This man and I got to know each other over the last few months. He handles a chain saw like I have not seen before. It is like he commands it to do his bidding. He is also a hard worker. I have split wood with him many times and enjoy working with him. He came to the ministry we work with in California. We were told when he first came he had lots of needs. He recently left for the next stage in his life.
He does not speak my native language very well and I don’t speak his, but he made it clear that God had worked in his life, had given him fresh revelation, and was excited to see what was ahead. He had new hopes of being able to encourage people and be an example of the Gospel at work. We had a chance to pray for him and his wife before they left.
The period that he just had was special and essential. It brought a fresh revelation of what God can do in him. Many mornings I would find him in the Scripture and he would be at evening meetings participating. He received prayer many times.
Revelation alone, however, is not enough. I think he understood this, but whether he does or does not, he left to embark into different circumstances that will put his revelation to test. In short, revelation will now be married to situation. The result will tell him whether he truly owns what he has received. This is true for him, but it is also true for me.
Is this not true for any follower of the Lord Jesus Christ? Revelation is like the car that is started and ready to go on the road. The engine is running. The car is comfortable and looks nice. But most people don’t have a car to have it look pretty in a parking spot. It’s made to take us somewhere. Revelation by itself is like the car that has not gone on the road. It might be OK; it might be a lemon. People buy cars that look really spiffy, but they are overpriced and virtually useless if they do not do something practical in a successful and repeating way.
Have you learned something really special in the Bible? Have a truth that you think is monstrously important? Live it. If revelation does not result in a life closer to Jesus Christ in real relationships and circumstances, it’s not yours yet, it may be only information of questionable value, or you might not understand the real intent of the “revelation” you have received. This is why the Holy Spirit is so very thorough in His oversight of our lives and circumstances. Revelation (if it is truly revelation) without a good marriage to situation, is untested and incomplete.
This may all sound simple, but today’s churches are vastly overflowing with “revelation” that goes no further into life than the exit doors. In most gatherings there are crowds of people with something to say and another large group with ears just waiting to hear it. God is much more interested in changed lives that walk in real places. Those lives have received biblical truth and walked it out. Their revelation has been tested and found road worthy. Let yours be likewise.
If things go right, if my friend and I both obey the Lord from the heart in real life circumstances, then we will meet again one day and testify of His revelation made more real than it was when we first met. We will be able to say with assurance that what we heard we have put into practice. We will be able to say we know Him better because it has been made more real in tangible relationships and circumstances. Anything short of this may be religious and sound good, but it won’t have the reality test that affects how life is conducted.
James 1:22-27 is a wonderful text for this little story. Read it for yourself, but here are the first words from the NIV: “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.” It ends by talking about God’s definition of true religion, which is what the Bible and following Christ is all about.
