|
There is a chorus we sing, "Everybody ought to know who Jesus is."
God's plan is that everybody know Jesus. He truly is the Lily of the Valley.
In Solomon 2:1 we read, "I am the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys,
" and in Matt. 6:28, " consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they
neither toil nor spin:"
Many years ago, I remember reading in a tract that a man went to visit a coal
mine. The thing that stood out about his visit was that everything was so black
because of the coal dust. But there among all this blackness he spotted a
beautiful white lily. Because of the smoothness of the flower's petals the coal
dust did not stay on the flower. This to me is a beautiful illustration of Jesus
coming into this dark and sinful world.
We read in Proverbs 4:18-19, "The path of the just is like the shining sun,
that shines ever brighter until the perfect day. The way of the wicked is like
darkness; They do not even know what made them stumble." In John 8:12,
"Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, 'I am the light of the world. He who
follows me shall not be walking in darkness, but have the light of life.'"
I stumbled along this path of complete darkness for many years. The peer
pressure and a desire to be free to do what I wanted to do, caused me to close
my mind and heart to the things of God. I wanted to be free from rules and
regulations of the church. I always intended to come back to God after I had
lived a life of fun. You see the picture I had of Christians was that it was a
dull and uneventful life.
I will never forget the day when I came face to face with the Lily of the
Valley and in my valley of darkness, He restored my soul. "...Him who called
you out of darkness into His marvelous light;" (I Peter 2:9). I found out
the hard way that all the pleasures of the world could not satisfy the emptiness
in my life. When I asked Jesus to forgive my sins and to come into my life He
did just that. He set me free from the bondage of sin, death, and hell. Now I
am walking hand in hand with the Lily of the Valley on the path of everlasting
light and life.
- Frank Eidse
|
