Bro. John:
Last week, I watched some of the TV coverage for a famous government official who had died. From the Roman Catholic service to the procession through the streets of DC, he was praised and given great recognition for who he was. It was to such extent that the family did not arrive at the burial site until dusk. By the time the priest read a lengthy letter written by this man (in his dying days) to the pope, and then read the reply from the pope, it was so dark that the cameras had to stop coverage and only the audio was carried. One of the man’s younger grandchildren tried to read something she had written as a tribute and tearfully said in the dark, “I can’t see! I can’t see!” I felt sad for her. As I sat listening to it all, I said to myself, “Lord, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a burial in the dark.” Immediately I heard the Spirit say, “He is being buried as he lived – – in darkness.”
Whew! Though I had just viewed what appeared to the world a man of magnitude, I knew what the Spirit said was right. It made me tremble and my thoughts went to all that had been seen and heard by the world that day in praise concerning that person. All that had been said and all that had been done held no weight with God. No matter how emotional or how lengthy, it was all in the flesh. It was all darkness. It reminded me of the blog you just wrote on “Flattering Titles” and the scripture you included from Job:
“Let me not, I pray you, accept any man’s person;
neither let me give flattering titles unto man.
For I know not to give flattering titles;
in so doing, my Maker would soon take me away.”
It also reminded me of what the Spirit woke me with a few months ago: “You don’t realize how dark your world is until you stand beside Jesus.”
Jesus is the measuring stick. All else is darkness. The reality is staggering to the flesh, but the judgment of God stands no matter the person. I thank God for Jesus and for his mercy on all of our lives. Without Jesus, I would be just as caught up in the world and its praise as those who do not know him.
Sandy