The Shadow
Dear Editor,
Truth, what is truth? Jesus, in his words recorded for us in the Gospel of John, Chapter 18, Verse 37 of the ESV, answered this question for Pilate.
“You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world… to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth, listens to my voice.”
Pilate, then answering him in Verse 38, with the question, “What Is truth?”
The sad reality about this exchange between Pilate and Jesus was the fact that Pilate never wanted to “hear” what truth had to say to him. Here he was standing before the “truth of God, that became flesh” and yet missed it!
Maybe he was troubled and distracted by what his wife had told him of the dream she had concerning Jesus? (Matthew 27.19)
Scripture doesn’t give us additional details, but the point I want to make here is this: The “truth” was present before his eyes, and in his hearing, and yet he chose to remain “blind and deaf.”
“Hearing you will hear and shall not understand, and seeing you will see and not perceive; for the hearts of this people have grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, so that I should heal them.” (Matthew 13.14-15, NKJV)
We are in such a time that in “seeing we fail to perceive and in hearing we fail to understand.” A time of consequences and divine judgement. A time in which the process of “hardening our hearts” by rejecting the truth of God in Christ is on public display. Today, the wicked and despicable acts of moral decay and depravity are flaunted and glorified. (Woe unto them that call good evil, and evil good … Isaiah 5.20)
Because of our hardened hearts and our hatred of God. We choose a lie and continue to embrace and love darkness. We have all gone our own way.
Everyone is right in his or her own eyes, (Judges 21.25).
There is no truth in us, we have become like the walking dead. God pleads with each and every one of us “the day that you hear His voice harden not your heart,” and again .. “I have set before you life and death choose life.” (Deuteronomy 30.19).
And what is life? Christ, the embodiment of “life, grace and truth,” The words of the resurrected one they are life indeed, And of grace I say this, in that He alone can pardon us if we but repent and trust Him. And of truth, in that He alone is the way unto the Father, and no man can come to the Father except through Christ. The good news of the Gospel is this:?“Repent and believe for the Kingdom of God is at hand!”
It will be a horrific thing to fall into the hands of the living God! To you Christian brother and sister I say this: It is high time for us to awaken out of deep sleep! If we are truly “people of the Book, children of the Most High God, and indeed children of the truth.”
We had better be about our “Father’s business” in proclaiming His truth! We are to be redeeming the time and earnestly “contending” for the faith that was once and for all delivered unto us. Do we not perceive and understand that we are at war! A war not of flesh and blood, nor for the things of this world, but for the very souls of men, women, and children. We must be diligent in this matter unless we shall find ourselves “combat ineffective” in shrinking from our duty as soldiers of the cross.
We must take our stand in the truth of our Lord and Savior, Christ Jesus. Stand and deliver the only truth that is able to save men’s souls.
If God has truly saved us, what are we to fear? We are called to be witnesses and if needs be, martyrs, as these two words are one and the same.
The stakes are much too high, the consequences — eternal.
Take up your arms and shield and let your legacy be known that you fought a good fight of faith. And let your deeds be known and imitated among the faithful of Christ.
The days of persecution are before us. Who will call upon the name of our God in those times? Without the Spirit of God no one will dare stand.
It will be a time when many will fall away. We understand, there are only two realities and truth attest to both.
There are children that are free and children who are enslaved in this world by sin. If we are children of God, our primary purpose is to proclaim God’s truth to a sinful world. For it is to this end we were created. Whose child are you?
To reject God in Christ is to declare oneself “twice dead, plucked up by the root.” To walk away from the only truth revealed to all of mankind is to cross that invisible line that marks the boundary between God’s mercy and his wrath.
Let us call to mind Judas, who being a part of Christ’s inner circle, betrayed him preferring this world over the riches of the kingdom of God to come.
I will close with this: There is a time, we know not when, a place, we know not where; which marks the destiny of men to glory or despair. There is a line, by us unseen, which crosses every path, Which marks the boundary between God’s mercy and his wrath. To pass that limit is to die, to die as if by stealth; it does not dim the beaming eye, nor pale the glow of health.
The conscience may be still at ease, the spirit light and gay; and that which pleases still may please, and care be thrust away.
But on that forehead God hath set indelibly a mark; unseen by man, for man as yet is blind and in the dark. He feels perchance that all is well and every fear is calmed; he lives, he dies, he walks in hell, not only doomed, but damned! Oh, where is that mysterious line that may, by men be crossed, beyond which God himself hath sworn, that he who goes is lost?
An answer from the skies repeats, “Ye who from God depart. Today, O hear His voice, Today repent and harden not your heart.” –Joseph Addison Alexander
Sincerely,
Al Jackson
Low Moor
