"O Lucifer, son of the morning...[thou] that made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof; that would not release his prisoners." Isaiah 14:17
"That thou [i.e., the Messiah] may say to the prisoners, 'Go forth,' to them that are in darkness, 'Show yourselves.' They shall feed along the roads, and their pastures shall be in all desolate heights." Isaiah 49:9
"For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil." I John 3:8b
Do you believe that God is in the business of unraveling all of Satan's evil? Do you believe that God seeks and will have the eradication of suffering and death? Do you believe that redemption means the world becoming like a star, and all the traces and effects of Sin will burn away? Do you believe that redemption is as much now as it is the future? Do you look for redemption in your present day circumstances? Do you believe that the Cross has set all things upon the objective reality of redemption, or is darkness your only view? It is the strength of the Christian to be able to realize and claim the truth that darkness is real, but it is not the end. At the bottom of all things, the reality of evil has been undercut, and it will fade away; even today it is happening, if you will only look for it. Are our eyes filtering all through redemption, or is everything merely material, nonsensical?
You remember past evils; do you remember the good that God worked out of them? You acknowledge the power of man's fallenness; do you acknowledge the almighty power of God's grace? You have seen the ravagings of Sin; do you see the reality of Redemption? If we focus solely of Sin, we will despair. If we focus solely of Redemption, we will daydream. If, however, we focus of the reality of Redemption working within a world of Sin, then we shall live like the children of God. We are ever aware of a great upheaval that has taken place within the very framework of the universe, an upheaval whose effects flash here and there now and again, which will one day be fully unleashed in purging fury (Romans 8:18-23).
The good news that we have is this: God has struck Sin at its very core, and all evil will die with it; if ye be evil, then repent! Perhaps you preach this news; do you believe it? Do you believe that Redemption is the reality that is consuming Sin off the face of the earth, or do we sequester Redemption to merely salvation experiences: ecstatic moments in time, and nothing more? For every moment that Redemption is not our reality, we will become fearful, bitter, angry, and cynical. The children of God are never to be these things; we are the never naive nor despairing flames in the night who believe in and point to the reality of the Sun. We are the children of the Burning Heart. Do you see the Fire that purges away all evil; or do you know only the night, and forget the light given to you? If the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!
"Holy light of the world,
Save us from ourselves:
We are out of touch.
Take us out of our shadows
And up to Your Reality..."
-Jon Vowell
"That thou [i.e., the Messiah] may say to the prisoners, 'Go forth,' to them that are in darkness, 'Show yourselves.' They shall feed along the roads, and their pastures shall be in all desolate heights." Isaiah 49:9
"For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil." I John 3:8b
Do you believe that God is in the business of unraveling all of Satan's evil? Do you believe that God seeks and will have the eradication of suffering and death? Do you believe that redemption means the world becoming like a star, and all the traces and effects of Sin will burn away? Do you believe that redemption is as much now as it is the future? Do you look for redemption in your present day circumstances? Do you believe that the Cross has set all things upon the objective reality of redemption, or is darkness your only view? It is the strength of the Christian to be able to realize and claim the truth that darkness is real, but it is not the end. At the bottom of all things, the reality of evil has been undercut, and it will fade away; even today it is happening, if you will only look for it. Are our eyes filtering all through redemption, or is everything merely material, nonsensical?
You remember past evils; do you remember the good that God worked out of them? You acknowledge the power of man's fallenness; do you acknowledge the almighty power of God's grace? You have seen the ravagings of Sin; do you see the reality of Redemption? If we focus solely of Sin, we will despair. If we focus solely of Redemption, we will daydream. If, however, we focus of the reality of Redemption working within a world of Sin, then we shall live like the children of God. We are ever aware of a great upheaval that has taken place within the very framework of the universe, an upheaval whose effects flash here and there now and again, which will one day be fully unleashed in purging fury (Romans 8:18-23).
The good news that we have is this: God has struck Sin at its very core, and all evil will die with it; if ye be evil, then repent! Perhaps you preach this news; do you believe it? Do you believe that Redemption is the reality that is consuming Sin off the face of the earth, or do we sequester Redemption to merely salvation experiences: ecstatic moments in time, and nothing more? For every moment that Redemption is not our reality, we will become fearful, bitter, angry, and cynical. The children of God are never to be these things; we are the never naive nor despairing flames in the night who believe in and point to the reality of the Sun. We are the children of the Burning Heart. Do you see the Fire that purges away all evil; or do you know only the night, and forget the light given to you? If the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!
"Holy light of the world,
Save us from ourselves:
We are out of touch.
Take us out of our shadows
And up to Your Reality..."
-Jon Vowell
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