Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"
Disasters are coming fast and furious--hurricanes, earthquakes, and because of "the distress of nations," "men's hearts [are] failing them from fear" (Luke 21:25, 26). With today's media, we see the "distress of nations" and the fear portrayed in vivid photos and videos that enable us to identify corporately with the millions who suffer.
But who thinks of the pain that God must feel? Do we not read that He cares when even a little bird dies (Matt. 10:29)? Jesus has promised to be with us "to the end of the age" (Matt. 28:20). When we suffer, He suffers; His love binds the human race to Himself. Does He not long for all this pain to come to an end?
We know that Jesus is still alive, He is risen from the dead; and He has not forgotten the human race that He died to redeem. He wants to come the second time in fulfillment of His promise. If we say that He has delayed His coming, we make ourselves "evil servants" (Matt. 24:48).
The truth is that His people have delayed His coming. They are too content with the pleasures of living in the great global economy, and are indifferent either to the suffering in the world or the suffering in the heart of God. If it is difficult for us to grasp that kind of identity with Him, that would indicate that we are immature and childish, the little flower girl at the wedding rather than the mature person the Bride is to become (see Rev. 19:6-9).
In order to learn to identify with Christ, begin identifying with Him as He hangs on His cross. Read about it in Psalms 22 and 69. To read those two chapters with even a beginning of understanding stretches your spiritual muscles. Then "graduate" to identify with Christ in His high priestly ministry today in the Most Holy Apartment; sense His concern for the multitudes of people on this planet and His yearning for His church to cooperate with Him in ministry for them. Sense His disappointment; enter into His message in Revelation 3:14-21, not to criticize His church, but to sense how He feels.
When you finish a thoughtful study of the Book of Revelation, you will cry out with John, "Even so, come Lord Jesus!" (22:20). Instead of praying self-centered prayers, you will begin praying prayers for Christ to receive His reward.
--Robert J. Wieland
From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: October 11, 1999.
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