Withering away. Leaves fall. No fruit appears.
Without purpose, we like this tree, die to be no more.
Beloved one, receive the Word of God:
These [as in a people] are spots in your love feasts, while they feast with you without fear, serving only themselves. They are clouds without water, carried about by the winds; late autumn trees without fruit, twice dead, pulled up by the roots; raging waves of the sea, foaming up their own shame; wandering stars for whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever. (Jude 1:12-13 NKJV emphasis added). Such words are very foreign to us, but behold, the Spirit of God leads the way and reveals the beauty of God’s glorious Word. With that said, I now invite you Into My Heart...
Beloved, the above is quite the frightful imagery. This love feast Jude is writing to believers in Christ, is a direct rebuke to them losing their first love, their awe of Christ and taking for granted the love feast of communion. The KJV puts the word “feasts” as “charity” and rightfully so, for the charity in which the Lord of Glory bestowed upon us in His body and His blood was cause for all to rejoice in what abundance; what a bounty of eternal pleasures we have received! And so it goes, “And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” Likewise He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you [for the total forgiveness of sin]. (Luke 22:19-20 NKJV emphasis added by me).
Now understand this word “spot” or blemish. Those of us who gather and partake in this communion to remember our blessed Savior’s commitment to die for us that we would be saved in Him, He did so with absolute faithfulness to His Father and grace, mercy and love [good will] towards us. Halleluyah! Yet, in not abiding in Him, sanctifying ourselves to the service of the Lord and continually rejoicing and keeping before us, that soon He is returning for us, we the blemished (concerning the context of Jude’s letter to a people who fill the bill and fit the description of having said spots, I pray this be not you), have slowly allowed our hearts to grow hard towards our Savior and God and in doing so, according to the Word recorded in Jude, have taken lightly the Lord’s sacrifice and His generous Passover feast in which He had with His disciples and indeed with us all!
So Jude describes such hardness of heart and callousness towards the Lord’s body and blood as “while they feast with you without fear, serving only themselves. They are clouds without water, carried about by the winds; late autumn trees without fruit, twice dead, pulled up by the roots.” What did Jude mean by this? He brought the point across that although they gathered to commune within the bounty of the Lord’s glorious life given for our sins, they do so without regard to it, but only gather together to eat, drink and be merry, disregarding Christ and showing no reverence for His beautiful sacrifice making it yet another gathering or function in which people eat and socialize. This is shameful!
Jude describes such wayward children and wicked servants as, “they are clouds without water, carried about by the winds” Indicating their hearts and lives along with their get togethers are fruitless or bearing no fruit and such shamefulness causes them to not abide and produce in His purposes but to be cast away, for if a cloud produces no rain it ceases to have purpose and the Lord has no further need of it, and such an end to it applies to such wicked people—the Master has no use for them resulting in Christ saying, “Let no fruit grow on you ever again” causing such a wicked people to wither away right before the eyes of others and then away into history and Oblivion, signifying Jude’s closing remark: “raging waves of the sea, foaming up their own shame; wandering stars for whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever.”
Beloved, how I pray that neither you nor I will become the “loveless Church.” The Lord discipline us before He ever pronounces judgement on us like He did that fruitless tree (Matthew 21:19), for in such disciplining and correction we may rejoice for we are still considered His children (Hebrews 12:5-6). Amen.
As always…YOU ARE LOVED.
— F. Lugo
4/23/15
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