Then Simon Peter came along behind him and went straight into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, as well as the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus’ head. The cloth was still lying in its place, separate from the linen. –John 20: 7 & 8, NIV 2010
Not that I hate being serious. What I do is something I take a lot of (Godly) pride and joy in. With all this revival-talk, I don’t know how I am going to fit this thing in… (Switch to more somber tone!)
In truth, I’ve been reluctant to talk about taking things off and putting things on. I get dastardly confused every time I listen to these things, because I don’t know what else God wants to take away from me. Lord knows that if it were for me, I would’ve been an Amish or at least a desert hermit. (And yes, I’m exaggerating to make a point –sorry, God…)
This is not the thing that frustrates me, no. Today hasn’t been a day of faithful evangelizing, either. In theory, it is our job to spread to the world that the tomb is still empty, that they don’t need to walk wrapped up in cloths and linens anymore. I couldn’t see the person I wanted to see; I felt that every time I tried to talk about God, something (myself) eluded me; when I saw someone, I had a mental picture of me witnessing to someone, but I kept walking even though something told me to get back. Oy, how confusing is this life!
How in the world am I going to spread the Gospel without barriers or limitations if I’m my own cloth and linen? And how am I going to take these things off if I can’t preach this Gospel to myself? We’re not talking about superficials or surprises in Heaven. We’re not even talking about fear or pain or deep wounds that God likes to work on. I’m talking about myself, the cloth and linen.
I end in the words of John, “He must become greater; I must become less.” We’ll talk about revival tomorrow…