I posted yesterday about Isaiah 62 and so much of the beauty of that scripture has hung with me today. I grabbed a few minutes and put together a tag/bookmark that I think I am going to go ahead and use myself just to remind me of what the Lord says about me. I will try and take a picture of it tomorrow. As I have spent a lot of time thinking about the fact that the Lord gives us a new name, we are no longer called forsaken, abandoned, rejected, unworthy, unloved...you name the name that you were~tagged with~ in your life that wasn't positive and you are no longer called IT...you have a new name...one the Lord Himself gave to you.
Years ago, during a particularly confusing and difficult time in my life and during a time when I was struggling to figure out who I was in the Lord, who I was in life and what my value was, the Lord gave Nancy a story for me, a wonderful beautiful allegory that was so very sweet and tender and changed my life FOREVER! It transformed me! I still remember very clearly the first time I read it. I had been away from home for about a week and while I was gone Nancy got this story to me, I think via, John. In those days the only private place I had to go was the bathroom and as I read it I sat on our bathroom floor and just sobbed and sobbed. It was so very opposite of anything I ever believed or really, in many ways, had been told about myself that I just couldn't even really stop crying from the intense feeling of Love from the Lord. I want to share that story with you but I will warn you now, its a long one....
An allegory is a story that uses representations of things for people. Meaning, a description of an emotion might be a name, as you will see in the story.
Beautiful!
Once there was a Beautiful land of rollng, fertile hills and crystal clear streams fed by springs that burst forth from solid rock. Everything and everyone who dwelt there grew strong and healthy, for the land was rich, and the water so pure that drinking of it brought life and rejuvenation deep within. The land was filled with fruit, sweet and juicy, and tree-shaded meadows afforded rest to the weary and playground for the children. The Beautiful land had a music all its own, which made it a peacable place to dwell, and the inhabitants were so accustomed to it they scarcely realized the strength it gave to them. And although the Beautiful land had borders, it had no walls, for the King had decreed that all his people should be free to choose to dwell within the boundaries or to venture beyond them to surrounding lands.
Into the Kings household was born a child, fair of face and golden-haired. Her very existence brought delight to the King and he named her Merriment, for the gift of joyful gladness was in her. As a small girl, her greatest pleasure was to pass hour upon hour in the Kings garden. The King loved to watch the sun lay on her hair, which shone as pure gold in its light, and he laughed as she danced among the fragrant blossoms and made her own songs as the birds sang around her. As she tired from her adventures, she would lay her head in the sweet smelling grass and sink into the sleep of the deeply contented, and the king would watch from his window or sometimes sit beside her and stroke her silken hair gently, so as not to awaken her.
Not everyone in the Beautiful land was of that kingdom. For beyond its borders, there was another kingdom named Misery. For the most part, those who dwelt in the beautiful land rarely took note of it. But dwellers of the other kingdom would come across the borders into the Beautiful land, often unnoticed except by the wisest of the Kings subjects. This was because the inhabitants of Misery would disguise themselves as the Beautiful and pass themselves off as subjects of the King. The King himself knew of their presence in His land, but he did not restrict their access, for his decree stood forever that his people should be free to dwell in the safety of his music or venture beyond to satisfy their curiosity about other lands.But whether or not the Beautiful discerned the Miserians, eventually they would all find themselves drawn to the kingdom of Misery, to find out what that Kingdom had to offer.
You wouldn't think anyone who knew the King and his land would desire any knowledge of the kingdom of Misery! It was a dark and fear filled land, and deep in the heart of the land there was a darkness so great that it had its own gravitational pull. Anyone entering the kingdom would be inexplicably drawn deeper and deeper into its forests by its pathways, until they could not pull themselves out no matter how greatly they desired to do so. But alas, the borders of the land of Misery were shrouded by a mist, which reflected the glory of the Beautiful Land so that it appeared to be a pleasant enough place, and certainly safe to investigate as a day's adventure.
One of the vilest of the Misery dwellers was Deception. Virtually no one recognized him, because he lived fully up to his name, and his disguises were so skillfully crafted that he could pass into the Beautiful land and walk among the people, completely unsuspected as an emissary of the dark lord. One day Deception peered around the trellis in the King's garden and observed Merriment, who was gathering a boquet of roses of the widest variety of hue and humming softly. As she drew near the trellis, he whispered, "Unworthy" and silently slipped away. Merriment felt a momentary prick in her chest, so fleeting that she soon turned her attention back to her task and her song. But Deception saw the infinitesimal wince, and purposed to come to the garden again. Thereafter, as the child grew, he took every opportunity to sneak around the trellis and whisper, "Unworthy" in her hearing; sometimes he would murmur, "Unloved" as a reinforcement of the original lie. Eventually, Merriment had heard it so many times that she began to respond to it as her name. Her days in the garden came to seem lusterless and mundane, until she ultimately believed she should not even go into the garden to enjoy its delights, for she was unworthy of the joy she had felt there as a small child. Walking among the Beautiful, she believed she was no longer fit to dwell in that kingdom, and a deep sadness grew in her tender heart. The King watched n grievous silence, drawing near to her and offering his comfort; but she could not receive it, for Unworthy was her name, and when he called her Merriment, she drew back in shame, as Deception whispered to her how disappointed the King must be in her now in her restlessness and bewilderment. The King's heart ached as he watched Merriment follow Deception across the border of the Beautiful land toward the deceptive mist shrouding the kingdom of Misery, and silent tears coursed down his face, for he knew the pain she would have to endure if she ventured into the mist. But he could not call her Unworthy, and it was the only name to which she would respond, so complete was Deception's work.
Unaware she had a dark companion, Unworthy reached toward the mist. It felt cool and fresh, and it reflected the colors of the Beautiful land, convincing her it was safe.. She felt a new kind of freedom and laughed for the first time in many days, twirling to feel the coolness of the mist on her face and legs. She wondered why she had never come here before! She felt brave and adventurous, in control of her destiny. Deception just stood back and watched, his arms folded across his chest, knowing he need do nothing more. Unworthy felt drawn to go deeper into the mist; but seeing that the colors seemed to be less vivid further in, she was uncertain. She turned back toward the Beautiful land and saw its beauty through dulled eyes, but since she could still hear its music, she felt she could venture just a bit further into the beckoning mist. Taking a few more steps, she saw a few familiar faces and, even more attractive, found some kindred spirits--others who, like herself, had known the favor of the King but had come to see themselves through Deception's eyes.
Unworthy spent many days penetrating the mist and, by the time she was fully walking under the dark lords spell, was so blinded by it that she didn't even notice how thick the trees had become and how slow and difficult it was to move through the marshy ground. The fruit of these trees was mushy and dry, but it was the only nourishment to be found and she ate of it greedily, trying to fill the gnawing emptiness that steadily grew within her. Deception continued beside her, convincing her that this was the best she deserved, and her new friends seemed satisfied with it, even revelling in it. So although she had a distant memory of the Beautiful land and the gardens of the Kin, she wasn't sure they had not been a dream; and if it had been real, she certainly was Unworthy now.
In the Beautiful land, the King would go to his gardens, longing once again to see his precious child there and hear her songs as she danced among the blossoms. The King's son would come to him daily and plead for his little sister's life, for he missed her sweet fellowship dearly. The King turned mournful eyes toward his son and heard his cries for her, and he would tell him to be ready to go after as soon as she cried out for him. For you see, while dwellers of Misery would infiltrate the Beautiful land, so would the Beautiful penetrate the dark kingdom. They did not go disguised, however, but clothed in the vestments of the King himself, and holding tightly to the strong hand of his son, whose name was Redeemer. For Redeemer was a valiant warrior and had penetrated the dark kingdom to its heart, bursting forth from the depths of it as no one had ever done before, breaking free from the deathly gravitational pull and taking captive the guardians of it. Thereafter whenever any of the Miserians saw him, they fainted away in fear and were powerless aganst his commands. So great was their dread of Redeemer's presence that anyone wearing his vestments and holding tight to his hand to penetrate the dark kingdom incited the same fear and weakness as did the presence of the son himself. Those who continued through the dark forests until they could no longer hear the music of the Beautiful land nor see its splendor would find themselves caught in the strong pull of the heart of Misery, and indeed they could not free themselves from it. But the King would send the Beautiful to those caught in Misery, and the sent one would reach one hand to them for rescue, while holding tightly to Redeemer's hand. Often this mission had to be repeated time and time again, for the dark forests were so confusing that those lost there did not even realize they were lost or in need of any rescue, even to believing that they had found a place of belonging and were happy there. But the King was patient, the son valiant and perseverant, and the Beautiful would draw from their strength and press beyond hopelessness to try again.
The closer Unworthy drew to the heart of the dark kingdom, the more the distant echoes of the King's voice would reverberate within her. Her new friends proved to be no more able to satisfy their emptiness than she herself was, and she longed for the warmth and light of peace she thought she had once known. But where was it? Could it still be found? Certainly she could not hear its music anymore, and had almost forgotten what colors even looked like. But the confusion of the forest and the whispers of Deception had her quite disoriented, and the pull to go further in was stronger with each passing day, even as her resistance to it was ever so subtly increasing. Deception roused from his own complacency and saw that Unworthy was somehow becoming less pliable in his hand. Then, without warning, a bright hand appeared through the deep woods and a voice cried out, "Come! Your father loves you!" Deception felt a sting as if a thorn had pierced his flesh, and anger rose within him. "NO!" he cried out, and lunged at Unworthy. Frightened, Unworthy did not know what was happening; and even as she began to reach for the outstretched hand, Deception knocked her aside so she could not touch it. This continued for many days, Unworthy fearing the pull of the darkness, the bright hand reaching to her and beckoning her to come, and Deception intervening in anger. But as the battle wore on, the sent one gained strength, for she held tightly to Redeemer's hand and, at his direction, reached at opportune times when Deception was tending his wounds; and Deception became weak, his voice became more scratchy, and his wickedness was unmasked. when Unworthy at last saw him for who he was, she cried out, "My Father, my King! Save me!" Then the bright hand reappeared, and the Beautiful sent one was revealed, and Redeemer took his sword and cut through the pull of darkness once again. In an instant, Unworthy felt the power of strong arms enfolding her, and she closed her eyes as tears streamed down her once-again fair cheeks, leaning into the heartbeat of her brother, Redeemer. When at length she opened her eyes, she found herself in the King's garden, resplendent in colors and symphonic music and, best of all, the sound of her father's voice laughing and crying, "Merriment! You've come home!" She was stunned by the sound of her name and was astonished that is WAS her name. And yes, she knew she was home.
So there you have it...a story that so aptly represents the scripture that I talked about yesterday! Isn't that cool! The wonderful thing about this allegory is that it is the story of all of us who have walked in the land of misery and been redeemed into the beautiful land. It is the story of redemption and deliverance, love and the deep passion the Lord has for those of us who are lost, no matter that it was of our own choosing. I cannot even absorb that concept even now sometimes. The Lord pursues us with such a passion, such a longing for fellowship, such a desire to see us walk as free, walk in the knowledge of who we are in Him, who we are BECAUSE of him and what he did for us! Oh Lord, may 2010 be a year of revelation for all of us!
Blessings!
No comments:
Post a Comment