The Burning Bush

Robin Paisley

Dec 23, 2003

In the quiet of the night when sound has lost its voice, there is an echo quickened by the wind that when heard breaks the walls of silence, that when touched sends your spirit soaring for miles into unsung terrain.

The sun beat hard all day upon my body making that which I had thought to be young, appear much older, tired and worn out. My feet having a mind of their own quickly retired themselves into slumber. The only shelter visible to my naked eyes was a bush, a thorny bush standing out among the dry, desert terrain. All the weeks spent in training seemed to vanish in seconds as I found myself more alone than I had ever been in my entire life. My surroundings brought the scent of familiarity to my soul yet I still felt lost. My eyes began to water as I found myself crying under the bush and my lips seemed delighted with the moisture now penetrating their parched, cracked skin. As my tears fell upon the bush it seemed to come alive with fire and the sound of thunder interrupted my cry.

"Do not draw near this place. Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground."

I now knew that I had been here before, the same desert, the same surroundings, but the bush I did not see.

All of sudden the earth began to shake, the ground opened up its huge, deep mouth as I felt my body slipping into the darkness below, waves of sleep began to penetrate my mind and I withdrew into the darkened night. Upon awakening I could hear the most beautiful laughter coming from below and I realized that I had only fallen a few short feet and I was suspended on a rock. I could see light from above yet my desire was to go towards the laughter. So, I began my climb deeper and deeper down into the earth. It was extremely difficult to get a good grip on the earth’s wall for it was made of granite, wet, slippery rock with water running clear as a sea of crystal. I became so thirsty of the view that I could no longer contain myself and my tongue began its encounter with the living wall. I became so full of life, new life that I knew I must somehow contribute to the laughter below.

My foot found its hold upon a jagged piece of rock, the only visible extrusion upon the wall and as I began applying pressure the granite began to split and a familiar verse rang from within. “Son of man, mark well, and behold with thine eyes, and hear with thine ears all that I say unto thee concerning all the ordinances of the house of the Lord, and all the laws thereof; and mark well the entering in of the house, with every going forth of the sanctuary.” My lips began to burn with fire as my eyes adjusted to the light and my ears could no longer hear laughter but death. I could see, smell, taste, hear and feel death like I had never known before. My body immersed in fire gave way to death as I found myself lying, flat on my face at the feet of the Lord.

I could see the holes in His flesh, they seemed to come alive and I was instructed to place my fingers into each one. I was shocked upon hearing these words for I had no desire to inflict any pain upon my Master yet my Master was the one giving the order and I knew I must obey. As gently as I could I began to place my hands upon His feet and then my fingers began to work their way into each nail hole that had been driven just for me. It seemed my whole body became one with His as my tears fell upon His flesh. His voice beginning in a whisper only to become a pulsating, heart-pounding sound throughout my entire being.

"Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it."

I began to hear the laughter again yet it was coming from somewhere inside me and tears of joy began streaming down my face. I gazed down at my body thinking to find a charred mess but all I could see was a pure white linen robe, the material was softer than any earthly material I had ever felt, somehow I knew it was alive. Then I began to gaze into My Lord’s face, the most beautiful face I had ever seen and I now knew that I was dressed as He. I knew this was an incredible responsibility to be dressed as the King and my thoughts were quickly answered. "I remember the devotion of your youth, how as a bride you loved me and followed me through the desert, through a land not sown." The only words I could utter from my lips were those of the prophet Isaiah: "I am the voice of one calling in the desert," 'Make straight the way for the Lord." I knew now that I had to make the climb back up the wall and to breathe life, His life into the dying world above. I then felt the Master's hand gently glide into mine as we made the climb together, upward.

"In the last days the mountain of the Lord's temple will be established as chief among the mountains, it will be raised above the hills and all nations will stream to it." Isaiah 2:2