My attitude is this: I will stand for revival, unity and prayer; I will labor to restore healing, reconciliation and love between God’s people. I will do what I can. Yet, if all God truly wanted was to raise up one fully yielded son – a son who would refuse to be offended, refuse to harbor unforgiveness regardless of those who slander and persecute – I have determined to be that person. And while I labor to see an awakening in my nation, my primary goal in all things is not revival, but first to bring pleasure to Christ.
~ Francis Frangipane
You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet. You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.
~ Jesus, King of the universe, in Matthew 5
Oh beloved, it is true. Those who have fully-yielded to the great Love of G_d are in the minority. Vast numbers of people believe in Jesus, and many have trusted Him alone for their salvation from hell. However, naught but a few have surrendered themselves to Him in this life in such a way that they die to anything other than Him. To those who have, to them to live, is Christ. And Christ alone.
There is an amazing thing, though, about the women and men who have yielded their existence in such a way, that Christ might totally have His way with them. They no longer have to wait to arrive in heaven someday, for it has already begun to invade their lives. Surely, the real location will be so much more, but we no longer really live in this world for our citizenship in the Kingdom is already being made real in our lives. Peace and power and strength and hope course through the veins of one set apart to such a life.
And there is another amazing thing about these brothers and sisters. In allowing heaven and its King to live in them and through them, we have become exceedingly powerful in our influence in this world. We may be nothing in the eyes of the world, but the world generally cannot take its eyes off of us. We get under people’s skin… We burn like salt in a wound sometimes… We preserve hope… We give taste and savor to boring situations… We become trusted to make things better… We are an agent of healing… We touch people and they get better… We bring a purifying presence to where we are.
Perhaps part of this is because the world and its systems are are so dark and devoid of flavor, that any manifestation of true Love in such a dark world just shines like a spotlight onto a stage. But perhaps it is deeper than this. The math of the kingdom is always backwards to the ways of the world. Actually, it is the world that is backwards to the forward progress of Christ and His Church.
Weak is strong
Death brings life
Suffering yields joy
Poverty of spirit inherits the riches of eternity
Mourners are comforted
Meekness inherits territory
Hunger for righteousness finds it
Purity finds G_d
Peacemakers are movers and shakers in G_d’s family
Being reviled brings rejoicing
And one child of His, fully yielded to His infinite power, becomes more powerful than any of the systems of this cosmos can contain. One fully yielded child may be the minority in number, but numbers and chance cannot compete with The Infinite who now works in and through us.
So, beloved, do you feel like you are the only one standing for Christ in your sphere of influence? You may just be the most important person in the room, for all people involved. Stand in Christ alone, and let His infinite Love and Strength and Joy flow through you. See what happens.
You won’t be disappointed. And neither will He.
