The Narrow Way of the Holy Spirit might be called Appearances Can Be Deceiving, or The Invisibles.
2 Timothy 2:19 NKJV. “Nevertheless the solid foundation of God stands, having this seal: The Lord knows those who are His, and, Let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from iniquity.”
Luke 7:31-35 NKJV. “And the Lord said, To what then shall I liken the men of this generation, and what are they like? They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling to one another, saying: We played the flute for you, And you did not dance; We mourned to you, And you did not weep. For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, He has a demon. The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, Look, a glutton and a winebibber, a friend of tax collectors and sinners! But wisdom is justified by all her children.”
John 3:8 NKJV. “The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
The “Narrow Way” is that of being born of and then led by the Holy Spirit throughout life. John the Baptist was created and set apart from his mother’s womb to live God’s plan and purposes for his life and to glorify Him. Likewise was this the case for Jesus, the “Son of Man.” Yet each expressed that calling, direction, and life very differently!
John was the last of the old style prophets, an embodiment of laying down the Law. He lived in the desert, was clothed in camel’s hair, and ate locusts and wild honey. He called people to repentance, and told his own disciples to “behold” the Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world. The true desert ascetic. Nonetheless, it was opined among the religious nobility that he had a demon.
Jesus – Son of Man and Son of God, born of a Virgin – befriended sinners, the outcasts, and so was accused of being a winebibber, glutton, and friend of tax collectors and sinners. He too preached repentance and that the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand. He healed the sick and lame, cast out demons, and raised the dead. He too was accused of having a demon.
Odd in both cases, right? Mysterious. An uneasy combination were the Lord and His forerunner. They were not socially or religiously or politically correct!
Yet, Wisdom was justified by each, while neither was acceptable to those who embraced the standards of the official party line of day.
Sometimes when people don’t stack up to who’s who in the public eye, as “of importance”, the public eye may be quite nearsighted or farsighted as to who such misfits are. Even when it’s a religious public eye. (This is not to say that just assigning oneself to a misfit or non-conformist attitude automatically suggests the call of God on a life.)
Somewhere along the way the tide turned to where there may be a tendency in religious circles to “over-venerate” the desert mystic, or other religious figures, called to that lifestyle by the Holy Spirit, juxtaposed against, for example, the “unimportant” homeschooling, lonely, prayerful, Jesus loving mom – struggling to raise 4 or 5 children in a godly way against the tidal waves of wickedness in the world. Her cross is one of invisibility. It was once said that the hand that rocks the cradle rules the world. Truth there. But unacknowledged.
Yet both have been “called” to the life they live. Which one is “more holy?” Should that even be a question?
John didn’t stack up. He was too holy, too crazy, too truthful. John got in the face of both the politicians and the religious hypocrites. Jesus didn’t stack up either. He was “too easy” (in the mind of His critics) in the company of outcasts (publicans, prostitutes, sinners – the sick who needed the Physician). He likewise got in the face of the super pietistic hypocrites.
There are “saints” who will never have formal recognition as “Saint _________” (fill in the blank). They don’t stack up. They are “invisible”. Letters were addressed, in the case of just about every church in the times of the Apostles, to the “saints.” We are all called saints! But all will know and see the invisible and the unacknowledged, when they stand before the Lord and hear, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” They may not get kudos it from anyone else in this life. They may not have any notice or respect. They may even get kicked around a bit, or taken for granted – by family, foe, or friend alike!
Disclaimer right here in the middle of everything: This is by no means any advocacy for “anything goes” hyper grace under the guise of being led of the Spirit. Let’s be clear about this. Nor is this about not giving honor to whom honor is due. All things are to be weighed in balance. That said –
This is rather a call for godly respect, love, and the offer to engage proactively in the struggles of every soul claimed by Christ, Who shed His blood to redeem them! They are precious to Him! There are many “invisibles.” The lonely. The outcast. The elderly who find themselves isolated and without any safety net in life, as they toil alongside each other in day to day struggles for survival. There’s caregiver to the disabled who toils quietly and loyally day after day – serving someone who may be grateful or ungrateful, or even abusive due to debilitating mental deterioration of dementia. I bet you can think of a few more.
Who notices? Some people notice stray cats and dogs more readily than they show a lick of attention for fellow human beings who struggle alone. This is a tragic statement on their insistence on “rights” to do as they please. This is how it goes down with a nation or a world who turns away from God and godliness. They become like what they “worship.” (See Psalms 115 and 135.)
The Lord knows those who are His, and – as the Lord explains to Nicodemus the Pharisee – everyone born of the Spirit is like the wind; no one can tell where it comes from or where it is going. You cannot, in essence, pin them down theologically so to speak, to define them and confine them to some sort of religious little mind box. Yet, there they are, on the scene of life, and their very presence pokes at our conscience.
But how often are these the ones who – through much tribulation in daily struggles – are entering the Kingdom, as at the same time they grow in the fruit of the Spirit, the Kingdom within them being conquered by Christ?!
Men’s minds love to make comparisons, to size up people, according to their perceptions, value judgements, the amount of information they have, in the own perspectives, and personal interests, comprehensions, and understandings. Oh, we are so good at that! We all suffer and make assessments according to the way the disciples did, wondering “who’s the greatest” – whether or not it’s about someone else or ourselves. It’s always the “Mohammad Ali question,” the very personification of ego.
This writer suspects that this is one reason Scripture indicates that we ought not to “judge” – to assess – based on our own understandings.
Each vessel has been created, redeemed, and set apart by the Potter for His use, and to be filled with His Spirit in a peculiar way. Yes, “peculiar.” 1 Peter 2:9 KJV uses that wonderful word! “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light.”
New flash: carbon copies and one size fits all are not the Holy Spirit’s m. o. It’s vital to not play “holier than thou,” either where it regards ourselves or as we assess who the “heroes” are, according to our finite yardsticks.
“For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died; and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again. Therefore, from now on, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” 2 Corinthians 5:14-17 NKJV.
Oh, how we love to assess one another “according to the flesh.” We have made it a feature, a pastime to decide who’s who in the Kingdom. It is in fact a matter of “right theology!” John was bad. Jesus was “badder”. Per the theological assessments of religious and civil courts of the day. Yet – Wisdom is vindicated by her children, says Jesus. Not the assessments of men.
Therefore –
Love and respect one another. Look around. Pray, See who needs a leg up or a helping hand. We are all called to sainthood, but never to seek veneration from other people! Be Aaron and Hur in the midst of the battle to someone (Exodus 17:11-13) so they may prevail against the darkness that besets their life.
“Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” Galatians 6:2 NKJV.
Paul tells it like it is. It’s not about us. “But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain; but I labored even more than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me.” 1 Corinthians 15:10 NKJV.
Let’s give credit to the One Whom worship is due.
Soli Deo Gloria! Amen!
Into And Out Of The Blue 
You must be logged in to post a comment.