Sometimes on the trail, a body just needs to sit down a moment to rest and reflect on the journey so far. Won’t you sit with me a moment or two? I’ve learned so much along the way, and my heavenly Father has “enlightened the eyes of my understanding of His beloved Son,” as I wrote in Following the Lord Jesus Christ: #1 The Journey.
But now I’m having some trouble moving on to the next episode of Jesus’ life. The difficulty lies partly in my own yearning for more. I want so much more than simply an accurate knowledge of the Word of God, more than “right doctrine.”
Some of us grew up in an exciting era of discovering the Bible as the Word of God—and signs and wonders followed as we believed. Then as time went on, many of us fell into the trap of attempting to discern who was “rightly dividing” the Word and who was not.
Orthodoxy (as set by only a few leaders) became the rule and with every disagreement, every problem, every disturbance, it would be tightened as a noose around the troublemakers’ necks. It became as the letter of the Old Testament Law, condemning all who transgressed. Grace, mercy, forgiveness, and redemption were tossed in the trash bin.
I think this quote from A.W. Tozer’s The Pursuit of God, explains what I am trying to say.
“There is today no lack of Bible teachers to set forth correctly the principles of the doctrines of Christ. But too many of these seem satisfied to teach the fundamentals of the faith year after year strangely unaware that there is, in their ministry, no manifest presence nor anything unusual in their personal lives. They minister constantly to believers who feel within their breast a longing which their teaching simply does not satisfy.”
That was written in the late 1940’s and yet, is still relevant today in some church circles, and certainly evident in my own experience. There has to be more! Tozer continued to address this problem:
“For it is not mere words that nourish the soul, but God Himself. And unless and until the hearers find God in personal experience, they are not the better for having heard the truth. The Bible is not an end in itself, but a means to bring men to an intimate and satisfying knowledge of God; that they may enter into Him, that they may delight in His presence, may taste and know the inner sweetness of the very God Himself in the core and center of their being, their spirit.”
Yes! That is what I long for—sweet, intimate fellowship with my heavenly Father. Of course, I have had glimpses of this along the way, and at times even a sustained reliance upon every word He whispered to my spirit, particularly in very difficult times. But I desire more. And when I started my “Following the Lord Jesus Christ” series, I recognized that it was through the example of Jesus Christ himself, and all that I am in him spiritually, that I could more fully experience God’s constant and everlasting love in my life. Tozer, again, says it so well:
“They are thirsty to taste for themselves the piercing sweetness of the love of Christ, about whom all the holy prophets did write and the Psalmists did sing.”
And I was right, this journey has brought me great joy as my eyes have been enlightened in the spirit and in the Word. That brings me to today, with an explanation of why I cannot seem to move on with the next chapter. You see, last time, we covered the healing of the nobleman’s son and it was the first recorded time in Jesus’ life that he healed someone. In the next account, we are moving on immediately to another healing. And this one, in essence, opens up his public ministry.
So, what’s the problem? This is all quite marvelous, isn’t it? It certainly is. Yet I feel entirely inadequate to cover these things, particularly in this area of healing. I’ve only recently, in the past year or so, had more than a mild interest in the subject. And now, when it is so much needed in so many lives, I’ve been racing to catch up with where I think I ought to be. But this sort of condemnation is counterproductive. Time to get up and move on in the goodness and mercy of God to our next stop on the road, Following the Lord Jesus Christ. Thanks for your understanding and thank God for His patience with us all!
NEXT: Following the Lord Jesus Christ: #17 The Pool at Bethesda
PREVIOUS: Following the Lord Jesus Christ: #15 Healing of the Nobleman’s Son
7 replies on “Following the Lord Jesus Christ: #16 Reflection”
Hi Sherry! I’m late on reading this, but I really enjoyed your deep and clearly expressed thoughts. Thank you for sharing, and thank you for continuing this great series! Love you! ♥️
Yes, Sherry, it takes us back to the first class of Power For Abundant Living, where Dr Wierwille taught us the five points of What is available, How to receive it, What to do with it, Need and Want Parallel, and God’s Ability equals His Willingness. Thanks for your insight into how a new venture is really a new view to attempt spiritual success from the natural world to God’s level of the more than abundant life. Yahoo…, bless you.
Your thoughts are so pure and loving. Thank you for your inspiration and your loving work to share the Word that you have learned. Thanks for the connection to the book “The Acceptable Year of the Lord.” I received mine in the mail and I am devouring it! Love you.
Sherry, Thank you for taking the time to share your beautiful heart on the “status” of your work on this. Love you!
Thanks for the love and support, Mary!
❤️ love you very much!
Thanks so much for sharing that.
Thanks for your love, we love you, too!