#1876 Judas Gate

#1876

Judas Gate

                                  

"I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else."  -  C. S. Lewis

God preserves his finest deliverance for those who are desperate.  GOD NEVER WASTES THE SUFFERING OF HIS PEOPLE.  The best measurement of a Christian's true strength is what he does at a time of adversity.  God's word gives us the perfect example, Paul and Silas in prison, in stocks, at midnight, singing hymns and, "scripture tells us that the other prisoners listened" (Acts 16:25).  What a testimony!  The best example I could give you from my life, peace and Godliness, this writer would be up studying (high school-college) AND, on the farm, (we had never heard of air conditioning), the windows all open, in my own bed, the quietness of God's universe, across the highway, we had a large pasture with a creek running through it I could hear the cows munching on grass, frogs singing in the swamp.  In my years of blindness, these hearing sensations, memories are still music...my parents who went to bed early, sleeping, snoring, completely at peace with their world.  I heard my father say to a friend, "The Bible tells me that God neither slumbers nor sleeps (Psalm 121:4), why should I lay in bed awake?"

In a nation where trivia is emphasized and glorified, everyone wants a shortcut...something quick, something fast.  In ancient cities, to keep from opening large gates, a small gate called a Judas Gate was built into the main gate, for the use of workers.  It was much like the "cat hole" which farmers put into their barn doors...so the cats could go in and out with ease keeping their barns "rat free".

The CEO of most large American corporations makes (note I did not say earns) 325 times the salary of his average worker.  Most men of power-wealth-influence have forgotten how much technology has contributed to their success.  Like their workers, small doors which they fail to appreciate.

This writer, world traveler, has traveled through-infiltrated most of the world's 42 Muslim countries.  I was amazed at their backwardness...their inability to grow or build anything.  Enough oil wealth, their governments just haul in food, which they pay for all over the world.  There is not enough technology in Muslim countries to build a bicycle.  Yet, they "somehow acquire the explosives and war equipment to defeat powerful countries".  America is known for selling war materials to third world countries, than having to fight them with the same type of material to bring them under submission. 

This writer was in Armastar, India, there to see the gold temple of the sikhs.  Two London journalists were there, fascinated by this blind world traveler, they insisted that I travel with them to Afghanistan (where I had been twice before) so they could photograph the huge standing Buddha's at Bamiyan, "it will not cost you a cent...we are flying through the back door...no paperwork, we just want your company".  I was amazed at these huge standing Buddha's, marveled at the work required to build them-probably the people killed to build them, more amazing, nothing in eastern Afghanistan, the great Himalayas, Hindu Kush, but goat herders.  Yet, think of the small doors-small religious zeal that has stood off both Russia and America in recent wars.  Other small things have completely fooled the world, any large city...Paris-London-New York, small bombs-small people.  I do not have the gift to predict the future.  God give us divine intervention to prevent openings such as Judas went through to elicit twenty pieces of silver.

I was just a small boy, but I still remember, my father's oldest sister and her husband, two of the world's most promising adults, from two remarkable families, lost their first child, a daughter to a dread disease.  On returning from the church, huge crowd, dirt thrown on the casket in the back of the church cemetery, my aunt took the Bible and threw it across the room, "That is that, never again!"  She did forgive, did not forget...although, God did forgive and forget.  Later, they were right back at the church, praising him for his goodness.

Under God's everlasting arm, we have the serenity, less troubled hearts.  It is not a Judas Gate...small and insignificant, but that eternal door which always has the latch on the inside; we must make the effort to open it.  In opening that door, OUR DESTINY IS SETTLED.