”Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, and the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him.”  (1 Sam. 3:7)

“…the Lord revealed Himself to Samuel at Shiloh by the word of the Lord.  (1 Sam. 3:21)

“…and I will love him and manifest myself to him.”  John 14:21

The more you get acquainted with the Lord, and the more He reveals Himself to you by His word, the more lonely you will feel among the established, easy going Christians and church goers.  You will be among them all right, for they are your people, and like your Savior you will occasionally accept their invitations to various parties and banquets, but you´ll never be their super witty entertainer.

And yet you will, like your Lord, in some strange way attract the attention by your quiet remarks, your honest questions, your loving interest in souls, your enthusiasm for your Fathers business (Luke 2:49), your exposure of religious hypocrisy, your grief at worldliness among Christians, your yearning for revival, etc. - but on the bottom line you´ll be lonely.  And yet you´ll have peace.  You will find yourself resting in Christ and in the word of truth and be happy.

I once heard Billy Graham preach on “The Loneliness of Calvary”, and his point was that the loneliness of a disciple of Christ will somehow be related to our Savior´s loneliness.  I´ve never forgotten that.  But it´s also the loneliness of Calvary´s power, nay the power of the cross exhibited in the midst of all pain before a lost, hell bound world.

-jn-

8.5.09