While in the USA a friend/mentor of ours gave us the new book by Brother Yun. Many of you may have read his autobiography, The Heavenly Man (if not, why not?). His new book, called Living Water, is a compilation of some of his teachings. After a few months of carrying this book from country to country, I finally picked it up, and already have been challenged…
You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, blind and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.Revelation 3:17-18When the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. ‘Friend,’ he asked, ‘how did you get in here without wedding clothes?’ The man was speechless. Then the king told the attendants, ‘Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ for many are invited, but few are chosen.Matthew 22:11-14
Brother Yun defines repentance not simply as confessing our sins and asking for forgiveness, but having our “whole lives, desires, motives and plans surrendered to God.” God knows who’s invited to the wedding feast, we must wear the clothes he tells us to, and not our own. “We must accept His Word and live by it, aligning our lifestyle and choices to match the commands of the King. This is repentance.”
As a missionary it’s easy to tell myself that I am surrendered to the Lord. After all, I’ve left my family, my home, my stuff, my comfort zone to live in the mission field and lead teams. However, am I truly surrendered? Often I find myself dreaming of moving back to North America: having my own house, working a 9-5 job, raising a family there…just having a ‘normal’ life. Sometimes I find myself like the Laodicean Christians in their lukewarmness. However, I can’t live my life with one foot in this world, and one foot in God’s Kingdom. The first command in the new testament is ‘REPENT.’ Have I repented? Have I fully surrendered my life, desires, motives and plans to God? Am I willing to go wherever, or do whatever, the Lord calls me to without questioning Him?
