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My husband and I recently visited Mammoth Cave in Central Kentucky. Any attempted description of the magnitude of that place, and the intensity of the experience of being hundreds of feet within the earth falls dreadfully short of actually experiencing it--I wonʼt waste time trying. But there were several things about this experience that really gripped me that Iʼd like to share with you.
As we prepared to enter the cave, our guide, an African American gentleman, told us of how his forbears had, by the law of imminent domain, been ordered off their land; land that became part of the Mammoth Cave National Park. “My home was just over that ridge over there!”, as he pointed beyond the building that had become the hub of the park. He shared how his great-great grandfather, Mat Bransford, had been a slave tour guide for kings and dignitaries who wanted to experience the cave--an experience where the slave became master! He shared how his ancestors would enter deep within the bowels of the earth there to have “preaching service”, and escape from the sweltering August heat. One sermon was recorded to have lasted six hours!! As we followed our guide hundreds of feet below the surface of the earth, he assured us that we really didnʼt understand the true experience of the cave--as people of yesteryear did. But he did something to help us get a dim idea of what the cave is really like. He gathered our group around him, cautioned us to stand next to someone we knew, hushed us...and turned off all the lights. Standing there in the cold and pitch black darkness gave an entirely different feel to the cave. I became very, very aware of every sound, and my eyes were searching in vain for some bit of light. Could I find my way out of this place if he left me? Would I fall into some abyss--perhaps what the guides refer to as “the bottomless pit” (actually only about 100 feet)? I was completely at the mercy of this man Iʼd never met before that day. But then our guide did something very interesting--something Iʼll never forget! He lit a very small candle. The intensity of the darkness there in the bowels of the earth was sufficiently pressed back by one little candle so that I could make out the walls, the ceiling, and thankfully, the floor of the cave. I could faintly make out the faces of my fellow tourists. But most significantly, the light very clearly showed the face of my guide. To me at least, the spiritual reality of this moment was almost palpable. I donʼt think we really appreciate as we should the light that we have as a people, and Iʼll tell you why. I believe it is because we donʼt really realize just how dark this earth is-- just like I had no concept of how dark that cave was until the guide shut off the lights. Neither do we realize the darkness coming upon this earth when the light of Godʼs Spirit is withdrawn. I know this because we are told that, “the ʻtime of trouble such as never was,ʼ is soon to open upon us; and we shall need an experience which we do not now possess, and which many are too indolent to obtain. It is often the case that trouble is greater in anticipation than in reality; but this is not true of the crisis before us. The most vivid presentation cannot reach the magnitude of the ordeal. In that time of trial, every soul must stand for himself before God.” GC 622 There is another aspect of this experience that is etched in my mind. Being significantly hearing impaired, I quickly realized that if I was going to hear the instructions and teachings of our guide, I had to press my way close to the front of the group. I had to be near that man or Iʼd be left just to follow the movements of the crowd. In that dim light, all of my senses were centered on that guide! Could this be why the Lord allows the darkness of trials in our lives? What a blessing! How is it with you spiritually, friend? Are you pressing close to our Guide? Are you thinking you can see, when the Lord says that we really are blind? The spiritual lights in this world will soon be as distinct in the darkness as that candle in the cave. Will you be one of those lights? We know that it is at midnight -- the darkest hour -- that the cry goes forth to go out to meet the bridegroom! Are you prepared for the darkness ahead of us? Do you have oil in your lamp to lighten the path before you as the darkness intensifies? What are you doing to prepare? I can tell you this much, I would have been in big trouble in Mammoth Cave if I had been without that guide. And I am convinced that our problem is that, in this world, we donʼt really realize we are in just as much of a maze, in darkness even more intense, and completely dependent on our Guide than I was in that mammoth cave. Get ready, brethren. Itʼs getting darker.
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What is the gospel? Romans 1:16 says it is “the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth..” The power of God! And we are also told in 1 Selected Messages, page 245, “The gospel is the power of God and the wisdom of God.” Power AND wisdom. Our passage in Romans 1:16 also says it is, “the gospel OF Christ.” We know that Jesus is “made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption.” 1 Corinthians 1:30. Simply put, the gospel is the story of the work and life of Jesus on our behalf and how His life abiding within us changes us. Websterʼs 1828 defines “gospel” this way: “The history of the birth, life, actions, death, resurrection, ascension and doctrines of Jesus Christ; or a revelation of the grace of God to fallen man through a mediator, including the character, actions, and doctrines of Christ, with the whole scheme of salvation, as revealed by Christ and his apostles.”
What is the gospel? Romans 1:16 says it is “the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth..” The power of God! And we are also told in 1 Selected Messages, page 245, “The gospel is the power of God and the wisdom of God.” Power AND wisdom. Our passage in Romans 1:16 also says it is, “the gospel OF Christ.” We know that Jesus is “made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption.” 1 Corinthians 1:30. Simply put, the gospel is the story of the work and life of Jesus on our behalf and how His life abiding within us changes us. Websterʼs 1828 defines “gospel” this way: “The history of the birth, life, actions, death, resurrection, ascension and doctrines of Jesus Christ; or a revelation of the grace of God to fallen man through a mediator, including the character, actions, and doctrines of Christ, with the whole scheme of salvation, as revealed by Christ and his apostles.” “As Christ gave His wonderful lessons, Mary sat at His feet, a reverent and devoted listener..."Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: but one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her. Mary was storing her mind with the precious words falling from the Saviour's lips, words that were more precious to her than earth's most costly jewels.” Desire of Ages, page 525 Mary “hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.” This phrase is really lodged in my mind. We know Mary was closely following the life of Jesus-- pondering carefully His every word. We read that, “She had heard Jesus speak of His approaching death, and in her deep love and sorrow she had longed to show Him honor. At great personal sacrifice she had purchased an alabaster box of "ointment of spikenard, very costly," with which to anoint His body.” Daughters of God, page 60 We know that Mary anointed Jesusʼ feet before His trial and crucifixion. Mary was at the cross, and she was at the tomb! Mary was the first evangelist in the newly established church!! “Through His grace she became a partaker of the divine nature. The one who had fallen, and whose mind had been a habitation of demons, was brought very near to the Saviour in fellowship and ministry. It was Mary who sat at His feet and learned of Him. It was Mary who poured upon His head the precious anointing oil, and bathed His feet with her tears. Mary stood beside the cross, and followed Him to the sepulcher. Mary was first at the tomb after His resurrection. It was Mary who first proclaimed a risen Saviour.” Desire of Ages 568 Mary had demonstrated love to Jesus. Mary was the first to preach the resurrection, though the brothers didnʼt believe her: neither did they appreciate her act in anointing Jesusʼ feet. “The disciples did not take in the many lessons given in the Scriptures in regard to the faith that works by love and purifies the soul; and the work of Mary was just the lesson they needed to show them that to be more demonstrative in their appreciation of their Lord, would be wholly acceptable to Him. He had been everything to them. They did not realize that soon they would be deprived of His presence, that soon they could offer Him no token of their appreciation of His love. The loveliness of Christ, separated from the heavenly courts, living a life of humanity, was never understood nor appreciated by the disciples as it should have been. He was often grieved because they did not give Him that which He should have received from them.” The Youthʼs Instructor, July 19, 1900, par. 3. What profound insights! Jesus, grieved by our failure to show Him appreciation. Jesus, living the life of humanity! Jesus, separated from heaven, and now from His brethren on earth. We should think about this, for is He not everything to us as well? Mary was never called an Apostle by Jesus. She was never a “pastor.” Yet I believe that Jesus honored her with the privilege of revealing the heart of Jesus as none of the disciples could or would. They were too occupied with positions and titles. Too busy striving for who would be head elder, or senior pastor in the new “church.” Luke 22:24. And so, taking this issue of the ordination of women to the life and teachings of Christ, I believe the example of Mary Magdalene teaches that the role of women far transcends any ordination, or even any title. Jesus saw a greater need for women than that. We can and should, as women, given our more sensitive, nurturing spirits, demonstrate a spirit of nurturing towards our Savior. We have the privilege of demonstrating what it means to appreciate Jesus and to minister to His needs; what it means to “enter in” to His sufferings; what it means to give all. Mary demonstrated what full surrender and “all out” devotion look like. Jesus said it was “...just the lesson they (the disciples) needed...”, and it was a lesson given to bold Peter before he received the commission to “feed My lambs”. I do not believe that our brethren are incapable of this, for John more nearly reflected Jesusʼ love, but I think we know that men tend to be more “mission oriented.” Maryʼs act in anointing Jesusʼ feet was a reflection of the work of Jesus in prodigal giving on behalf of mankind. And THIS--this absolute pouring out of self and all of oneʼs resources--is the work which Jesus defended before the brethren. “...Why trouble ye the woman? for she hath wrought a good work upon Me...For in that she hath poured this ointment on My body, she did it for My burial.” Matthew 26:10,12. Could there not be a similar work needed now? Jesus is in the final stages of His work as High Priest, when He is about to be inaugurated King. Will it be easy for such long- suffering love to throw down the censer and leave the Most Holy Place, sealing the fate of billions of His children--who have rejected His love? Do we not need to “enter in” to His longing to bring sin to an end? Is there not a need for someone to help us raise our eyes from the events surrounding us to the issue of the pain in the heart of Jesus on account of His prolonged stay in the Most Holy Place? Do we not need today the demonstration of utter self-surrender? Are we not preoccupied, as the disciples, with position and title? Is there not a need for alabaster boxes today? “Until time should be no more, that broken alabaster box would tell the story of the abundant love of God for a fallen race.” Conflict and Courage 306. Jesus is about to lose billions of His children ALL AT ONCE, and here we are...fighting over who gets to be their “pastor”. May God help us to pour out our own “precious ointment” instead. |
AuthorDanna has traveled as a teacher/speaker for Closure for Jesus ministry and frequently holds Zoom meetings and online health counseling. Archives
May 2023
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