Meeting a man who has seen Satan - [ BRoME ]

Beloved, we are God's children now; what we shall be has not yet been revealed. We do know that when it is revealed  we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.  1 John 3:2

We are confused many times.  Confused about who we are. Confused about the people next to us.  Confused about our friends.  Confused about our very own spouses.  Confused about the church.  Confused about the political parties.

One thing is certain however – that we are children of God.   John 1:12 declares:  “to those who did accept him he gave power to become children of God, to those who believe in his name”.   There is something we can say for sure, that if I have accepted the Son of God, I have the power to become God’s child.  if you have accepted the Son of God, you have the power to become God’s child.   if your friends have accepted the Son of God, they have the power to become God’s children. 

This acceptance is really a process.  We may accept the Son of God for who He is but who He is is something we can also be confused about.   There is a series of unfolding, of revelation, of seeking in our lives so that we can define (or really find out) who He is.  And God is patient.  Depending on the intensity of our SEEKING, He reveals himself to us.  This intensity is expressed in our love of God.  “Whoever has my commandments and observes them is the one who loves me. And whoever loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and reveal myself to him.” John 14:21. 

I once met an utterly confused man in Adelaide.  Utterly confused, or maybe just plain crazy.  One  afternoon, I went to the tram stop at Victoria Square.  This bearded man was talking to an African woman and her little girl. He had long curly white hair, a white beard; he would make an excellent Santa Claus personality without the paunch. He wore a dirty blue checkered long-sleeved shirt and faded dungarees. He smelled of sweat and tobacco. I caught him saying something about Iraq and how the third world war would be started from there. I said that it was predicted in the Bible that the war would come from the north of Israel, which would make that true. He went on to talk about the future, as portrayed by Star Trek and Deep Space Nine. That's our future, he said. He said he was born in Adelaide, that he was Catholic but not practising anymore. He said he believed in the Liberal party, that the then Labor government of South Australia are a bunch of shitheads. "They should take the idols out of the church," he blurted.

"Catholics don't worship idols; the statues are just like the pictures of your family," I said but didn't really want to discuss apologetics. He said he had seen Satan, that he was in human form.

"Satan appeared in human form," he repeated. Then he mentioned about vampires. "There are vampires around," he declared.

"How do you know there are vampires?" I asked.

"I wouldn't know," he replied. "I could be a vampire. You could be a vampire. There's no way that you could prove to me that you're not a vampire."  I didn't think that made sense and somehow that made me a bit uneasy.

The only thing that makes TRUE sense is that we are children of God.  And being children of God, we can call God “Abba” which is the same as Daddy.    And there’s more, there is something BEYOND being children of God.  Our future selves are defined by God’s revelation of Himself to us.   “When it is revealed   we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.“

Lord, give us clarity in times of confusion.  Help us to know truly what being children of God truly means.  Give us understanding, wisdom, and peace.  Amen.

 

Copyright 2010 BRoME