Verily,
verily, I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me. Then the disciples looked one on another, doubting of whom he spake.
Now there was leaning on Jesus' bosom one of his disciples, whom Jesus loved.
Simon Peter therefore beckoned to him, that he should ask who it should be of
whom he spake. He then lying on Jesus' breast saith unto him, Lord, who is it?
Jesus answered, He it is, to whom I shall give a sop,
when I have dipped it. And when he had dipped the sop, he gave it to Judas
Iscariot, the son of Simon. And after the sop Satan entered into him. Then said
Jesus unto him, That thou doest, do quickly. Now
no man at the table knew for what intent he spake this unto him. For some of
them thought, because Judas had the bag, that Jesus had said unto him, Buy
those things that we have need of against the feast; or, that he should give
something to the poor. He then having received the sop went immediately out:
and it was night. (John
13:21-30)
The great
American poet, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, penned these words in Hymn to the
Night:
Look, then, into thine heart, and write!
Yes, into Life's deep stream!
All forms of sorrow and delight,
All solemn Voices of the Night,
That can soothe thee, or affright,--
Be these henceforth thy theme.
There are two
themes represented in these lines – sorrow and joy. The two are mutually
incompatible. There comes a night to all of us, and we must know before the
light fades to which night our souls shall be relegated. We all know, and we
know with the certainty of Holy Writ, which night awaits us! The only side of
that equation that settles the rest is this: Are we born again? All who are
born again know that fact with a certainty. St. John of the Cross wrote in Dark
Night of the Soul (though Roman, he possesses some insight of interest):
1. On a dark
night, Kindled in love with yearnings—oh, happy chance!—
I went forth
without being observed, My house being now at rest.
2. In darkness
and secure, By the secret ladder, disguised—oh, happy chance!—
In darkness and
in concealment, My house being now at rest.
3. In the happy
night, In secret, when none saw me,
Nor I beheld
aught, Without light or guide, save that which burned in my heart.
4. This light
guided me More surely than the light of noonday
To the place
where he (well I knew who!) was awaiting me— A place where none appeared.
5. Oh, night
that guided me, Oh, night more lovely than the dawn,
Oh, night that
joined Beloved with lover, Lover transformed in the in the Beloved!
Imagine, if you
can, a night of horrors that is unending through the annals and halls of
Eternity. That is the night of the soul without God. But for the Christian,
such a long night does not exist. Remember Kings Saul and David – both
inveterate sinners. One (Saul) went down to the dust of the earth as the beast
of the field to endure an eternal night apart from God – the other (David)
raised to the very portals of Heaven by the simple act of Grace and contrite
repentance. We have far too many examples of such men in Scripture to miss the
point. Remember Peter who, by his thrice denial, betrayed Christ on the night
of His mockery of a trial; and Judas Iscariot who betrayed His Lord for Thirty
Pieces of Silver. What is the difference in these two? One, Peter, went out and
wept bitterly following his failure of courage and loyalty, and repented for
three days before the breakfast with the Lord by the Waters of Galilee; Judas,
on the other hand, “repented” – not to God – but within himself and was
bequeathed the Potter’s Field for his treachery. He suffered, and suffers, an
endless night of misery. “He then having received the sop went immediately
out: and it was night.” Judas would never again behold the beauty of
a glorious sunrise. That very night into which he fled became his eternal
heritage.
Our friend, the
beggar, Lazarus, suffered all the days of his life under the sun for want of
food, comfort, and love. The Rich Man (God gives no name to those who have none
in Heaven) died and was buried. What kind of morning did Lazarus enjoy, and
what of the Rich Man?
Lazarus: “And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by
the angels into Abraham's bosom.” (Luke 16:22)
The Rich Man: “. . . the rich man also died, and was buried; 23 And in hell
he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus
in his bosom. (Luke
16:22-23) The rich man was cast out into that Eternal
Darkness which is the plight of all who separate themselves from God; but poor
Lazarus received an Angelic Escort to Abraham’s Bosom. “Be not deceived; God
is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” (Gal 6:7)
Now, I am well
aware that there may be some who take umbrage at this kind of biblical emphasis
on the disposition of the soul. There are, perhaps, three different primary
kinds of reaction:
1.
Resentment at
being reminded of one’s greater care of pleasure than the care for their own
souls;
2.
Fearful
acknowledgement of one’s need to come to the Throne of Grace and seek the Lord’s
mercy and grace in contrition of one’s sins; and
3.
Comfort and
satisfaction in the provision of the Lord for all who know Him as Redeemer,
Savior, and Friend. I believe we all fall into one of these categories for the
most part.
I hope there is no reader of this devotion that falls into
the first category mentioned above, for such were the scribes, Pharisees, and
Sadducees who were satisfied by their own righteousness and sought the death of
the One they KNEW to be the Messiah.
The second
category is a hopeful one for “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of
knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.” (Prov 1:7) The latter category is also one of
hope and surety. God knows and judges the heart. He already knows your
disposition, and it is evidenced through endurance in the faith: “he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.”
(Matt 24:13) and a salient
value of endurance in the faith is a dedication to study the Word – not just on
the Lord’s Day, but daily. “And beside this, giving all diligence, add to
your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And to knowledge temperance; and to
temperance patience; and to patience godliness; And to godliness brotherly
kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. For if these things be in you, and
abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the
knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But he that lacketh these things is blind,
and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old
sins. Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and
election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall: For so an
entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom
of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.” (2 Peter 1:5-11) We are not to
become biblical ‘couch potatoes’ relying solely upon the once-per-week sermon
and a five minute reading of the Gospel. How would we know if the preacher
gives a false message? Too many are puny and malnourished because of that
failure.
The day is
coming to every reader of this devotion – a day of God’s own choosing – when
the gentle Angel of Death shall spread his finders over our brow and close our
eyes in the sleep of death. With immediate dispatch, we, like Lazarus and the
Rich Man, will open our eyes either in Eternal Darkness, or the Glorious
Morning of Eternity. “. . in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a
night, but joy cometh in the morning.” (Psalms 30:5)
Will there be a
glorious Morning of Light for you, my Friend; or shall you awaken in the
company of Judas and a host of other sinners who have neglected their souls in
feeding them with the Word of God?
