Lessons From Affabel

When Karen, the boys and I go on trips, we almost always listen to the dramatized audio version of John Bevere’s, “Affabel: Window of Eternity.” It is one of my favorites.

It’s an allegory of our own lives here on earth, how we are given talents from God, how we use them, our faith in King Jalyn (Jesus), and our future eternity. The main story revolves around Deceived, Selfish, Independent, Faint Heart, and Charity who are taught the ways of King Jalyn at the School of Endel (Earth) beginning at very young ages who all subsequently graduate to enter secular society.  Sageous (Holy Spirit) mentors these five while in Endel and continues to observe them while they function in society.

Choices these five make while interacting with others and their faith (or lack thereof) help determine their eternity.  One day the Royal Guards (Angels) of Affabel (Heaven) come and round everyone up; the Day of Judgement is at hand.  They are brought to Affabel, go through the Hall of Judgment, and individually meet their Judge, King Jalyn, who judges their lives based on their actions compared to the written instructions that he provided, which ultimately determines their place in eternity.

One of my favorite scenes is when Selfish, who was elected mayor of Endel after he graduated, is standing before King Jalyn and he finds out that one of the ladies he knew in Endel as an administrative assistant is now a sub-ruler in Affabel. He is surprised and then surmises that since she was in his opinion a nobody in Endel and that he was the mayor, surely he would be given a higher position of ruler ship in Affabel. When King Jalyn asks the record keeper how many people Selfish had influenced for his Kingdom, the record keeper gives a number in the mid-teens. Selfish is feeling smug until he finds out that the woman had influenced more than five thousand people. Selfish asks how that is possible since she was so quiet and not in a real position of influence. King Jalyn states that the woman had influenced a man named “evangelist” and that all those that he had influenced for King Jalyn’s kingdom were also credited to her.

As a person in a position of influence within the church, who is strongly endorsed by Church leadership in many denominations, John Bevere was making quite a bold statement when he wrote this portion of Affabel. There seems to be a certain discriminatory mind-set within the Christian church that implies that if people are not out loudly proselytizing their Christian beliefs that they are not really doing much to influence the Kingdom of God. Some very public and outspoken Christian leaders have even stated that anybody who is not loudly proclaiming their beliefs as a Child of God is not giving God their all and will someday stand before God and have to give account for their lack of passion.

Hmmmm….

I imagine that passion is a lot like pain, it is hard to quantify because it can’t be accurately measured and is subjective based on the person involved. Outward manifestation of passion doesn’t really mean anything. Two people could be watching the same sports event, movie or something that stirs them and both be very passionately moved yet one may scream loudly and act crazy while the other sits quietly, smiles and shows no other outward behavior.  Could it be that God created people differently for a reason?

Dallas Holm has a song titled “Prayer Warriors” and the first few lyrics are: “Most will never see their faces, Never know their names, What they do they do alone, They don't need no fame.”

God is able to use many types of people. Some have very loud and sometimes forceful passion, while others are more quiet and reserved. Some serve in full view of the public while others serve in more intimate areas. Prayer Warriors are examples of the latter.  God knows what each person in this world needs in order for them to be receptive to having a relationship with Him. He knows what type of person will be most effective at influencing those to whom he has sent them.

I am glad that God is the ultimate final judge. Since He is the only one who ultimately knows the hearts of all men and women, and knows what each person is doing to influence others for His kingdom, He is the only who can truly judge, punish and reward without prejudice. In the meantime, we Christians need to be less judgmental of how other Christians go about doing what God has task them to do and perhaps even learn how to support each other in our endeavors.