Like a Child's Picture Book

Every child has the right to know what his father expects of him -- Source unknown

 

"This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time," declares the Lord.

"I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts.  I will be their God, and they will be my people.  No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, 'Know the Lord,' because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest," declares the Lord (Jer. 31: 33-34).

 

Jesus promised to send us His Spirit of Truth, who would lead us into all truth and teach us from within.  This is the fulfillment of Jeremiah's prophecy that God Himself would teach us and write His law -- His instruction -- on our minds and our hearts.  When I first began to experience for myself this promise of God, though at the time, I did not know enough about Scripture to realize what was happening, I thought I was imagining things.  I did not know that God will teach us as we teach children.  I would have visions -- at the time, I would not have called them visions, but only mental images -- where I would understand deep truth with no words.  Only later would I have the words to explain what I understood in these image.  It was as if God in His mercy were giving me a child's picture book to explain things He wanted me to understand. 

 

Now I know that the bible itself is a giant picture book.  God does not give us principles so much as images, stories:  This is what faith looks like -- the story of Abraham; this is what hope looks like -- Isaiah speaking to the captives in Babylon, etc.  But it took many years for me to realize that God speaks to us, directs us, teaches us in pictures and images.  In the meantime, I finally consecrated my imagination to God, because I was receiving images, and I did not want to be making things up on my own.  Now I believe that God will speak to every single one of us in the way we can best understand -- He is the Great Teacher!

 

Yesterday, I asked whether we wanted to see ourselves as God sees us, a pre-requisite to loving our neighbor as we love ourselves.  Here is the vision of many years that led to that question:

 

I saw myself in a cloud high above a mountain.  I could see the top of the mountain, and I could see many different paths leading from the base of the mountain to its summit.  I could see people at different stages along the way; some had wandered off their paths into deep woods, and they could not find their way back to the path.  "Can I help them?" I asked the Lord.  "No," He answered; "on the journey, they will come to know the Guide."  And I realized that I was not the Guide; they had to come to know Him and Him alone.

 

Suddenly, I saw myself at the base of an invisible mountain that stretched high above me.  I could see no path at all, and it was given to me to understand that I would not know whether I was going up or down, left or right.  All I was to know was the One Who was leading me.  And then, I clearly saw in front of me something like a library table with four small drawers in it.  I opened the first drawer and saw small cards like bookmarks.  I understood these to represent the Ten Commandments.  The second drawer held the same small cards -- these represented the Beatitudes.  And the third drawer also held small cards, which represented the secrets of men's hearts.  The 4th drawer would open only a couple of inches, much as a kitchen drawer with a spatula stuck inside; something was keeping it from opening all the way.  I finally managed to squeeze in my hand enough to draw out a scroll, and I was anxious to see what was written on the scroll.  But when I opened it, I saw nothing.  I cried because I knew there was something written on the scroll, but I was not able to see what was there. 

 

Then the understanding came to me in a flash:  from childhood, God had given to me to know and understand the Ten Commandments, the Beatitudes, and sometimes even the secrets of men's hearts.  But what I did not know and could not know were the secrets of my own heart.  The "drawer" to my own heart was closed, and I was not able to open it myself.  And even when I could see it, I could not read what was written on it.  Then the scroll unrolled upwards towards heaven -- and I understood that if I allowed God to write on my heart and to show me what He writes, it would lead me into heaven.

 

That was the end of the vision.  As I spent the next few months praying about the vision, trying to understand it, the first word was inscribed on the scroll, and I was able to read it.  Since that time, some 30+ years ago, I have been able to see only three words in all, but it is enough.  I understand that I can see only what I allow the Lord to put there, and it takes much time for Him to write what He wants in my heart.  First, He has to tear down the resistance and the barriers I put up against His will for me.

 

I share this vision because I am convinced that God wants to teach each one of us in His own way, and I want to encourage others to embrace whatever it is the Holy Spirit wants to do in us.  If we believe that dreams and visions are only for prophets and holy men, we will not believe that God will use them to teach us.  But His word says that even youths and serving girls will be taught of God -- see Joel 2: 28-29).  My vision may mean nothing to someone else, but it has sustained me all these years; I am still trying to learn the lessons it has taught me and is still teaching me.