and those who, just as sincerely, believe that they believe.
You can tell them apart by their actions in decisive moments:
Our beliefs are proved by what we do.”
--Savonarola
He showed me what I thought was perfection was not the same as what He thought of as perfection. God cares about the condition of our hearts, whether they are moldable to His touch or not. I learned that a Christian is not a self-made man, nor a church-made man, but rather, a man molded by the Lord Jesus. A man who will humble himself and yield to God is what God calls perfect.
Jesus showed me that I must labor to enter into His rest. He promised, “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and you will find rest unto your souls.” As we enter into Christ's rest, we enter into His presence, and as David said, “In thy [His] presence is fullness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.” Jesus tells us in John 15 to abide (live) in Him, and let Him live (and reign) in us. He assures us that without Him, we can do nothing.
It is like the story of Moses. Every time He was with the Lord, his face shone so much that the people couldn't stand to look at him, so he had to put a veil over his face. It is so with us as we seek the Lord and are with Him and in Him, and He in us: He will shine out from us. We become His workmanship. Then we can be as Paul, who said, “I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless, I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me. And the life that I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me, and gave himself for me.” Praise the Lord! Is this not exciting!
A few weeks after my prayer that God would make me real, I woke up one morning amazed and grateful, with the realization that God had truly made me real. Philippians 1:6 became precious to me. It states, “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform (perfect) it until the day of Jesus Christ. May this verse be fulfilled in your life also.
--Richard Wurmbrand (of his time in solitary confinement).