“Just tell me!!!”

Don’t you hate it when someone eludes that they have a secret? Or that they know something really important but they can’t tell you? Even though sometimes they’d like to tell you, but do to confidentiality or a promise made, they just can’t? No matter how much or in how many different ways you ask, they just can’t tell ya! There are some will end your inquisition by saying one of my favorite lines; “I could tell ya, but then I’d have to kill ya!”

I’ve been pondering this subject for the last couple of days, whether to write or not to write, but I just feel the prodding of the Holy Spirit to get it out there. Now, relax, I’m not going to be sharing any deep dark secrets that I have, or surprise you with some amazing news, on second thought, that may not be true but you’ll have to keep reading to see, and besides if I just came out and told you some deep dark secrets, I’d have to kill ya!

What initially kicked this whole thought process off is probably of no real interest to you, but it got my brain “a think’n”. See, in my business we have regional sales managers; these are the guys who help us out when we have tough questions or tough cases that we’re working on. Anyway, I got notice the other day that one of our regional managers was going to be leaving the area and moving on, that reminded me of other sales managers who over the last 20 years who just left, and most for no real reason that I could tell. Well that memory led me to some hard times, to some hard memories, a time not long ago when the church I attended seem to have pastors leaving left and right, again for no apparent reason. It seemed to me, and I’m sure to others, that these guys were abandoning ship, and what’s worse, not telling us why.

I was pretty close with one of the pastors in particular, but he also was tight lipped about the whole thing, and it seemed as if he had an electric fence around him, and maybe a little sign that read “Don’t ask!” I just wanted to shake him and say “Just tell me!!!” but he never did. The amazing side of this story is that it became very clear, and in short order I might add, that God was in control the whole time. You see, the others and I were looking at that supposed ship abandoning with our finite minds, but we were forgetting that God is infinite, He sees the whole picture. You know the awesome thing about our God is that He turns all things around and makes them good. Every one of the pastor (that I know of), went on to bigger and better things, some got there own churches, others are now a part of other churches and doing amazing things for the Lord, what an awesome God we serve!

But there still seems to be this part in me, and maybe in you too, that wants to know “Why?” I mean, I want to know if the insurance company I’m working for, or the church I’m serving in, has some things that I should know about. Do they know something I (or we) don’t know about? Are we still on the right path with this church? What is the real reason this is happening? Is it paranoia? maybe. Would it be a form of gossiping if we asked? could be. Is it something that we need to trust Lord over? Definitely!

Do you guys follow where I’m comin’ from? Kinda? Allow me take you down a little rabbit trail to see if this helps with a visual. In fact let me take you to 1978, to a little self proclaimed town called “Jonestown” in a South American region called Guyana. I came across an on-line tape recording awhile back, this recording was what would to be the last words spoken by the reverend Jim Jones, and in fact it would be the last words his followers would hear him, or anyone else, ever speak again. The setting from what I could figure by the pictures that were attached with this sound byte, was a big low lit meeting area, possibly a tent or building, there was a small make shift stage with a single chair where upon Jones sat, a few musicians, tambourines and such, and the followers below him on the floor in front. There was a microphone hooked up, so Jones’s voice was loud and clear, in the background I could hear shouts of acclamation from his followers, mixed with cursing and using the Lord’s Name in vain. All the voices seem to agree with what Jones was saying, ‘cept for this one woman who questioned his teaching, and questioned what he was prompting everyone to do. She was adamant, and loud about getting the truth, she was saying in essence “Just tell me!!!”

The truth he was telling her and all the rest was a lie, but for some reason this truth wasn’t making any sense to her. She would say; “Why do we have to do this? Why do we have to take our lives?” his answers were things like “Don’t you see!? We can’t let them come and get us!” but as much as he repeated over and over “Can’t you see?” she just couldn’t. The recording went on for some time, her trying to explain what she was feeling while others cursed her and threatened her. Among the shouting, screams began, I could hear him comforting mothers who were sobbing over their children, he invited children to come up and sit with him, I could hear him assuring people “it’s alright! This is right” Some were encouraging others to just “do it!”, but then after awhile there was less voices, then after awhile even less, and then finally, there were no voices at all. The recording ended with about 90 seconds of the cracks and pops characteristic of an old tape recording, and then silence.

What was missing in these peoples’ lives? What was absent from them that would cause them to follow a man, to follow him all the way to death? God was missing! His message of truth, and life, His Son who is the way the truth and the life, these were missing. These people had no hope, no future, they had no direction, except it seems that one lady, was she a Christian? But she seemed to be the only one who really wanted to know why, she wanted Jim Jones to tell her the truth!

So why would I bring that horrific scene into this? What does this have to do with secrets, or things really important that can’t be told? The truth is you and I as believers have a secret, we have something really important, in fact the Apostle Paul in Ephesians calls it a mystery.

Imagine if Jesus were standing up there on that stage next to Jones, what an awesome picture! Jim is espousing hate and fear, and Jesus is saying; "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” Jesus’ arms outstretched, He then places a hand on Jones’s shoulder and says; “This means you too my son.” Can you imagine the battle that was going on in that tent that day? There was something in this woman that causead her to say, “Wait! This is not right!” maybe the Holy Spirit was upon her in that moment, and maybe she was being used in an effort to open the eyes of all those who were blinded by Jones’s theology, maybe she was supposed to make the people think, I know all these years later it’s made me think, how ‘bout you?

Here’s the meat of it guys; there are millions and millions of people who are aimlessly standing in a line waiting for a cup of tainted cool-aid, and praise God we are not in those lines any longer, we now know the truth, and that truth has set us free. They are lost and listening to the “foolishness of men”, men who are ultimately leading them to death, while we stand here holding the antidote to the poison. We are called as one beggar to lead another beggar to the living water of life. We are called according to Ephesians to one hope! We are called to go out and be fishers of men! We are called to be the one standing next to the Jim Jones’s of this world and to share hope and truth. There are millions of people looking to us as Christians and I believe that most are saying “Just tell me!!!” and that is what we are called to do.


In HIS Grip
Tony