Ten Great Truths That Make God's Last Days Message Unique
NUMBER FOUR: "Christ is not waiting for us to discover Him in some secret place; He is not in any secret place, He is out actively seeking His lost sheep--which is you and I."
It is not right to regard Him as a shopkeeper who is lodged in His "shop" waiting for us to seek Him out. But many have this idea deeply buried in their hearts. There is only one difficulty we have to face--the idea that He hides from us.
He is out seeking His lost sheep everywhere. "The Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost" (Luke 19:10). Out over the mountains in the wild sleeting night He goes seeking. "If I make my bed in hell, behold, Thou art there," says the Psalmist (139:8). You can run away from Him but you cannot outrun Him in His seeking for you. The wilder the night, the more dangerous His journey is, the more diligent and faithful He is in seeking you.
How does He do the "seeking"?
He uses His believers as His active agents; He impresses them individually to pray for this or that person (including you); the one who prays is His co-laborer sharing with Him His agape-love. You and I will never reach a higher place in life than sharing His agape-love for someone who is lost.
When you are praying for someone who is lost, the Holy Spirit is seeking to find a way to impress on you the understanding of how much He loves that person.
His love is not like our natural-born love--we love nice people; He loves bad people; but His love changes them into people who appreciate His sacrifice for them, and that heart appreciation melts their stony hearts.
We talk a great deal about "faith" but most of our man-made definitions of faith emphasize the acquisitive nature of man; we want a "mansion in the sky" as we sing; we think of heaven as a reward for our self-sacrifices here "below." Heaven is not a reward for our hard work; heaven is close fellowship with the Lord Jesus--and that you can have here and now as you share with Him His love for someone for whom you are praying.
If anyone is saved at last; it will be due to Christ's initiative; think of the joy that is yours and mine--we can share that joy here and now in this world of pain and suffering.
Be sure to check your e-mail for "Dial Daily Bread" again tomorrow.
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