Rose Colored Glasses
Hi Everyone,
I am writing today about a single vision that the Lord gave me just a few days ago. I believe it has to do with our perception of value as compared to the Lord’s.
The Vision
The All Pink Vision
In this vision I saw a concrete or cement block building, very much like the building at a typical swim club that houses lockers, showers and restrooms. In the vision, I see stacked against the exterior wall all kinds of items, tools, equipment and furniture. In the foreground is an adult pink pig. What is notable is that the entire vision appears to be viewed through a pink lens, for every item is seen as pink.
It reminds me of the first color televisions when they came out years ago. Most of the television shows were still filmed in black and white, so when we viewed them on a color television screen, we had to choose which color the gray tones appeared best. Most often we selected pink because it made people look better than the other colors.
As I prayed about its meaning and thought about the possibilities, I first wondered, why was the entire scene pink? And why were there so many items stacked against the exterior wall of the building? And why was there a pig in the foreground?
The Color Pink
In the Bible there is no real solid reference to pink. The scripture that most sources give, alluding to pink, speaks of the rose of Sharon in the Song of Solomon.
“I am the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys.” Song of Songs 2:1
Of course there are many different flowers that grow in Israel in the plain of Sharon. And not everyone agrees as to which one should be called the rose of Sharon. And of those flowers given that name, they are not all pink. Some are white with red centers, and some are purple with red centers. So there is nothing shown in the Bible that specifically pertains to the color pink.
There is however a common expression concerning pink: “seeing life through a rose colored lens.” Jesus can use anything to convey his message, even a commonly used expression. Seeing through a rose colored lens means to have a positive outlook on all things, seeing life as something inherently good. A person who sees through a rose colored lens is optimistic and cheerful about the present and the future. He sees a glass as half full, and not as half empty.
We might refer to the vision saying that “everything is rosy”-- literally. The building, the miscellaneous items stacked against the building and even the pig were all rosy.
But I believe that the vision is to compare how the Lord sees and values things, and how the world sees and values things.
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways,” says the Lord.
“For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways,
And my thoughts than your thoughts.” Isaiah 55:8-9
We know that the world’s view of things is at odds with God’s, for he is truth; he is light; and he is holy. His ways and his thoughts are pure. But the ways of the world are not pure. And those people in the world who do not have the light of Christ, cannot acknowledge the truth.
“To the pure, all things are pure; but to the defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure. Indeed, both their minds and their consciences are defiled.” Titus 1:15
The visions that the Lord gives me are generally for myself and the church. So this vision concerns the church which has knowingly or unknowingly compromised with the world. Some churches are not strongly aligned with the Word of God and have accepted the world’s values and the world’s point of view. This is dangerous for the development of faith in the new believer and in those who have not read or studied the Word of God.
“The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron. They forbid people to marry and order them to abstain from certain foods, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the truth.” 1 Timothy 4:1-3
So, as the color pink is a mixture of two colors: white representing truth, righteousness and holiness, and red representing sin, blood and bloodshed, the teachings presented by false teachers are a mixture of true Biblical faith with the world’s religions and ideologies. This is not a good thing.
“Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? What accord has Christ with Belial?” 2 Corinthians 6:14-15
The church, the bride of Christ, is to be holy, pursuing righteousness and adhering to the truth of God’s Word.
But if it receives instruction that undermines true faith, then the church becomes apostate as a group of people, no longer adhering to the truth. This is how the enemy comes and infiltrates the church, bringing destructive heresies. This influence changes the way many people see God. They no longer have the fear of God, seeing him as pure, holy, powerful and just. They develop a lax attitude toward him and all that pertains to him. The Word is not considered the ultimate authority in their lives. When people do not respect the authority of God’s word, they choose for themselves what they will consider sin and what they do not recognize as sin. By mixing these ideologies with a people pleasing, non-confrontational gospel, they cause people to believe that they are born again and have salvation, when they have made no genuine commitment to truth, but are in fact following the “doctrine of demons.” This harms the faithful by giving them a false sense of security. But we know that everyone will be held accountable and that there will be a day of judgment. I believe that this is the apostate church that the Lord spoke of regarding “the last days.” It is the great falling away from the faith and from the true God. I believe that these apostate churches are represented by the five foolish virgins that were waiting for the Bridegroom but did not have oil in their lamps. The oil represents the Holy Spirit. Without true faith in God, in Jesus, as God, as King of Kings and Lord of Lords, they will not have the Holy Spirit. Without the Holy Spirit, these churches are void of power.
“Apart from me you can do nothing.” John 15:5
In a church where the Word of God is not the ultimate authority, its members choose for themselves what they want to consider black or white. They can justified sin in their own eyes. Sin is no longer red but pink. It is tolerated, and even embraced as people see it through the lens of the world. Sin doesn’t look quite as bad as it did before, when it was held up to the light, for Christ himself is the light. Jesus is truth and light.
“Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” John 8:12
Without the truth and the light to expose the lies, sin continues to prosper. No one senses the urgency to get right with God. No one sees the need for cleansing. Sin seems perfectly normal.
“Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.” Isaiah 5:20
When the church accepts this mixed doctrine, it can not function as a city on a hill. It cannot bring light and truth to others because it cannot give what it does not possess. What we have then is a powerless church that has to justify itself. It changes the focus from the one true God and the power of His Word, to a “generic God.” and an “all-inclusive gospel.”
There is no safety in false doctrine and there is nothing good about bondage. Remember that it was Jesus who said,“the truth will set you free,” (John 8:32).
Here is a word of truth: Jesus is the Word!
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
There was a man sent from God whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe. He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light.
The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” John 1:1-14
The Pig
Returning to the vision, there was also a pig in the foreground. The pig symbolizes all that was unclean and forbidden in the Old Testament. But now, the Old Testament has been declared obsolete, having been replaced by a greater and better covenant, The New Testament. This new covenant was made possible by the perfect sacrifice for sins: the death of Jesus on the cross. He was the sinless lamb of God, that reconciled us to the Father, so that we now have salvation and eternal life with him.
“Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.” Romans 8:1-4
When Jesus died on the cross he declared “It is finished!” He was the fulfillment of the Law. We are no longer bound to the more than 600 laws of the Old Testament. Jesus made a way for us to be sanctified, and holy, righteous in his eyes. This is because of our true belief and faith in him as Savior, God and King. He is the Messiah, the one who was to come, and the one who will come again.
God’s plan of salvation is for anyone who places his trust in him. His plan is seen in the story of Cornelius, a Gentile and God fearing man who became saved, he and his entire household. Peter’s account of this event is summarized in his testimony to those in Jerusalem:
The apostles and the believers throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers criticized him and said, “You went into the house of uncircumcised men and ate with them.”
Starting from the beginning, Peter told them the whole story: “I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision. I saw something like a large sheet being let down from heaven by its four corners, and it came down to where I was. I looked into it and saw four-footed animals of the earth, wild beasts, reptiles and birds. Then I heard a voice telling me, ‘Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.’
“I replied, ‘Surely not, Lord! Nothing impure or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’
“The voice spoke from heaven a second time, ‘Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.’ This happened three times, and then it was all pulled up to heaven again.
“Right then three men who had been sent to me from Caesarea stopped at the house where I was staying. The Spirit told me to have no hesitation about going with them. These six brothers also went with me, and we entered the man’s house. He told us how he had seen an angel appear in his house and say, ‘Send to Joppa for Simon who is called Peter. He will bring you a message through which you and all your household will be saved.’
“As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit came on them as he had come on us at the beginning. Then I remembered what the Lord had said: ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ So if God gave them the same gift he gave us who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to think that I could stand in God’s way?”
When they heard this, they had no further objections and praised God, saying, “So then, even to Gentiles God has granted repentance that leads to life.” Acts 11:1-18
When we are born again, our eyes see things afresh and anew because of the Spirit of God living in us. We are no longer in darkness for we now have Jesus, the light of life.
Isaiah had prophesied about this new covenant 700 years before Jesus:
“I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand.
I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles, to open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.“I am the Lord; that is my name! I will not yield my glory to another or my praise to idols.
“Behold, the former things have come to pass, and new things I now declare; before they spring forth I tell you of them.” Isaiah 42:6-9
And Paul also spoke of the newness of life, at the time of new birth.
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” 2 Corinthians 5:17
If we are truly born again, we will no longer see everything through the world’s lens and from the world’s perspective. If we make the decision to follow Jesus, we must separate ourselves from the world and walk in his light.
However, if we fail to separate ourselves from the world, and do not pursue the truth of the word of God, we can become ensnared again by sin, bringing bondage and darkness back into our lives.
“As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.” 1 Peter 1:14-16
The Lord asks us to examine ourselves. Are we walking by the light of Christ, or are we walking in the world’s light? Have we accepted darkness over light? Have we compromised our devotion to the Lord in favor of the world?
“Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” 1 John 2:15
The Items Stacked Against the Building
In the vision, there were many items placed against the wall of the building: tools, furniture, and equipment. These things represent all that the world has to offer: money, material possessions, titles, education, pleasure, prestige, and pride. These are the enticements that the devil uses to turn the hearts of people away from God. We should not consider what we have and what we do to be the standard of success. To do so is called, “the pride of life.”
“For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. “ 1 John 2:16
And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” Luke 12:15
Jesus asks us to put him first in all things, to be obedient and devoted to him.
“Whoever loves his father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me, and anyone who does not take up his cross and follow Me is not worthy of Me.” Matthew 10:37-38
When people hear these words of the Lord, they may find them harsh and choose to dismiss them. Others may see them as an affront and will reject them vehemently. But to one who truly believes, that God loves him and loves all people, not wishing that even one would perish, and understands that his words are life, he will embrace the truth of the Word. He will take to heart the message and be willing to take up his cross daily and follow the Lord. We must understand that without the Lord there will be eternal judgment and condemnation.
I cannot be more serious. We all need to share the true gospel with family, friends and loved ones as well as those whom the Lord will bring across our paths. We must choose to walk with him in the light, on that narrow path that leads to life, or we will find ourselves in darkness following the world, on the wide road that leads to destruction. We all must choose– choose life!
A Prayer of Repentance
Dear Jesus,
I recognize that you are God. You have said, “I am the way, the truth and the life and that no one comes to the Father except through me.” I recognize that you died on the cross in payment of my sins and the sins of the world. I recognize that “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men, by which we must be saved.” So today and forevermore, I devote my life to you. You are my God, my King, my Lord and my Savior. I ask that you fill me with your Holy Spirit and write my name in the Book of Life. I ask that you lead me by your Word, and protect me from the evilone. I pray that you watch over me and keep me by your Spirit. Help me everyday to bring glory to your name. I bow my will to yours, and I confess before men that Jesus Christ is Lord. I no longer am my own. I am yours and you are mine. Keep me true to you. Amen.
The Lord wants us to become true disciples of Jesus. So we surrender everything to him, even our own wills.
“Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.” 1 Corinthians 6:19-20
Be blessed and stay faithful to Him. Read the Word of God, the Bible, and pray everyday so that you learn to hear his voice!
God bless you and keep you. Please share this message with others!
