(In order to understand this article please read "The Fiber Optic You & The Fiber Optic Church first.)
The kingdom of God can be illustrated by a table cloth made from many fiber-optic strands. Every strand represents a specific individual who reflects the Father's glory. When it was first created this table cloth was perfect and beautiful because it was totally connected to the Source of Light.
But then the unthinkable happened. An enemy of God (the Devil) began to cut and pull strands out of the cloth, eventually pulling 1/3 of them out (Rev. 12:4) before the Father said, "Enough!".
No longer was there perfect harmony in God's kingdom, and this led to war in heaven (Rev. 12:7). The enemy and all those who were tearing the kingdom apart fought with God, but they were not strong enough and lost the war. What was left of God's kingdom needed to be protected and so the enemy and his followers were cast to the earth (Rev 12:8-9).
On earth the 2 newest members of God's kingdom, Adam and Eve, had just been created and were also perfect. But unfortunately they too were tricked into believing the Devil's lies about God, and they were pulled from His kingdom (His tablecloth). The earth was polluted.
But the Father and His Son, Jesus, still loved this damaged kingdom and would not have any of the strands that were left believing that the Father was unfair, unkind and unloving as the enemy was claiming, nor did God want to lose any of those who had already been tricked into believing the lies that had been told about the Father by the enemy.
A plan had been devised long before the enemy began shredding the Kingdom (1 Peter 1:20; Rev. 13:8), and now this plan was set into motion. This plan, sometimes known as, “THE PLAN OF SALVATION”, had stemmed from God's pure love for each of the “strands” of His kingdom.
Jesus, the Father's Son, had volunteered to be the One to rebuild the Kingdom (John 3:16), and so when the time was right, and even though it was extremely hard for the Father, He sent His Son Jesus (Galatians 4:4) to rescue any who really wanted to be a part of His Kingdom, anyone who believed and trusted in Him.
By this time there were new strands who had been born into this polluted earth and it was for these that Jesus came also.
So, Jesus became one of us and "jumped" into this deep, polluted water to save us, but He remained attached to the Father (His source of Light). He showed us what the Father is really like (John 8:19, we saw the glory of the Father). Then Jesus was beaten and killed by those who had rebelled, and by all outward appearances Jesus was gone. But He was not totally destroyed because He was "attached" to the Father. Today, Jesus is alive!
Now Jesus is gathering all those who do not resist the Father's love and who WANT to reflect His glory (Matt. 12:30). Jesus is placing these beaten and broken strands into bundles, and because these bundles are connected to Him, they glow in the murky water all around them.
These bundles are God's churches. Each church is held together by the pastor who points them towards Jesus Christ, our Source of Light. And the closer the church is to Jesus the brighter each member will shine. And when others see them then they will want to become transmitters of Light too. Jesus continues to collect each one of them and places them into one of His churches too.
Christian Pastors are like the rings at the base of each lamp that holds every strand close to the Light. Besides holding the strands together and close to the Source of Light, these rings also transmit light from the Source and glow as brightly as all the other strands.
We humans are like one of those strands, but there is NOTHING that a sinking, shredded, beaten, filthy strand can do to clean, or to save itself. In fact, it does not even WANT to be saved. It doesn't even know that it is lost, dirty and shredded. But like us, it must not resist the love of Jesus. And if we do not resist Jesus, He will do for us what we cannot do. He will wash us off with the pure Water of Life and place us in a church family where we too will begin to shine with His light. Eventually He will personally place each one of us into the Heavenly tablecloth and repair the Father's kingdom.
This story of what Jesus and His Father have done, are doing, and will do to save those who have been born into our Earthly pit, filled with filthy, polluted water is known as the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and demonstrates God's love for us.
Lord Jesus, use each of us to help repair the Father's kingdom!
“Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.”
"But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord."
"Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds [unconnected optical fibers?] and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat [the connected optical fibers?] and bring it into my barn [God's kingdom?].”
"So Jesus explained, “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself. He does only what he sees the Father doing. Whatever the Father does, the Son also does."
"You are not able, of yourself, to bring your purposes and desires and inclinations into submission to the will of God; but if you are "willing to be made willing," God will accomplish the work for you, even 'casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.' 2 Corinthians 10:5."
Thoughts from the Mount of Blessings, page 142
“All who are consecrated to God will be channels of light. God makes them His agents to communicate to others the riches of His grace."
“The Desire of Ages.” P306
"The sinner may resist [God's] love, may refuse to be drawn to Christ; but if he does not resist he will be drawn to Jesus."
Steps to Christ, page 27
NOTES :
Fiber Optic strands transmit light from one end to the other without loss of detail. Although they are typically very thin, when looking at the end where the light is coming from you still know exactly what the light actually looks like at the beginning (the other end of the strand). In fact, these strands currently allow doctors to see inside a person's stomach, and plumbers to see inside a pipe buried deep under ground.
We commonly we see these strands grouped into fiber-optic lamps.
Our Source of Light is Jesus, who actually gets His Light from the Father. (John 5:19)
A piece of God's kingdom (1/3, Revelation 12:4, 7) was cut off from the tablecloth, shredded, beaten and tossed into the sewer,. Many of those strands will never again be a part of God's kingdom, but only because they no longer want to be.
Our polluted Earth that Jesus jumped into is more like a cesspool or sewer than just polluted water. And the more each strand is "damaged" while in this cesspool the more light is able to shine from all directions once it has been cleaned and attached to Jesus. But without Jesus Christ there is NO light.
When Jesus jumped into our polluted world, lived a perfect life, died for our sins and rose again He proved that He really did love us.
We have been beaten and thrown into deep polluted water by the enemy of God.
We are like those individual fiber-optic strands. We have no beauty of our own. We do not produce our own light. Unless we are transmitting light we have no function.
Jesus became one of us. He was beaten and killed in our place, and now He lives again and is drawing us to Himself.
We do not glow or shine unless Jesus is close. Nor can we make ourselves closer to Him, but Jesus will draw us (like a magnet draws steel filings) if we do not resist His love.
Optical fiber ends must be polished to allow light to be admitted without distortion. God polishes all who come to Him to better allow His light to shine through them.
- Jesus became one of us, living in a filthy pit with us, and yet retained His purity, living a perfect life. This proved that it is possible to live in filth and still remain pure and connected to the Source of Light.
- Even while living in our filth Jesus maintained His connection with His Father and so while here He showed us exactly what the Father was like.
Jesus now gathers those who like what they see in the light He shines with, and He ties them into "bundles" (we call them churches – see, "The Fiber Optic You & The Fiber Optic Church) waiting for the time He can restore the "tablecloth" (His Father's kingdom) to everything it ever was. But this "tablecloth " will eventually be even better than it was because of the dings and scrapes (from the pain and hardships) each rescued fiber will then have, making them shine out in every direction.
If you are a Christian, no matter where you are in our murky world, the Light of Jesus can be seen in you.
God's love, His light, is magnetic. We are attracted to Jesus, and when we are connected to Him we too will become magnetic and will naturally draw others to Jesus.
Just like a fiber optic strand cannot show all of something at one time, it takes time for us to put together the bits and pieces of what we have heard and seen into this beautiful "sculpture" of who God is and what He is like. (Much like the 3 blind men each trying to describe an elephant, it cannot be done from just one point of view.) And through all eternity we will be learning more and more about God the Father, and His Son, Jesus!
The more pure the optical fiber material is the more perfectly the light is transmitted. Any "dirt" disrupts the light.
But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory....
