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A New Way to Go On
Dietrich Bonhoffer, that great German "Man of God" who boldly
stood against Hitler in the darkest days of the Third Reich, once said that from
the moment we accept Christ, we are day by day being called to die
for Him. As a result, we should not be surprised if one day the reality of this
catches up with us. Without a doubt, Bonhoffer knew exactly what the Apostle Paul
meant when he wrote, "... Christ shall be magnified in (me) ... whether it
be by life, or by death. For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain."
(Phil. 1:20-21) And as sure as the "calling" was,
so also was the reality when - in April, 1945, just one month short of the end
of World War II - Bonhoffer was at last martyred at the hands of Adolf Hitler's
henchmen for the sake of the Gospel and the testimony of the Lord Jesus Christ.
To those who have "dropped out," we would simply say, while we understand
how you feel - please don't give up on the church! The
Bible specifically warns against it; it says -
"not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit
of some, but encouraging {one another}; and all the more, as you see the day
drawing near." (Heb. 10:23-25) You say, "Well, what can I do? I'm alone; the fact is, it sometimes seems
that I only am left" - to which we would answer, while that might seem to be
true, it's not. God always has had His hidden though faithful ones. Paul says,
You say, "But I am so weak, what can I do?" - but the Bible says:
"I have reserved to myself seven thousand men ..." - and you (yes,
you) may be one of those hidden (though faithful ones) God has reserved unto
Himself for just such an hour as this. So if you hear that still, small voice
calling, don't ignore it - He may be calling you just as surely as He called
Isaiah under similar circumstances so many thousands of years ago - to which
we hope and pray that you will answer as Isaiah did,
Now we need to be clear with regard Isaiah's calling that God did not necessarily
address this call specifically to Isaiah.
Then how did Isaiah hear it? He heard it because he had been in the presence
of God and - as a result - he happened to overhear God ask, "Whom shall I
send, and who will go for us?"
The call of God is not to the special few, it is for everyone!
Whether or not we hear God's call depends upon whether or not we are in the
presence of God.
"Many are called but few are chosen" (Matthew 22:14), that is, few
prove themselves the chosen ones. The chosen ones are those who have come into
the presence of God and, as a result, hear the still small voice calling all
the time, "Who will go for us?"
It is not a question of God singling out a strong man and saying, "Now, you
go." Isaiah was in the presence of God and because of that he overheard the
call, and realized that there was nothing else for him to do but to say, in
conscious freedom, "Here am I, send me."
Get out of your mind the idea of expecting God to come with compulsions and
pleadings. When our Lord called His disciples there was no irresistible compulsion
from outside.
The quiet passionate insistence of His, "Follow Me" (Matthew 4:19)
was spoken to men and women with every power wide awake. If we let the Spirit
of God bring us face to face with God, we too shall hear something akin to what
Isaiah heard, the still small voice of God; and in perfect freedom will say,
"Hear am I; send me."*
Dear Christian, whether we like to admit it or not, every one of us at some
time in his or her life receives a call very much like the one Isaiah received.
Whether we answer that call in the affirmative or not is up to us.
God will never force a decision on us - it's up to us to answer. But Paul
says that how we answer that call will determine whether we feel ashamed at
His appearing or not. He writes,
God bless you as you read this material.
* Please see MY Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald
Chambers (Dodd. Mead, & Co, 1935), pgs. 1 and 14 |
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