"Utter Darkness!" - 2

 "Ye shall seek me, and shall not find me: and where I am, thither ye cannot come." (John 7:34 KJV)

  "Someone asked him, "Lord, will only a few be saved?" He replied, "Work hard to enter the narrow door to God's Kingdom, for many will try to enter but will fail. When the master of the house has locked the door, it will be too late. You will stand outside knocking and pleading, 'Lord, open the door for us!' But he will reply, 'I don't know you or where you come from.'"" (Luke 13:23-25 NLT)

 As I was thinking about this yesterday, I was able to listen to several messages yesterday that were giving bits and pieces of this same topic; the most direct message was from Pastor Robert, as he shared about how much we take it for granted that God will forgive us, even though we halfheartedly ask Him. Wow, how dirty I automatically felt! This is the meaning to the phrase, "Fear God!" 

 I have been tossing a message around in my mind, one that involves a mystery spoken of by Paul in Ephesians 5:32. This is the portion of Scripture where we are taught how a husband and wife are to love one another; saying at the end, "Nevertheless, let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife see that she reverence her husband." (Ephesians 5:33 KJV) 

 If you did not catch my sharing this before, I will try and repeat it. The word, "reverence," is based upon a response to the love that the wife is given. I know that might seem hard for some to understand, but if you really want better clarification, as Paul says, "This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church." (Ephesians 5:32 KJV) 

 In other words, the reflection shown is the love of Christ towards us, in that He laid down His life in order to wash and purify His bride, which is us, the church, makes the responding love in us matter! We are reverencing Him based upon His love for us! 

 Crazy as it might seem, but this little issue about, 'I don't know you or where you came from,' is the reflection of us, who might not reflect the love that has been freely given onto us. That reminds we of God's first question to Adam, as He had been instructing Adam, telling him all that is expected of him, what he has been given, and his duty to protect the garden. Saying to him, "Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die." (Genesis 2:16-17 KJV)

 Then after Adam sinned, God asked him his very first question, saying, "Where art thou?" A little different reflection, as Adam was reflecting the sin that he had done! Another message I heard later on in the day, as the Pastor reminded me, saying, "We that have been truly forgiven, know in our hearts that we have been washed; there is no doubt in our minds, that we abide in Christ." Do you see your reflection, reflecting Christ? 

 I think that Paul had something to say towards this, where have we come from thing...

"But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world." (Galatians 6:14 KJV)