A Lily in the Bog — E.A. Johnston

I heard a story from the lips of my great mentor, Dr. Stephen F. Offord. Dr. Offord related that while he was a pastor at Calvary Baptist Church in Manhattan, he was taking a cab from the airport one day and a cab driver asked him what kind of work he did.

Dr. Offord related that he was the pastor of a Baptist church in New York City. The cab driver was from Jamaica and replied, Oh, why mon, are you living in a wicked city like New York and a minister at that?

To which Stephen Offord commented, My dear man, I can tell from your accent that you are a Jamaican. Let me ask you a question. Have you ever seen a bog in Jamaica? Oh, yes mon, the bog is very dark and dangerous.

You can sink in it. Well, said Stephen Offord, let me ask you another question. Have you ever seen the remarkable lily that sometimes grows in that bog? Oh, yes mon, that lily is white as snow against that black bogging mire.

That's right, my good man, said Stephen Offord, and that's exactly what I am in New York City. I am a lily in the bog. Oh, friends, a lily in the bog. That's what we're to be to the sin-laden, sin-cursed world.

Distinct Witnesses in a Sin-Cursed World

We're to be salt and light to our sin-soaked society. We're to stand out like a lily in the bog. But I fear too many of us are more like the bog than the lily. Too many believers today mirror the world.

You can't tell them apart from pagan society because they've never separated themselves from it or crucified themselves to it. But nevertheless, as Christians, we are to be like that lily in the bog. We must stand out for Christ.

Christ as the Lily of the Valley

There is a verse in the Song of Solomon which speaks of a lily. In chapter 2 and verse 1, I am the rose of Sharon and the lily of the valleys. Of course, this is a reference to Christ Jesus. He is the rose of Sharon and the lily of the valley.

And we are to be Christ-like and to be a lily to our generation of hell-bound sinners. There's a story about George Whitefield, the great British evangelist, which I just love. The story is handed down by tradition from the pastors of the Old South Church in New Barrieport, Massachusetts, the church that was birthed out of revival under Whitefield's mighty preaching.

The church is still in existence today, and he's buried beneath the pulpit. Well, here now is that story. An immense crowd is hurrying at five or six o 'clock in the morning to the corner of High and Federal Streets, and some of them, men and women too, young and old, have come riding or afoot, even from Raleigh.

But for what strange thing, of all other strange things, to hear a sermon? But the preacher is George Whitefield. He gives out his text, Ye are the salt of the earth. Then the voice rolls over the assembly as he begins, and whom does the apostle mean when he says, Ye are?

Why you, ye saints of New Barrie? But I fear you have lost your savor. Well, Whitefield was referring to Matthew 5 .18, which states, Ye are the salt of the earth, but if the salt hath lost his savor, wherewith shall it be salted?

Restoration for Those Who Have Lost Their Saltiness

It is thenceforth good for nothing but to be cast out and to be trodden under foot of men. I remember a time in my life when I was good for nothing. I was useless for Christ. I had lost my savor. I had left my first love, Jesus Christ, and was good for nothing in regard to eternal things.

But bless God, God is in the business of going after His sheep and restoring their souls. Jesus put me back into a life of usefulness for Him. He gave me back my saltiness. He made me to be bright and flourishing like a lily in the bog, and He can do the same for you, friend, if you have sunk down in the mire of sin, if you have left your first love and replaced Him with other things, if you would like to encounter God in a fresh walk with Him and renewed fellowship of Him, there is good news for you.

Christ is in the business of restoration. He wants you to be a bright lily in the bog for Him, to reach this generation for Him. He wants to put you to work for Him. He wants to make you fruitful for Him.

He wants to use you to bring the Father glory. Allow me to read the verses that follow the text in Matthew on the salt losing its savor, for they are vitally connected to this great theme of ours today.

Letting the Light of Christ Shine

You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick, and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.

Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father, which is in heaven. Listen, friends, we are to be that light, that candle which burns brightly for Jesus Christ.

How does a candle give forth its light? By being consumed, it gives light as it burns out. Oh, friend, do you desire to be like that? Do you wish to be consumed for Christ, to burn out for Him? Only one life will soon be passed.

Only what's done for Christ will last. And as I lay dying, how good it shall be if the light of my life has been burned out for thee. That should be our theme song. That should be our motto. As we live in these last days before Christ's return, we should give our very best to God so He can use us to influence and reach our generation for Christ.

Recovering Fresh Salt and Spiritual Influence

We each need a holy invigoration, an importation of fresh salt. Go to your knees and confess your sins before God and ask Him to restore you to a vital walk with Him, a walk that is ignitable to others, whereby when you are around others, you are like salt to them as you speak to them and spend time with them.

And they'll desire Christ because you've made them thirsty for Jesus because of your holy saltiness, because of your brightness as a lily in a bog. Listen to the wise words of the Bible commentator, Matthew Henry, as he describes his verse on being a light that shines.

The disciples of Christ must not muffle themselves up in privacy, in obscurity, under a pretense of contemplation, modesty or self-preservation. But as they have received the gift, must minister the same.

They must be burning and shining lights, must evidence that they are indeed followers of Christ. They must be a light to others for instruction, direction, quickening and comfort. Oh, friends, we are to be bright and shining lights to our generation.

Persecution and the Need for Bright Witnesses

When persecution comes to the Church of God in North America, it will demand brightness from the followers of Christ because those who are being hotly persecuted for their faith will stand out like a lily in the bog in those days to come.

So much more now should we be lilies in the bog today. I fear the nation has fallen into such sad shape morally and our churches into such spiritual decay because we Christians have not been salty enough for our generation.

Salt is a preservation. Our very lives should preserve this nation from evil. But too many of us, too many churches have meshed with the world and the world has washed over us and stained us and removed our saltiness for God to such a sad degree that we have little impact on the same society in which we live.

Countercultural Christianity and the Early Church

Too many Christians today blend in like a bumper sticker, which is popular now. I'm sure you've seen it on a car or truck. It has several religious symbols on it, along with a peace sign and a cross at the end.

And its message says coexist. And I'm afraid that's what many do in our churches today. We just coexist with society, whereas the early church was different from pagan society. You see, Christianity was always meant to be countercultural.

When the early church met the world, there was a clash because the early church went in one direction and pagan society went in the other direction. And when they met, there was often a crash. In Acts, we hear of the influence of the early Christians, these that have turned the world upside down or come hither also.

Let me ask you a question, friend. Can that be said of your brand of Christianity? Are you turning the world upside down with your life for Christ? Or are you just coexisting like that bumper sticker?

We are to be lights in a dark, sin-soaked world. We are to be salt to make others thirsty for Christ. We are to be bright and pure like a lily in the bog of a sin-stained world. Our very lives should stand out so starkly, so vividly that others take notice.

Evangelistic Witness Like George Whitefield

It was said that on a voyage from England to America, while George Whitfield walked through the lounge area of the ship, that when the other passengers saw the light of his face and the solemnity of God upon him, that they immediately put down their cords and drinks and ceased speaking, for they knew that a holy man of God was in their midst.

And we should have the same effect on our generation of hell-bound sinners. We should not let an opportunity escape us to say something for Christ to somebody. We should be handing out tracts right and left and grabbing everybody we can and pointing them to Christ.

Restoration for Discouraged Pastors

Perhaps you are a pastor who is so worn out and beat up and discouraged that you feel more like a shrunken daisy than a lily in the bog. But, brother pastor, Jesus is the restorer of the soul. He can breathe new life into you and your ministry.

He can so touch your life in a fresh encounter with Him that your entire ministry can be transformed. All for His glory. Ask Him in prayer to make you a bright lily in the bog where you serve Him. Ask Him to give you your saltiness back once again.

Returning to God in Repentance

God's promise is, return to me and I will return to you. Do it, friend. Return to Him in a red-hot love relationship with Him. You could change the very atmosphere in your home by your renewed walk with God.

You could alter the temperature of your church by your bright and shining light. You could be a contagion for Christ in your community as you draw others to Him by your light. Oh, dear friend, repent on your knees for your lack of saltiness for God.

Go to Him and ask Him for a fresh encounter today. Ask Jesus, the lily of the valley, to touch your life in such a way that you will be a bright lily in the bog to your generation. All for His glory. Let me pray.

A Prayer for Personal Revival

Oh, Lord Jesus, I have lost my saltiness for you. I have replaced you with other things. Forgive me, oh Lord, for leaving my first love. Oh, how I long for your presence in my life once again. Come, Lord Jesus, come and touch me.

When you touch a person, they are forever changed. Touch me, great God, with a fresh anointing from above, infusing me a deeper love for thee. Make me thirsty for more of thee so I can draw others to thee.

Help me, oh Lord Jesus, to be all you want me to be for you. Give me the grace today to return to you in a red-hot relationship with you. Make my heart burn within me. Make my bones afire for thee. Help me to reach my generation for thee.

This is my prayer, Lord Jesus. This is my prayer. You are the God who answers prayer. Touch me, I pray this hour. With your Holy Spirit, forgive my rotten sins, oh Lord. Bring me back into a vital love relationship with thee.

Revive my heart, Lord Jesus. Give me a personal revival today. Thank you, great King.