I See Jesus

"Why then do so many pass by the door because of the blood, sweat, and tears upon it? The Father wanted it that way."

THE LAW WAS a relentless drive to make an individual holy. By condemning sin and detailing what sin was, it gave men a way of behavior which turned their eyes toward God. It was not meant to be eternal but was, instead, a temporary fix, a Band-Aid, for a problem only God could cure. Outside of the wisdom and power of God working in the heart, men could never strive hard enough, in their own strength, to accomplish the fulfillment of the Law. There could be no unity between men, as God created it to be, without His presence. But what men became was always filled with self-serving behavior, one man taking power over another, a group of men subservient to another, the completion of them riddled with suspicion and broken promises. Jesus came to destroy “the selfish survival-of-the-fittest drive along with the lies of Satan (Ephesians 2:14-15, Remedy).”

“I tell you the truth, the time is now here when all those whose minds are infected with the lies of Satan—that lead only to death—will hear the truth that I, the Son of God, reveal; and all those who understand and accept this truth will have the lies dispelled from their minds and will be reconciled to God, and will live.” (John 5:25, Remedy)

Satan had painted a new picture of God, a false image, in front of mankind. A generous, loving Creator became, through the devil’s deceit, one of impossible odds. It wasn’t just that God was seen as vengeful and leaning to wrath, but that no man would ever become someone great by following His rules. These were the lies the devil told. Eve was led to believe she could only be like God by eating of the forbidden fruit. When the truth was, she was made from His breath in His image, after His likeness. In essence, the devil said, “He just doesn’t want you to know how great you can become.” Here is the monkey staring at his own image in the mirror. Adam and Eve’s son, Cain, fell into this same error. His offering was not good enough in God’s eyes, so he’d eliminate his brother entirely, then there’d be no comparison, and murder happened. In still another example, mankind united to build a tower to heaven, not to reach God, but to create one. For the first time, they used their human thinking to unite, under their own standard, and paint the picture of God they desired. God scrambled their language and suddenly, all is chaos, man going after man until by Noah’s day, all was violence, chamas.

There is no redemption in man outside of Jesus Christ and the work of the cross. For there, upon it was revealed the character of God, the plan of God, and His methods and principles. There was mercy and forgiveness as a gift. It had to be this way, given for free to those who would believe in Father God. One, because, as I said, no man could drive himself to that height. It wasn’t possible. Two, because only God would get the glory. He will not share His majesty with anyone or anything. Not in selfishness. He will never resemble the enemy. That’s us again, taking hold of the devil’s bait. The Law was meant as rescue until the Son of God came as the Son of Man to fulfill it and reveal what God had set into motion before creation. All of it. Suddenly, men could see what God had done, what He had been doing for thousands of years, and look ahead at the Golden City and a world of complete life. Suddenly, they looked at themselves and knew who God had created them to be and what they could go and do in the here and now.

“Because Satan’s lies obscured the truth about God—making confusing and mysterious what was once plain—God sent Christ to reveal the truth and thereby remove the confusion and mystery by making plain the truth about himself and his will.” (Ephesians 1:9, Remedy)

They saw the people around them in a new light. I ask myself this question all the time, “Who could that person be in heaven?” The person I see is broken, mentally and physically, financially. They are angry at the world, at the government, at each other. They have settled for what little the devil hasn’t taken away. God would give them abundance if they knew it. He longs to give all they will need, at the height of their needs, a security both in the heart and of eternity and on this earth, where they need never worry or be afraid again. Pride is a poor substitute for safety, both in status among people and in accumulation of things. Knowledge cannot replace wisdom. These were Eve’s thoughts when considered the tree of the KNOWLEDGE of good and evil. She said, “Since it is a tree to make one wise …” No, wisdom meant not eating. Knowledge brought death.

If you walked to a door, average door on an average street, that appeared to enter into a building like every other one, but when you opened the door, what you saw was an oasis of freedom, would you go in? Why then do so many pass by the door because of the blood, sweat, and tears upon it? The Father wanted it that way. He wanted the door to look like home, but the entrance, to those who opened it, to be grand. Because behind everyday wood and paint and a fingerprinted knob is everlasting life such as the mind cannot comprehend. Few there be that find it. All are invited to it and out of the deception that has misrepresented a loving God, who simply wanted a family but knew what that would entail. Of us, yes, but greatest of all, of Him. And He didn’t shirk from it. He embraced it instead and, in a moment of time, on a hill called Golgotha pulled the curtain apart from top to bottom.

“Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.” (Matthew 7:13-14)

Door Image by Lisa Yount from Pixabay
Sky Photo by Fausto García-Menéndez on Unsplash


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Suzanne D. Williams, Author
www.suzannedwilliams.com
www.feelgoodromance.com