Grace/Forgiveness: Two Visions

Below is the description of a vision that came in a dark time of deep contrition and repentence to my friend, Jim Willis. As he desribes it:

What is the darkest place you've been? Imagine you are isolated in darkness, real physical darkness like a cave or a dungeon underground. Now visualize the total absence of light around you in this place...

In prayer and repentance I looked up to the Lord and He showed me through Grace a vision of His great Mercy and Love.

Within the total darkness of acknowledged sin, at a distant point above me I saw a faint bit of light from an opening door grow into a beam of light reaching down into the darkness surrounding me. The light shot out, sharp-edged like a sword made of light carving into the darkness - outward and downward toward me, illuminating the darkness and me in a shaft of light that stood in stark contrast to the darkness beyond me.

I saw a white dove fly out of the door toward me and in tears of repentance I came to know that when we look to the Lord in Faith, His Mercy and Love fly to us in Grace since we have no wings of our own. This vision of faith, repentance, grace, mercy, love and forgiveness was revealed to me as I describe it here.

Reflecting back on this I know that God reveals to us through His Holy Spirit that He created everything and it is in His nature to gather His creation to Himself for His purpose, not by force but by invitation. Some question a god that needs to be loved, but that’s not it at all. God is Love, and God completes His Creation and each one of us in union with Him, in and through Him, together with each and every one of us, in the Body of Christ. I know now what it means and the true wonder of it, that His sheep hear His voice and follow Him.

Jim Willis

 

“My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me.”      John 10:27

I was sitting on my deck drawing near to God. My failures and shortcomings always are the first to come into focus when I draw near to God. This day, they seemed particularly daunting. I did not want to lift my eyes toward Him. I hang-doggedly lifted up all my known character defects, which were legion. I heard His voice in my mind: "Mark, do you think that My grace is not sufficient to cover all that?" Then He took my attention to a spot in the woods behind my house where I had buried our dog, Alf, about 15 years ago. He asked "If you dug in the earth, what would you find of Alf?" "Not even a bone probably remains at this point Lord," I replied. "That is your sin. And the earth covering it is my Grace." Then He showed me a flower growing out of that earth, and a honeybee coming to take nectar and flying away to make honey.

Mark Graham