SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2008
Imagine this scene. You’re in a large room with row upon row of seats for spectators. There are bright lights everywhere. The brightest of them directed towards the center of the room, where a section has been roped off for the main event. Speaking of ropes, the one and only object that is present at the moment is an enormous rope, half black and half red. For now, all is silent. But within minutes people begin to file in and fill the seats. All too quickly the seats are filled and there are people shouting out in excited voices, speaking of who they think should win the contest.
After a bit the annoucer steps into the spotlight. He begins with a flourish: “Ladies and Gentlemen. Welcome to the Main Event. Tonight you will witness a grueling battle of wills. On the red side of the rope, Jesus Christ, the One the Only, the Son of God!!!!……..” People scream at the top of their lungs shouting praises and yelling out “Jesus Reigns, Jesus Reigns!!!!” as Jesus comes out and takes His place at His end of the rope. The announcer continues, “And on the black end of the rope, representing all that is so evil and sad in this world, Satan….” All around the room, ring out the “boos” from people long disgusted by the havoc wreaked by this being. Satan takes his place, and then the announcer continues. “And in the middle of the rope, ready to be swayed this way or that…. Kristin.” The room falls deathly silent. Everyone stares at the woman as she approaches the middle of the rope. She hangs on tightly to the rope, and then the pulling begins. First Jesus gives a good yank, saying “She has been washed clean by the blood of the Lamb. She is a child of the King. You have no power over her!!!” And then Satan yanks back with the retort, “Yes, but she still has her own desires, her own choices. And she wants everything to go her way. She doesn’t want to surrender her will!”
And then, in the strangest turn of events, the woman steps back from the rope. Slowly, ever so slowly, she walks down to the end of the black rope and takes it from Satan. Without looking up, she begins to pull on the rope. With tears streaming down her cheeks, she tells Jesus, “I don’t want life to be so full of pain!! I only want things to get better, to be easier. Can’t you see how good my life would be if only You would allow me to have everything that I want?” And Jesus, with tears in His eyes, stops pulling the rope. With the deepest anguish in His voice, He says, “Don’t you know by now that I never intended for it to be this way? The sadness, the loss, the separation, death, none of it!!!!!!!!! But choices were made and things are as they are in this fallen world. So My Father sent me to fix what was broken so long ago. That part has been accomplished, but now comes the rest of the journey. And I love you so much that I will walk with you every step. At times, I will carry you, when you need it the most. I have not forgotten you, and I will never leave you. I have not promised that you will not go through difficult times. Indeed you will. But I will bring you through them. My dearest Kristin, you must go through these things so that God can accomplish His purpose for you.” And then with the gentlest, yet the strongest tug on the rope, Jesus pulls the woman so she is standing right before Him. In that brief second, she finds herself staring into the eyes of the One who loves her with the greatest love ever known. She sees in those eyes the promises made for her, the ones that were made long before she ever came to exist. And she knows that the fight must come to an end. So she drops the rope and places her hands in the hand of Jesus. “I surrender”, she says, “Because I know that whatever road I travel, You will be with me. I am weak and You are strong. And I trust that You know what is best for me!” And Jesus, with a smile and tears in His eyes, replied, “You never did have to fight me….. I’ve been on your side all along!!!!!”
Hebrews 12:1 & 2 say this: “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning it’s shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
POSTED BY KRISTIN AT 11:25 AM