Once I was invited to speak to a women’s gathering in a young woman's home. After I finished teaching the Lord had me minister to the women individually. I knew none of them except for my friend who had invited me and her daughter. On the couch opposite me sat a middle aged woman who desired with all her heart to walk in holiness. She was so jealous for the Lord and His holiness that she was somewhat intolerant of the shortcomings of others, and tended to be bossy out of a misunderstanding of the righteousness altogether pleasing to the Lord. 

Our hostess was her younger sister who was rather bitter toward her older sibling for this and other reasons, but I did not know that.

The Lord pointed the older woman out first and said that He had made her a teacher of young women, an instructor in holiness. Later He said to her younger sister that she was exactly in the place He wanted her to be, doing and learning what He wanted her to do and learn. She fell to the floor and laid there for a long time, tears running down her cheeks. I thought the Lord was communing with her spirit which was bringing the tears to her eyes.

Afterwards she went into the kitchen, weeping and complaining to my friend. The young hostess was very displeased with the Lord’s words: "This is not fair!” she exclaimed. “Why would the Lord make my sister, of all people, a teacher of young women and me only a housewife? I am the one who has held the family together, who has served the Lord since my childhood, who has taken care of Mom and Dad. Does He not know my sister, what she has done to me, and how I have always forgiven her and ministered to her? No, I'm sure the Lord did not say such a thing! This woman has definitely not heard from the Lord!" 

She was terribly upset that the Lord should have called her older sister to be a teacher of women while she, who was so much more spiritual, should remain stuck in the house as a mere housewife. She found this whole thing rather unbearable! Therefore deciding that I was in error and deceived and had not heard from the Lord relieved her from recognizing the bitterness nesting in her heart and from dealing with it.

Oh, the wisdom and testing measuring rod of our Lord! The dear young woman did not understand the commandment, "Love one another as I have loved you!" She took terrible offense at the Lord and at me out of the bitterness of her heart against her sister. The words of the Lord disclosed that bitterness and brought it into the light, but none of these women seemed to perceive it. And because the lady of the house was so embittered at "my" words, my "friend" never invited me again nor have I heard from her since.

Will their house be standing? On what have they built their house? On sand? Where are the supporting pillars of love, of hope and of trusting, leaning-on-Him faith? The Lord has warned over and again that the "pillar" of love is missing in most of the Western churches.

Oh, the Lord DOES have churches --- but they are quite invisible because they are mostly underground or not located in the Western democracies. There are the saints of Smyrna, of Pergamum, and of Phyladelphia, all of whom are not in the Western churches. Ephesus, Sardis and Laodicea are the Western churches, with Thyatira scattered among them, and here and there a few of Philadelphia, Smyrna and Pergamum. There are those who have the name of being alive, and yet they are dead.

Beloved, the Western Church has fallen from her first love. She says she is rich and prospering, and needs nothing. Yet the main supporting pillar of love has been removed from her house, and much of the construction material is made of the "sand" of man's traditions and teachings, and not of the indestructible Word and commandment of G-d.

Beloved, let us not take so easily offense at one another but rather be forbearing, giving each other "ellbow room" for our humanity as the Lord does, Who remembers that our frame is still made of dust. Let us not be so unforgiving of every little failure, trespass or oversight, but rather ponder the message of the cross and our own - DAILY! - need of forgiveness. Let us remove first the tree out of our own eyes before we attempt to remove the splinter out of someone else's eyes. Are we so busy with our "works," with "serving the Lord," that we have no time for a brother or sister needing our sympathetic ear, our compassion, our time? Have we laid aside our own calling, our "ministry" to help lift up a brother, a sister, to help them into "the saddle," encouraging them, being there for them? Have we borne insults and false reports about ourselves with a forgiving heart? Have our arms remained open with loving compassion for those who judged us and spoke falsely of us behind our back? Have we prayed to the Father with tears on behalf of those who harmed, hurt and injured us? In short, have we gone to the cross for those who do not love us and have wronged us?

I am now not speaking of national entities and enemies of G-d, although we are to pray even for those among them who are merely ignorant and deceived, that they be granted salvation and escape. I am talking about our personal "adversaries," or more correctly, about those in the Body who have truly wronged and hurt us. For the Lord already made it clear that it is no big deal to love those who love us. That, He said, even the sinners do. Hence loving those who love us does not receive a reward¹.

Yet, how many times have I observed in churches brothers and sisters sitting outside of the "inner circle," of not being accepted with the love of the Lord because somehow they didn't fit into that inner circle of "choice" folks. "Party" spirit and "clique" spirit is not of love, and loving only those who are easy to love is not His love, either. Love is to "obey and do" the Lord's commandments. And the new commandment does not say, "love your neighbor as yourself" - because many did not and still don't love themselves - but, "love one another as I have loved you." 

It is a commandment which requires obedience, NOT feelings. We choose to love also those toward whom we do not have a "natural" inclination to love, because the Lord died for them just as well. Love is to recognize the Lord in each and every brother and sister and treat them as we would treat the Lord.

Love does not prefer the better dressed, the better looking, the more charming, the more important above others lacking in these things. "On the contrary"² - as Paul already wrote - "the parts of the body which seem to be weaker are indispensable, and those parts of the body which we think less honorable we invest with the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, which our more presentable parts do not require. But G-d has so composed the body, giving the greater honor to the inferior part, that there may be NO DISCORD IN THE BODY, BUT THAT THE MEMBERS MAY HAVE THE SAME CARE FOR ONE ANOTHER. If one member suffers, ALL suffer together; if one member is honored, ALL rejoice together."³

Hence, the Lamb's wedding party will NOT be held in a building in which the foundation is not solid, where much of the building material is of the "sand" of man's works, ideas, traditions and vanities. And none of the supporting "pillars" will be missing, for G-d's building will be perfect in all its measurements and structure, and love will be the main pillar because --- G-d IS love!

We cannot say we serve HIM and then not love especially the less lovable, even the unlovable. We cannot say we love HIM and not forgive a wrong, an offense, a failure, a shortcoming. Unless we walk in His commandment of loving one another as He loved us, we shall be dancing joyfully in a building that can collapse underneath us and bury us any time. We cannot even say that we serve Him or know Him if we do not love. Love and G-d are one and the same. It’s not the size of the church or ministry, the number of membership, the fame, the international recognition, the signs, wonders and miracles that are the pillars that keep steady our "building." Love, faith and hope are the pillars, and the center one is love. The pillar that upholds our building is G-d Himself, who is LOVE!

The missing pillars in that Jerusalem building where the wedding banquet was held definitely drive home this message, reminding us what is REALLY important, what REALLY matters: a proper foundation, the correct building material, and the supporting pillars! I encourage you, therefore, to save newsletter # 42 with the pictures of the bridegroom and bride and the collapsed building as a reminder of what truly and really matters, lest we lose sight of it and get so busy with "serving" Him and running after all sorts of things, that we neglect what is of eternal importance: to love one 
another as He loved us!