Page 172 - Evidence of Things Unseen

All disciples must for a time lay aside the garments of honor as a favored son and array
themselves in the clothing of a servant. A great many Christians and ministers refuse to do
so. They hold on jealously to raiments of honor. They constantly assert their position as
sons of the Most High. They refuse to accept anything but honor, accolades and prosperity.
In doing so they follow the pattern of Satan, despising the humility of Christ.
There is a second stripping that causes the disciples of Christ to descend even lower,
following the path of Joseph who was placed in Pharaoh’s dungeon. We must be willing
even to be stripped of the garments of a servant, to be arrayed with the shame of a
transgressor.
As I pondered this matter sitting in jail, the Spirit opened my eyes to understand an
event that occurred at the crucifixion of Christ. In the time of His suffering we read that
some standing near, hearing Christ say “I thirst,” dipped a sponge into some sour wine and
offered it to Christ to drink.
King David, speaking prophetically in the Psalms, wrote of this event, “They gave me
gall for my meat; and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.” The words “gall” and
“vinegar” both described the sour wine those nearby offered to Christ (Psalm 69:21). About
a week after I was put in jail a letter arrived from a close family member. They spoke words
of condemnation, urging me to abandon the path of obedience God had laid on me that I
might come down off the cross.
Soon after, an inmate in an adjoining cell called out to my cell-mate. He said, “Ask the
minister what gall is.” I asked him to tell me how the word was being used, for it has more
than one meaning. He quoted the above verse from the Psalms. How precious is our Father
in ordering our steps.
The Spirit showed me that the gall offered to Christ to drink is a symbol of the bitter
things that those close to Christ’s disciples will offer to them even as they are enduring the
cross. How bitter it is to have those close to us add to our reproaches in an hour when our
soul is being crushed.
We often hear someone speak of a “galling experience.” They are referring to
something very bitter. Someone is said to have a lot of “gall” when they speak, or act, in a
very presumptuous and unkind manner. Even as Christ hung on the cross, remaining there
out of love for others and obedience to the Father, those nearby hurled abuse and scorn at
Him. He was mocked and condemned. Those nearby said, “If you are the Son of God, come
down off the cross,” and “He saved others, He cannot save Himself.”
Those who would clothe themselves with Christ must accept such experiences with
grace and forgiveness. Joseph found it an exceedingly bitter experience to be branded as a
transgressor. For a while this garment chafed at him as if he were arrayed in sackcloth. He
yearned to remove this ill fitting reputation, and declared his innocence (Gen. 40:14-15).
Yet it was Yahweh’s will that he wear it two more years.
There have been times in my present incarceration when I have found my
circumstances galling. My soul has been weighed down under a burden on some days. I am
encouraged when the Spirit reveals to me that such experiences are the portion of all who
would be perfect in Christ. To put on Christ, we must put on His humility.
There have been many trials and attacks from the enemy at this time, but the grace of
God has been more abundant. Even as Christ was comforted to spy John and some of the
faithful women standing nearby, sharing in His hour of tribulation, so have I been much
encouraged by those faithful saints who have written to me and offered up prayers on behalf
of my family.