Part One
"Welcome, Sojourner,"
said the shepherd. "I see you have laid your heavy burden down at the foot
of the cross. How wonderful! Now that
you have received the wonderful gift of salvation, let me show you how to grow.
Follow me and I will guide you through
your new responsibilities."
“Responsibilities?”
he questioned? “Yes, let me show you,”
said the shepherd. With those words,
Sojourner began a journey into the New Life.
As each day
progressed, he was excited to learn how he was now to live and what he needed
to do to please his new Master. There was so much to learn, so many new things
he needed to accomplish!
The shepherd and the
people of the flock helped him as he began to absorb all the great notions that
were so new to him. He discovered that many in the flock found these ideas in a
Book they said contained the "Great Standard of Life."
"Oh, there is so
much to comprehend,” he fretted. “How will I ever please my new Master?"
"Follow my
lead," said the shepherd, I have lived by the Great Standard for many
years.
"But how can I
ever live up to such a Great Standard."
"The Master’s grace
will help you fulfill the Great Standard. You see, we understand He gives us
grace so we can live up to the Great Standard. No one can accomplish it without
help, so we must ask the Master for grace to help us."
"I think I
understand," whispered Sojourner. "You are saying that I should ask
the Master for grace to help me live up to the Great Standard of Life, and in that
way I will earn the Master's approval."
“You are a fast
learner!” said the shepherd.
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Part two
As the days passed, no one worked
harder in the flock than Sojourner. He performed excellently. He faithfully
accomplished everything the shepherd taught him to do to please the Master. The
desire of his whole heart was to please the One who had taken his heavy burden.
Yet,
something was missing. Sojourner was
unfulfilled and sort of, well… disappointed. And yet, he could not put
his finger on the reason why. Even with
all the effort he was putting in; He was reading the Book every day – sometimes
for hours; he was praying and seeking and asking for help. He went for days
without food just to have more time to learn about the Great Standard. And even
then, something was absent in the New Life he had found.
So he decided he must
try harder. “I will achieve even more than the shepherd has taught me. I will
follow the Great Standard yet closer than before. Then I will be satisfied,
because then I will know I have pleased the Master." So, he began to act
upon his newly found fervor.
He passionately lived
his life as close to the Great Standard as humanly possible. He performed even
the minutest details, and constantly prayed for more of the Master's grace to
live up to even more. “What more is there to do and to learn, when will I ever
please the Master?”
He also learned about
the "Rules for the Flock," which included suggestions on how the
flock should live so that other people could see that they were part of a
flock, and not just wanderers in the shadows.
Sojourner also
executed these rules flawlessly.
He out-performed all
of the other members of the flock, and the shepherd began to point to him as
another example for the flock to follow. He spent immeasurable hours reading
the Book and would always stumble upon more things to do that he hoped would
please the Master.
He discovered
increasingly more ways to labor, which he was sure, would succeed in gaining the
Master's favor. He spent days praying and crying out to the Master for the
ability to please Him more.
Yet,
deep in his heart, Sojourner was unconvinced that he was pleasing the Master.
As the weeks, and
months, and years wore on, Sojourner became frustrated with his New Life. The
precepts and the tenets that he rejoiced to learn at the first, now had become
heavy burdens that weighed his life down. The harder he toiled, the more he
seemed to leave undone.
"Is this all
there is to it – a life of performance-based living and never knowing for sure
if I am pleasing the Master? Even when I obey all of the Rules, I never feel
that I have done enough!"
As he sought the
counsel of the shepherd and the older, wiser members of the flock, they all
seemed to agree that there must be something wrong in the way that Sojourner
was performing. They assured him that if he had been performing correctly, he
could be sure that he was pleasing the Master.
"You simply need
to read further about the Great Standard and the Rules for the Flock. After
all, they have been our guide all of these years."
"Sojourner, if
you would just fast and pray more often, these thoughts would not trouble
you."
He could hear the
others whispering, "Perhaps there is disobedience in Sojourner's life, or
worse, a transgression of the Great Standard... "
"Maybe he needs
to go to the cross again and repent.”
“Maybe he just needs
to re-commit.”
“There must be something he is doing wrong or he would not have these thoughts –
we cannot help him…"
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Part three
One night, after many hours of weeping
in discouragement, a still, small Voice gently whispered, "Sojourner, I
love you and I want to be your Friend."
"Who, who are
you? Are you the taskmaster that I have worn myself out trying to please?"
"I am not a taskmaster.
I Am the One who loves you. I want to live My Life through you! Why are you trying
to do something to please Me? There is
nothing more for you to do!"
“Do you not know that
I did it all for you?”
“How can that
be?" Sojourner doubted. "I have done everything I could think of to
live my life to please You. How can I please You without executing to the
letter what the Great Standard teaches?"
"Sojourner,"
the Friend replied, "Be at peace. I love you, and I satisfied it all when
I shed My Blood. When I died on that
cruel cross and rose from the dead, I finished all that was needed for life and
godliness. Everything our Father ever
wanted in a son or daughter was found the moment you came to Me.”
"You please Me
by entering into My Life. You enter into My Life by trusting Me. I want to live
and express My Life through you. I want you to realize that your New Life is
hidden with Me, and there is nothing that could make me love you more, and
nothing that can make me love you less.”
"I did not
conquer your heavy burden of sin with the intention that you would pick up an
even heavier burden – thinking that you are pleasing Me – My yoke is easy and
My burden is light.”
"Have you not
yet understood that this New Life is not about doing things or achieving to
please Me? Because you are in Me, I am already pleased.”
"This New Life
is about being a New Creation in Me with My life dwelling in you. It is also about
relating with Me as Your Friend."
"You, You want
me as your friend? How can this be?”
“Lord, I have served
You all this time, and yet I never realized that You wanted me as a friend. I
have done nothing to be worthy of Your friendship!"
"Sojourner, I
have always wanted your love and friendship. I have given you My grace, not to
help you fulfill the Great Standard, but rather, because you never can
fulfill the Great Standard. I fulfilled it.
My grace is not help
you live up to the Great Standard, but rather, to liberate you from trying to
bring about something that I have already accomplished for you.
This New Life that
you have sought can only be lived through abiding in My Presence and Grace.”
"I fulfilled the
requirements of the Great Standard when I died on the cross, and because you
are in Me, you have become a partaker of Me and all that I have. You have
become everything I have ever wanted, simply because you are in Me. I love you.
And because I love you, I want to live My Life through you."
"Be strong,
establish your heart, and grow in My Grace. You will find that My Grace will be
sufficient to sustain you through all of your earthly life."
"And remember, I
am with you. I will not fail you, and you cannot fail Me as you stay close to
me. I know your beginning from your ending, and I will sustain you with My
Grace."
As Sojourner heard
these words, a flood of tears released every fear he had ever had of not pleasing
his Lord and Friend. As the tears streamed down, he was filled with a joy, a
peace, and a love he had not felt since the day that he lay his burden at the
cross. The freedom he sensed was overwhelming, as if a heavy load had been
again lifted from his shoulders.
The New Life was no
longer a burden, but a joy, and he couldn't wait to share the Grace he had
found.
