The Cesspool of Humanity

I had a dream the other night that was heart wrenching and disturbing at the same time.  It caused me to look deeply within myself regarding my relationship with Almighty God and what kind of commitment I really had with the Lord Jesus Christ.  The dream made me consider this question; “Where will I spend eternity?”

In the dream I was standing in a desolate, lonely place; surrounded by nothingness.  There were no houses, trees, or shrubbery of any kind.  The lighting was gloomy and drab.  There was a smothering, clammy feeling as though I were in the presence of severe depression and despondency.

A smell, like death, filled the air around me.  I was deeply absorbed in what my senses were experiencing.  The stench reeked so badly that I felt an uncontrollable urge to vomit.  In front of me I saw where the putrefying smell was coming from.

I was standing near the edge of a large cesspool of corruption.  As far as the eye could see, there was nothing but filth and disgusting excrement placed there by the devil himself, from the bowels of hell.  This decaying rot appeared to churn and agitate, but it was difficult to see what was creating the turbulence, because of the bad lighting.  I moved closer to the edge, careful not to lose my footing and fall in.

What I saw shocked me to the point of dismay! I couldn’t move!  Why did God show me this?  My mind could not grasp the seriousness of the situation, and at the same time I felt the pangs of a broken heart consuming my emotions.  I cried out, “What can I do to help?”

In the midst of the gross, moral corruption I saw a great number of men, women and adolescent teenagers bobbing up and down as they wallowed and played in the filth.  No one made an effort to escape this wretched place of unrest; rather, it looked to me as though they were enjoying themselves—having the time of their life.  Deception was taking its toll. 

They believed Satan’s lies when he told them that they could enjoy sin without accountability.  He made them believe that they had plenty of time to make things right with God after they had sown their wild oats.  Two of the devil’s favorite mottos are, “Eat, drink and be merry,” and “Whatever feels good, do it.”

Believing they had plenty of time ahead, they continued in their reveling, not realizing that time was running out.  How sad to be so involved and taken up with temporary pleasure that it blinded each person from seeing the truth of reality; the day of accountability was upon them and they didn’t realize that they were going down for the third time—death was immanent.

Some bobbed deeper than others into the muck and mire of sin, but one thing was made clear to me, no matter how shallow the others played, they were all in the same cesspool together.  Everyone there displayed some kind of self-indulgent, disobedience to God’s laws.  This degradation was an abomination to God.

They were defiling their own bodies as they surrendered themselves to the ulcerating sludge that held them in bondage.  Each person was responsible for his or her own actions—no-one else was to blame.  They were exercising their individual freedom of choice that God allowed them to possess; exercising their own volition.  We are free to make our own choices be it right, or wrong.

Peering into this cesspool of humanity and into each face, something caught my eye.  On the forehead of every person was printed a word.  I could see the words clearly even though their faces were covered with the bile, infested slime.  Each person bore the name of the bondage that held them there.

On one forehead was written, ADULTERY; on another the word, FORNICATION; and another, UNCLEANNESS.  As each person bobbed up from the depth of corruption I read each word:  LEWDNESS, IDOLATRY, SORCERY, HATRED, CONTENTIONS, JEALOUSIES, OUTBURSTS OF WRATH, SELFISH AMBITIONS, DISSENSIONS, HERESIES, ENVY, MURDERS, DRUNKENNESS, and REVELLINGS.  All are the works of the flesh.

(Galatians 5:19-21), “…those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.”   

The people in the pit were content with their surroundings.  They chose to lust after self indulgent participation.  They were fully content to remain in bondage, because their eyes were blinded, and all other senses dulled by the devil.  They were in the deception period of experiencing pleasure for a season, but the judgment of God was near.

I raised my head for a moment and saw a man standing on the upper rim of the pit.  He was reaching out his hands in an attempt to rescue the dying.  I could hear him calling and pleading to them to no avail, as person after person went down for the last time. 

It seemed futile, but the man wouldn’t give up.  He continued calling and beckoning them to come, “Won’t someone, anyone please take my hand?  I’m your Savior!”  This man was willing to give his own life to save those in the pit.

It was then I saw in each of His hands a terrible wound; wounds that were placed there by large nails driven into each hand to hold Him on a cross.  It was Jesus, the Savior of humanity!  He willingly died on that cross to spare the life of each and every person held captive in the cesspool of humanity.

All they needed to do was reach up and take His hand and they would have been saved.  But they couldn’t see His hand through the muck that was in their eyes—caked on from the surrounding environment, nor did they hear His voice calling to them, because of misbehaving people with their loud, Godless chatter that drowned out His words of life.  They were infatuated and spellbound by each of the other person’s words of death.  Held captive by the choices they made, their self destructive life style was now spiraling out of control into oblivion without God.

(Galatians 5:22-23), “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.  Against such there is no law.”

I truly desire to make heaven my home, and I trust that the fruit of the Spirit is abiding in my heart.  I want nothing at all to do with the sinful nature of the flesh.  My prayer is this, “Help me, oh Lord, to walk in the Spirit so I don’t fulfill the lust of the flesh.”  Walking in the Spirit is walking with Jesus Christ each day of my life.  I trust you will consider doing likewise, while there is yet time.

Written by,

Papa Boyd