Contiguous to believing in Christ to save us of our sins is the coming into His Light, that is, the only true light. What do I mean by this?
What I discovered when I hid my sins even though I confessed His name verbally is that I felt torn between the good in Christ that I wanted to attain, and the need to shove my sins deeper into my pocket so that hopefully no one could see the stain. For I wanted to avoid confession, true repentance, and most of all: exposure. So, as what Jesus spoke of to Nicodemus, so have I also shunned the light because my deeds were evil. I was a condemned woman because of this, such was the verdict. It wasn't until I was willing to come forward into Christ's light and be willing to be exposed, with the faith in Him that He would work out all my reparations according to His loving-kindness, that I then became a free woman. I stopped fearing because now I trust Jesus Christ. He did not die for nothing.
The next day, I came to another discovery: That I not only needed to forgive my enemies, but that through faith in Christ, I could forgive them. Acknowledging that my sins were worse than theirs, I forgave everyone as quickly as my heart could move. I prayed for their salvation and their ultimate good, which is to know Christ Jesus as Lord. Armageddon is coming soon. People are being tested and sifted. Lives are being lost to disease and natural disasters and wars. What was I holding onto that was so evil in retaliation that made my sins 1000x worse than theirs to me? In knowing that God forgave everything I ever did, I forgave them of the pittance they owed me, with much humility and shame. How could I hold THAT over another pilgrim? And the world is full of pilgrims who have gone wayward. What gives me the right to hold my fellow slave in debt for a couple petty grievances?
Then tonight, I came to a revelation. I can hold to Christ's promise to be able to sup with Him and the Father when I answer the knocking that Christ was continually making at my heart. There is no need to work...only to repent. Forgiveness of others wholeheartedly finally allowed me to sense and accept God's love for me. Then when I had prayed for the healing of my past enemies and their salvation in Christ, I found the call to answer the knocking. Gladly I said a prayer asking that the Lord Jesus would come into my heart with the Father to sup with me. When I got up from my prayer, things around me seemed to be imbued with perspective. No longer did I see my writing subjects as an authority above me, but rather in Christ, I had authority over it. It no longer dominated me, but I saw it for what it was, lies and all. I was free. May Christ keep me in this freedom.
Christ is coming back...we see the leaves sprouting on the fig trees, the storm clouds in the distance. Where will you place your faith, Pilgrim? In gold, in humankind, in the Anti-Christ? Will having a single monetary unit placed on a computer nanochip stamped to our foreheads so that we can buy and sell truly save us? Man does not live by bread alone, but by every Word that comes from the mouth of God. Take Him seriously. Make sure you too are among those whom God will pen into His Book of Life. Mean business with God and He will save you. To them that overcome, He will give ... life eternal.
