand of religious dogma.
I have said this previous to the present post: I am Pentecostal, a group with which I am neither ashamed nor proud to be affiliated. Definitely I am blest to have been brought up in a Pentecostal home by parents who were wise when other parents around them were not so wise. And I do not remember their ever saying that all who were not of the Apostolic/Pentecostal persuasion were going to hell – and this was back in the day when to be Pentecostal was to be nothing if not to be rigid in your religious views.
But today – and you can refuse to go with the tide of God if you wish – we know there are followers of Christ in just about every denomination you can name. The denominations as a whole may have some twisted views on God and Christ and salvation, but any person among them that believes in Jesus as their own means of salvation and follows after Him to the best of their ability and by the grace of God: that person is saved, not by dogma, not by good works, but by their faith in Jesus. It now seems to be more of an individual’s choice without regard to the label we affix to them.
So let’s consider the whole true Church of Christ as being comprised of these faithful individuals of varying religious hues, a “speckled bird,” so to speak. We who are a part of the Church need to continue to pray for the Church, the body of Christ, but at the same time we have to make our salvation a personal matter. We have to work on our own contrary, rebellious natures while simultaneously reaching out to others to come with us.
There are some things in our own lives we need and for which we can reach but not attain them by our own efforts. Make no mistake: We Christians are required to continually extend our clutching hands for a closer walk with God and a more intimate relationship with Him. Out of our innermost being a demand arises to be saturated with His presence, although most of us slough it off and serve our Lord with less than total commitment.
But for those who do heed the call of God to total surrender, only God can make it happen. He will not give you what you want and seek so avidly if you get frustrated and sullenly hang back, complaining, “Well, God knows what I need and what I sought so fervently, so, as the God He is, He is required to supply those fervent desires.”
No, no. You’ve got it wrong, friend. Only God determines what it is that a God should do. Remember who is the beggar and who is the sovereign God. We beg, God supplies. If you want a closer walk and a more vibrant relationship with God, come to Him with your hat in your hand. Throw away all your notions of self-sufficiency, beg – even grovel if you must – for those qualities that will make your life fuller and sweeter in Christ.
You may belong to Christ, you may love Him greatly, but if you are above pleading for what you want and need, you will not receive it. You have to cry long and loud for some things that you need and God wants you to have. Take a cue from the parable of the widow who had to pressure the unjust judge to give her justice. (Luke 18.2-7)
Jesus remarked concerning the widow, “And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? 8 I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly…”
If you have needs, if you have yearnings that are rooted in your love for God, don’t stop because God does not answer at your first plea nor seem moved by your first tear. Come back again and again and again. The praying, the weeping, the agonizing are all a part of God’s plan for making you what He wants you to be.
I don’t want to be the only one saved, and I am sure neither do you. Heaven would be a lonely place without our brothers and sisters in Christ. We need to move ahead, both as individuals and as the body of Christ. Let’s not come to the place when we finally have to lament as Jeremiah did:
“The harvest is past, the summer has ended [all hope is gone], and we are not saved. Since my people are crushed, I am crushed; I mourn, and horror grips me. Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why then is there no healing for the wound of my people?” (Jer 8:20-22 NIV)
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