There are people who leave this world with a legacy of having lived a life of selflessness and service to others who were extremely sick. I remember hearing a story of a Catholic priest who went to go minister to the lepers who himself contracted leprosy. Undeniably, the likes of Mother Teresa and the aforementioned priest led exemplary lives warranting sainthood. What people fail to see is the reality that although they are deemed as the paragon of virtue, they may have been motivated by nothing else but works-based salvation, the erroneous doctrine that they must do all these good deeds toward their fellowmen so that they may gain entry to heaven, on top of Jesus Christ’s finished work. Their works are talked about throughout the entire world but let’s hope they truly had their sins dealt with through the blood of Jesus Christ.
It is no question that God works differently in people. However, I am convinced that the presence of His Holy Spirit within the believer will always lead the believer to leave the false system as He pleads in the book of Revelation in Chapter 18:4,
“Then I heard another voice from heaven say: “Come out of her, my people, so that you will not share in her sins or contract any of her plagues.”
He will not allow a true believer to stay in a false system as that very same false system will serve as a snare for the person who is born again.
The Place That Was Like Home
I awoke to this dream today, 9/22. There’s this woman whom I will refer to as Girl #1, who was living a lesbian lifestyle. She had short hair and it was bleached to prep it possibly to dye with another color. It looked like this could have taken place somewhere in New York or it could have been some other city with a metropolitan vibe. She went to a gathering place of some sort, a hangout for people who lived the homosexual lifestyle. The dream I had was more graphic in nature but I will spare the details and jump right to the part where Girl #2, a lesbian woman wanted to give Girl #1 a hug. Girl #1 had just witnessed Girl #2 get physical with another woman – whose whereabouts faded out of the dream.
The scenario focuses on the reaction of Girl #1 to Girl #2’s hug. Girl #1 knew that Girl #2 had a disease. She apparently was infected with HIV-2. Girl #2’s hand was contaminated from whatever she was doing with the other woman and so Girl #1 ran to the bathroom to go clean herself from any trace of contamination. As she comes out of the bathroom, a few people were sitting together on a couch as in having an assembly. There were a couple of men there, one happened to be the group leader it seems and he drops the bombshell to the guy sitting by him and to Girl #2 that they needed to leave the group because they were sick with HIV-2 and that the decision was reached to ensure the safety of everyone else in the group.
The dream ended.
When I woke up, I wondered whether there was such a thing as HIV-2. I knew of HIV but I can say I was totally unaware there were actually more than one classification until today after I looked it up and learned that HIV-2 happens to be the slower asymptomatic type that takes years to progress into full blown AIDS. I woke up with the impression and question of how people can show love to the untouchables, those who feel shunned by the society for their sickness (sin)? Although the dream portrayed a literal disease, I started to dwell about the passage in Jude 1:23,
“save others by snatching them from the fire; to others show mercy, mixed with fear–hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh.”
To me, the dream was a clear admonition to be vigilant. I felt bad and compassionate for Girl #2 in the dream but I knew that carelessness on my part would bring about a hazard to myself as I became the eyes of Girl #1.
How can we as believers stay undefiled by the corruption of this generation without ourselves being corrupted and compromising doctrine in the process?
While we are called to love those who are hurting, the sick and the dying (both physical and spiritual), we cannot do so by depriving them of the inconvenient truth. Though our flesh may be rotting away, a life that lasts an eternity awaits and where they spend that lifetime depends on them hearing about how they can get there. They need to know exactly how to get to the life of rest; the afterlife promised free from EVERY form of suffering. They need to know The Way, Jesus Christ.
I don’t know whom God will want you to minister to in your life but our time on this Earth is short. The dream has a twofold message.
1) To the one who has truly given their life to Christ but yet is still entangled in a false system and erroneous unbiblical doctrine, come out. Christ asked you to follow Him. Don’t look back. He desires that you wake up from the stupor of seeing things on the surface. It is clear that people who are His are set apart.
2) The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak (Mark 14:38). Anyone is susceptible to the pull of the world, so be vigilant. Stay in prayer and cling to sound biblical doctrine.
[Image Credit: My daughter’s computer art]