The Windchill Outside of Christ

I sat in the living room looking out at the white landscape.  Swirling snow wisps, and swaying trees were submitting to an invisible presence.   An occasional leaf lingering from the past season danced across the landscape driven against its will to a new resting place.  The clouds with varying tones of grey promoted a premature nightfall.  Temperatures reaching deep into negative territory confirmed winter’s command.   I relished warmth in sharp contrast to the scenario just beyond a piece of glass.

I had been reflecting on the messages in the first 2 chapters of the letter to the Ephesians.  Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Paul makes a powerful declaration of the character of God.  Spiritually dead in our transgressions, God put on a breathtaking display of mercy, love, and grace in our salvation through the gift of faith.  Acknowledged as dead in my transgressions, by God’s grace I was not only raised up with Christ but was also given a seat in the heavenly places.   This heavenly seat was a “completed” action – even now in the spiritual realm, I occupy a seat in this most holy place.  Note the qualifier Paul uses at the end of Ephesians 2:6:

This repeated phrase in the next few verses reinforces the truth that as believers we have been united in the likeness of His death and resurrection.    

An unexpected peace and comfort came upon my soul as I stared at the harsh cold scene before me.  Beyond the immediate meteorological phenomenon, my eyes were opened to a metaphorical teaching moment regarding the mysteries of God’s will.   There was a time when my heart was hardened to the things of God. The winds of worldly pleasure created a destructive windchill in my soul. I felt emptiness in the grey dusk of my life, knowing and yet denying that the purposes of this journey were fleeting. But then came a compelling call, a drawing to join by faith – the gift of salvation which transferred me from the deep cold of despair into the very presence and comfort of God. 

Humbled by the truths of the Ephesian letter of being chosen, predestined, adopted “according to the kind intention of His will”, I was moved in my heart offering “praise to the glory of His grace”.   Who am I, that I might find myself seated in His presence declared holy and blameless? Totally undeserved, solely by God’s mercy and grace, despite my rebellion against Him, I have been raised up from spiritual death into His presence. Oh, the comfort, the assurance, the joy of being in such a divine setting.  All this made possible by faith alone in Christ alone to the glory of God alone –

A gust of wind interrupted my spiritual encounter with God – the glass flexing under its pressure as I again surveyed the intense conditions beyond my windowpane.  From the warmth of Christ’s presence, I contemplated life for those with no intermediary, no propitiation, no atonement for sin before the God of justice.   My heart was distraught for those who were “Outside of Christ”.   The bitter cold of conviction, lost, rejected, an orphan, apart from God.  The emptiness, hollowness, a vacuum with no love, no comfort, no hope.  I was troubled by those outside of Christ possessing a hardened heart of Pharaonic proportions. Left to the blowing winds of this culture, they seem willing to endure the forces of a cold winter night, content with an unknown destiny.  In their rebellion against God, there seemed to be no questions troubling their hearts, an uneasiness about the clear decay of life in the temporary setting.  I struggled to understand why the words of the psalmist had not penetrated their heart.

Psalms 39: 4-5

Show me O LORD my life’s end and the number of my days; Let me know how fleeting is my life; You have made my days a mere handbreadth; the span of my years is as nothing before You.  Each man’s life is but a breath

A Witness

My forehead pressed against the glass, I stared at the light reflecting off the snow blanketing the bush just beyond the windowpane.  Nightfall now precluded what was but a short time ago visible in my landscape description.  The light from inside penetrated the glass and reflected off the ice crystals shimmering in a beautiful display.  The words came to my heart,

There are many who have chosen the wide road living “Outside of Christ Jesus”.    The only solution to the domain of darkness is the light of Christ, but how can they know if they have not heard? As a follower of Jesus Christ, clothed in the warmth of the Holy Spirit’s presence, I am called to be a beacon in the cold, dark, world witnessing to the glory of the only true God, bringing a message of warmth that endures forever. 

The martyrs throughout the ages followed the call venturing out into the cold in obedience to God, trusting Him with the outcome, faithfully  letting their light shine forth.   Denying self, they took up their cross daily in service to God bringing the lost a message of hope.  Are we not to follow their example given that we too  are clothed in the garment of Christ, our protector, our source of spiritual warmth? Even as the martyrs, we are rallied by the knowledge that awaiting us is the celebration of “glorification salvation” when we will finally experience the joy of seeing our Father face to face – a  “warmth” of the soul that will be unparalleled.  But until that time, we are called to be that faithful servant delivering a message of light to a dying world – a service which may include great sacrifice. Reflecting on those faithful men and women of God who have gone before making such a great sacrifice in faithful service to our Lord, I was deeply troubled by my excuses.

Staring once more out my window into the dark of night, my eyes were again drawn to the reflected light.  Searching my heart, I wondered what there was to fear while waiting for this treasured moment when I pass from this life? 

I felt the assurance that my position “in Christ Jesus”, my inheritance as a child of God was beyond the enemies’ reach.  With conviction, it became clear that I must answer the call, obediently taking a stand for the truth, bringing a message of hope to those “Outside of Christ”.  As one so unworthy of such an ineffable gift of mercy, grace and love, filled with this light of Christ, how can I not pursue a world in desperate need of the garment of Faith – to be “in Christ Jesus”.