This revelation of Christ in us, when it is a true, real, living revelation, not only leads to and makes for stability and assurance and confidence, wonder and freshness and Life, but it leads to loneliness, and I should be false to you if I did not say so, and indicate what that means; because the majority even of Christians are still hide-bound by tradition.
The writer had called upon them to go outside the religious, formal, historic, traditional camp, and that brought persecution, ostracism, isolation, loneliness, and all manner of things.
There may be aprice attached to it; misunderstanding, and loneliness,and much besides; but if you are so open to the Lordthat nothing else matters, and you mean to walk withGod whatever the cost, no matter what people say youought to do as (in their thought) a part of a greatChristian order or religious machine, you will come intoall God's secret thought as naturally as a flower opens tothe sun, and you will be making discoveries and findingthat there is a vast realm of meaning and possibility andcapacity and power that you never dreamed of.
The Father loves us too well to allow our hearts to nestle here; and He makes us conscious that it is a wilderness that He may have opportunity in our loneliness and our sorrow to speak to our hearts.
A Godly Love
In His heartache, torment, suffering, and distress, He stretched His arms of love – a reach from eternity past to eternity future. The anguish, desolation, loneliness, and rejection poured on Him was the totality of humanities amassed evil – and the outflow from Him was forgiveness; hope; compassion – love. All Satan’s tempestuous fury was concentrated and condensed into one brief breath of time. All the Father’s undiluted wrath and rage was poured out in full measure upon His sinless head – and in the midst of this, He called out, Woman, behold thy son!