A Place In the Wilderness

Introduction 5

divine sons of God. Such a transformation comes about entirely by Christ Himself growing in the believers. Such growth is fos- tered by the nourishment in God’s Word, by watching and praying, by a constant and intimate contact with the Lord Him- self, by an unreserved participation in the genuine Christian church experience, and by an ever-deepening, continual expe- rience of Christ.

The Lord desires a ripened harvest. How clear God’s Word is that we must grow. Yet, how slowly we all have grown. Every one of us must admit and confess how short we are of Christ, how poor we are in the divine life. Instead of cooperating with the Lord to gain Him, we may continually frustrate Him. We may care more for our own things rather than for God’s house. We may live for our own self-satisfaction rather than for God’s eternal purpose. How many build up their own temporary empires, rather than labor for God’s eternal kingdom?

When we view the general situation today in Christianity, what is it that we see? We must be honest and genuine, and look beyond any facade or pretense. Do we see an uplifted living in Christ among the believers, or do we see the love of the world in its many different aspects and the gratification and exaltation of the self? Do we see a living, Christ-filled church brightly shin- ing as a lampstand, or do we see formalities, rituals, and doc- trines? Do we see the believers exhibiting the divine oneness for which the Lord prayed in John 17, or do we rather see numerous divisions and sects?

The responsibility for the condition in Christianity today rests to a great degree upon the shoulders of the leaders amongst the Christians. Today many leaders labor by human endeavor, natural concepts, and the flesh, about which the Apostle Paul sternly warned us all. Few build with gold, silver, and precious stone (which signify the Triune God experienced and gained by the believers). Rather than take the lead to experience Christ in His death and resurrection, and by such an example usher the be- lievers into a deeper experience of Christ, many rule over the saints as overlords, caring for their own following to build up their own kingdoms. There is ambition, pride, envy, and the desire for self-exaltation with the practices of rumor-mongering,