A father was given a party in his honor. He saw his daughter and son sitting in the driveway in their car, and wondered why they weren’t coming in. I said, they’re probably arguing.
Have you ever missed out on God's celebration because you were too busy fighting?
Then the father brought out a huge flag and waved it at them: it was as wide as he was tall. He got down on one knee and spread out his arms to hold it up. It was a white flag with an outline of a man, half of him was black (left side) half red, but the outline wasn’t filled in solid, rather it looked like veins or a sponge.
His banner is love, and His love is as deep and wide as He Himself... but this is also a white flag of surrender. A call to surrender. The way of the Kingdom of God is voluntarily laying down our rights for the sake of love and unity. Not under compulsion, but as a response to the invitation of love. Maybe the black and red man illustrates the two natures within us at war, spirit and flesh. We are being renewed in this life, constantly growing in the Spirit and putting to death the ways of selfishness and corruption. Since the outline is not yet filled in, there is much still to be determined in this struggle. Which will flow like a river in our lives? The sin nature or the life of the Spirit?
Then like a commercial in front of me, his voice boomed, and it was like Kirk Bennett’s voice but also like the Lord’s --and the words were white on a black screen, “Do you have vision for the fullness?” There were more words I don’t remember, but I also remember this part (not exactly word for word): “We have touched and held things that have burned our members.“ In the dream, I thought this statement referred to the things of God that had scorched the flesh.
When we begin to grow and draw near to God, He begins to expose darkness in our hearts in order to deliver us from it. At this point, some people become discouraged or turn away. But "our members" also refers to community, since we are the Body of Christ with many members. The work of deliverance that God does privately in our hearts can be painful, but the relationships that He ordains also include pain. Both the pain of hearing the truth (from God) we did not want to hear, and the pain of each other's failures and shortcomings. You see, God can use your shortcomings for my good. Even your sin and weakness--your short temper, your flakiness, your coldness--is God's kindness toward me to help me grow in humility, kindness, patience and grace. I will do what I can to help you, but in the meantime God wants to use the wounds among us for our own good.
I felt challenged by this--would I have vision for fullness? Would I be willing to endure pain for it?
