The CALL

Chapter 7 - The Light

Stephen turned and looked again at the wall.

I still feel great fear, he lamented.

I don't know if I can do it.

You have vision, but you lack faith. Vision and faith must work together, I said. There is a reason why your faith is weak.

Please tell me what it is! Is there something that will help my faith to grow as my vision increases?

Yes. Faith comes from knowing who Wisdom really is. You must know His true name. Just knowing His name will give you enough faith to get you over that wall to freedom. The better you get to know His name, the greater the obstacles and barriers you will be able to overcome on your journey. One day you will know His name well enough to move any mountain.

What is His name? Stephen almost begged.

His name is Jesus. Stephen looked at the ground, and then up in the air as disbelief seemed to come over him. I watched as the struggle went on between his heart and his mind. Finally he looked at me again, and to my great relief, he still had hope in his eyes. I knew that he had listened to his heart.

I suspected it, he said. In fact, the whole time you were talking, I somehow knew that you were going to say that. I also know that you are telling me the truth. But I have some questions. Can I ask them?

Of course.

I have known many people who use the name of Jesus, but they are not free. In fact, they are some of the most bound people that I know here. Why?

That is a good question, and I can only tell you what I have learned on my own journey. I think that every case is different, but there are many who know His name, but do not know Him. Instead of drawing closer to Him and being changed by seeing Him as He is, they try to make Him into their image.

Knowing the name of Jesus is much more than just knowing how to spell it or say it. It is knowing who He really is. This is where true faith comes from. I could still see doubt in Stephen's eyes, but it was the good kind of doubt—the kind that wants to believe rather than the kind that wants to disbelieve. I continued. There are others who really love Jesus and start to sincerely get to know Him, but they also remain prisoners . These are the ones who let the wounds or mistakes suffered on the journey turn them back.

These have tasted freedom, but they returned to prison because of disappointments or failures. You can easily recognize them because they are always talking about the past instead of the future. If they were still walking by their vision, they would not always be looking backward.

I have met many of those, Stephen remarked.

You need to understand something if you are ever going to have this question answered. If you are to fulfill your destiny, you cannot be overly discouraged or encouraged by others who use the name of Jesus. We are not called to place our faith in His people, but in Him. Even the greatest souls will disappoint us at times because they are still human.

Many who are like those I just described can also become great souls. Vision and faith can be restored, even in those who have become the most discouraged and disappointed. As a treasure hunter, this is your job. We cannot discard any human being—they are all treasures to Him. However, to really know Him and walk in true faith, you must not judge Him by His people, either the best or the worst, I shared.

I always thought of Jesus as the white man's God. He never seemed to do much for our people.

He is not a white man's God—He was not even white Himself! But neither is He a black man's God. He created all and He is the Lord of all. When you start to see Him as the God of any one group, you have greatly reduced who He is, and you have greatly reduced your own vision.