HEAVEN TO EARTH AND BACK AGAIN
"Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know, and bear witness to what we have seen, but you do not receive our testimony. John 3:11
Nicodemus asked Jesus some questions about the need to be born again to see God's kingdom. Jesus answered him. Nicodemus, stunned, questioned Him again another way, finding everything Jesus said to be incredulous. I can imagine the sadness in Jesus as He finally said, "I'm only speaking of what I know, what I have seen to be true, but you don't receive what I'm saying." Jesus words about heaven and earth and how the kingdom works should never have been in question. He was conveying their realities firsthand. He came from heaven, lived there, saw it, created it, but was still not received as a credible witness. What an insult.
Bookstore shelves contain accounts of people who have died and report spending time in heaven. One man's account reveals the story of the 90 minutes he spent there. Each book seems to be a best seller. Each author reports what he saw, how he felt, and how death after life works from their short exposure there. So many receive their testimonies without question. Yet Jesus' claims, and his description of life with His Father in heaven, is usually suspect among those who hear the Gospel.
If you are living in close proximity to a doubter, someone who can't see the reality of the new life Jesus offers, you know Jesus' frustration. You can identify with your Savior when He longs to communicate spiritual things but finds a heart that is closed to His passionate testimony. You know how you feel when you share from your heart and there is only skepticism on the other face. The joy of Christ may be evident on your face yet it is conveniently discounted as delusion. Spiritual blindness is a disease of the soul and until God grants a man or woman the eyes to see the truth, there is no amount of proof to move them from unbelief to saving faith. What's at stake for them to believe is coming to the end of themselves. No one does that without a fight.
Let me personalize even further. There are things the Spirit of God wishes to reveal to me today about how the kingdom works and what I must do to align myself with the life of Jesus. The Spirit still speaks from a place of credibility. Will I receive His testimony? Or, will I be like Nicodemus and question, even rationalize my disobedience? The goal for every child of God is to hear the Word, believe it, receive it completely, and then act upon it. The space of time between hearing and obeying should be short.
What are you asking me to do? My answer is, 'Yes, Lord!' Amen
Christine Wyrtzen
Daughters of Promise
