In my prayer time a few months ago, I had a vision, and I believe it was to help me understand the difference between the lives of people who had accepted the gift of salvation and those who hadn’t yet.
I saw people, humans, who chose not to receive the gift, who had decided not to receive Jesus. These people were paper thin and flat on a clothesline, flapping in the wind. The wind blew them all around with no solid anchor or security. If you have children and are familiar with the Flat Stanley books, this is how these people appeared.
Then I saw the people who had chosen to receive God’s gift of salvation and decided to put their faith in Jesus. These people were three-dimensional, with hopes, dreams, and life that went on forever. They were solid, grounded, and anchored. Although they still made mistakes and were regular people walking around the world, they were safe members of the family of God. No matter what life threw at them or how many mistakes they made, they remained solid members of God’s family. I felt the Holy Spirit revealing to me that once you’re a part of God’s family, you’re not going back. You belong to the family; every believer is a valued member. It doesn’t matter if you mess up because we all do; your DNA as a member of God’s family remains intact. You’re in forever. You are secure in the family through every up and down mountain top and valley. As a member of the family, you have colour, depth, richness and purpose to your life here on earth and forever. By receiving Jesus’s gift to you, you’ve come alive to the truth of who you are.
When I have visions, I like to test them with scripture to discern their truth according to God’s Word. In the case of this vision, I found the following scripture references.
14 Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth. 15 Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. 16 He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love. Ephesians 4:14-16 (NLT).
12 God’s purpose was that we Jews who were the first to trust in Christ would bring praise and glory to God. 13 And now you Gentiles have also heard the truth, the Good News that God saves you. And when you believed in Christ, he identified you as his own by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom he promised long ago. 14 The Spirit is God’s guarantee that he will give us the inheritance he promised and that he has purchased us to be his own people. He did this so we would praise and glorify him. Ephesians 1:12-14 (NLT).
Father God, how can we ever thank you enough for what you have done for us. Thank you for making the fullness of life available to us through faith. Help us to see you more clearly, love you more dearly, and follow you more nearly with each passing day.
