12/17/2023
Hearing the gospel of Jesus (that He was born, lived, suffered, died, and was resurrected to redeem us from sin and death), and having this message fall on that fertile spot within us, creates a need for it that is unquenchable. Are you one of those in whom the gospel of Jesus Christ has found a slight furrow into which its seed has fallen and taken root? If so then despite the season you are in, you will be called to tend it... time and time again, day after day, you will nurture it until it bears sweet fruit. For all the others there will be only darkness, and a withering drought.
“The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.”
1 Corinthians 2:14 ESV
I attended the Virginia Military Institute (VMI), and over the years since leaving that tough place, I have noticed that there are those alumni for whom their years there were amazing and invaluable, others who found them hard and have become bitter about the experience, and a few more who saw them as just another college experience.
For those that found the experience invaluable, there is an inexplicable draw to return there. They might regularly attend sporting events, or just come to walk around and reminisce... they might come back once every few years, several times a year, or just to attend their class reunions quinquennially (every five years), but they must return.
The individuals that found their experience there to be unnecessarily hard, and who have become bitter about it, rarely return... if at all... but there are a few of these who also find that they must return. This hard and demanding place holds a memory for them that is incredibly strong albeit distasteful, and yet they must journey back there to make sense of their feelings towards it, and to come to grips with the experience.
Then finally there are those who walked through their cadetships convincing themselves that it was just like any other college, and that what they were experiencing meant nothing beyond the personal challenge, and the degree they would earn. Yet, amazingly, I have found that even this third type comes in two flavors... those who occasionally return for reunions to see a few friends, and those who... after leaving... have had an epiphany that reveals to them the unique, intrinsic, and invaluable impact this place truly had on them and their lives.
The strong emotion that a school like VMI brings out in its various alumni is similar to the seed of faith that the gospel casts upon those who hear it. We can love Jesus, or hate Him, but none of us can remain ambivalent towards Him. Once heard the gospel will demand a choice from us. Once we have been exposed to Jesus Christ we will feel drawn to Him in some way, and must decide how we will address this call.
Many who have become faithful heard the gospel message and then immediately began their journey towards righteousness; for others they entered into a process of mulling it over that might take years to grow to the point where it germinates; and then there are those who reject it entirely, and find themselves forever lost to its allure. The unbelievers who reject the gospel travel about in the world not hearing the soft voice of God calling to them... they have distanced themselves sufficiently. Finally, for those few who are neither hot nor cold, God continues to call out to them until they either make a decision, or He finally spits them from his mouth. Thus their answer by default will have become disbelief.
“So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.”
Revelation 3:16-17 ESV
For those of us who choose to reject Jesus, or maintain a lukewarm position towards Him to the point of being spit out, the gospel is lost, and there is no meaning. The spiritual portion of them falls into darkness and atrophies... leaving them to travel life, and the world, spiritually alone.
“And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”
2 Corinthians 4:3-4 ESV
So what happens to these lost and wandering souls? They see the world as their oyster and remain spiritual castaways until Jesus returns, and on that day they will be drawn to Him like all people will, but they will face their judgement on their own.
“And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself."”
John 12:32 ESV
The question for each of us becomes this... do we believe? The answer is simple, and must be either yes or no. There will not be a “maybe” that can marginally redeem us and win us grace... only the words “Here am I” will suffice.
So, where do we stand? Which of these spiritual seekers, are we? What will our choice be upon hearing the gospel of Jesus Christ?
Prayer:
Father I thank you for your Son Jesus Christ who redeemed me, and the simplicity of my profession of faith in Him. I thank you for leading me to you, and for the crossroads that I found myself at when you called to me “This is the way!” I am so thankful Father for answering “Here am I” when you called, and I pray fervently for those lost souls who turned back to a life in the world without answering you. Help them Lord, and let the seed of the gospel blow around within them until at last it finds a fertile furrow; moist and waiting ground. I pray Holy Father that you hold all of them that are lukewarm in your mouth for as long as you can, and that you will mercifully give them ample time to call out to you before you spit them out. You are my God, and Jesus my savior... let the fruit of my faith be pleasing to your palette always, and my branches be heavy laden with spiritual fruit. Praised be your name Father, for you are eternally good, and greatly to be praised.
“Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!”
Revelation 4:8 ESV
Rich Forbes