A False Eden
Soul Snack 233/13 ... A False Eden
We must shelter our hearts in no rival to God. ~ A.W. Pink
Babylon first arose after the flood on the original site of Eden.
Babylon has become the shelter for the unwitting Christian's heart, for Babylon is now worldwide. It is where we all live.
BUT Babylonian faith is inert, settled, and is far too comfortable between the Tigris and the Euphrates. It lives in a spurious Eden, and treks no unknown deserts. Uncertain steps are never taken.
Babylon requires no commitment, makes no outrageous claims of discipleship, and will eventually seize the soul. It simply reminds each inhabitant - be faithful to yourself alone.
Yet there is another way...
He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose. ~ Jim Elliot
This invitation to faith sets the believer pushing away curtains, facing towards unseen sunsets but seeing no giants.
The undying bellow for all believers continues to be 'flee Babylon my people, so that you will not share in her sins.' (Rev 18:4)
Babylon is both the dwelling of earthly security and the place of heavenly threat.
Babylon is fled when the thinking is renewed, the heart is replaced, and so the feet will dutifully follow. It is then the Babylonian believer becomes a Zionist as they trek to Jerusalem; they mount Calvary and offer their body as a living sacrifice to the one who owns it anyway. BUT the first faithful step in exiting Babylon is a renewed mind.
Christians worldwide require renewed thinking - not faith that settles, but faith that can be stirred.
Christians should shelter from Babylon, not in it, for it is a false Eden.
Today's Soul Snippet:
"The difficulty of the journey does not define the quality of the destination."#
GREAT MERCY is available on-line at this link from $3:99.
Love this SoulSnack - PLEASE don't keep it to yourself? Would you like to subscribe for free SoulSnacks either weekly or each workday?
#Michael Cartwright, GREAT MERCY ~ (Bloomington IN, WestBow Press, 2013), 112