LIVING WATERS
For the proclamation of the Gospel and the edification of the Body of Christ
The Time of Visitation
"They shall not leave upon thee one stone upon another, because thou hast not known the time of thy visitation" (Luke 19:44).
God visits men, and when He does, He expects to be received in the heart. Yes, God visits men. Some reject him; others receive him; some of them soon forget him. God visits every man at least once in his life. That visit is known in Scripture as "the time of his visitation". Sometimes God revisits those who have rejected him, but no one can be sure to whom he will return, or how many times he will return, if he returns.
Therefore, it is important to know when God visits us, and to be aware that, if we reject Him, He may not return again. The Lord Jesus said of Jerusalem: "They shall not leave upon thee one stone upon another, because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation". Some do not perceive the privilege and despise it. Then, when it is too late, they regret it.
Someone, as a young man, receives a visitation from God. He has a spiritual experience that enlightens his life. It is like a springtime, with its scents and flowers. But afterwards, life, with its cares, takes him and carries him away. It offers him a thousand rewarding alternatives. Years later, as an old man, he remembers it with a melancholic smile -if he still has the heart to wish for it-, or with a blasé smile - if his heart has become hopelessly hardened. Now there is no turning back. The chains bind too tightly. The heart is a stone. Spring has gone from the heart and winter has come with its inclemency. Not only the winter of the age, in which every tastelessness finds its seat, but the winter of the soul, with withered dreams, and with a terrible suspicion of what awaits it in a tomorrow without God.
That visitation lasted but a short time, in the days of youth, when ideals bubble up and emotions well up. The boy's still tender heart was moved by the voice of heaven and his eyes marveled at the heavenly vision. It was the visitation of God. But God is gone now. He may never return. Life is already over, hopes have gone to sleep. There is nothing left to do, or almost nothing.
God rarely visits again the heart that has turned its back on him so long ago. But sometimes he returns, and then the heart stirs with an unusual beating. And there comes some respite. A new glimpse of glory captivates the soul and succeeds in softening it. Then man clings on with all his might, God has remembered him! He must seize the time, invest it in God, make up for what he has lost!
The Jews had Jesus. Literally, the dawn visited them from above. But they tried to cover the dawn with their darkness. Of course, they did not succeed; yet they themselves were left in darkness. By killing him, they killed themselves. They rejected the light, and their hearts have since known nothing but the darkness of a dark night.