Most people you encounter are awake. Would you say that everyone who is awake is aware? Your awareness can be distracted, clouded or darkened, hence the expression, the lights are on but no one is home. Two people standing side by side can view the same scene and not see the same thing. I made frequent references to those who had eyes to see, and ears to hear. In this case I was not talking about healing the blind and deaf as normally understood. So having your senses intact does not guarantee discernment. I want you to understand the reality of spiritual vision and practice it, that you may be aware to the extent that you are awake.

My word tells you to grow up into the head, which is Christ. Do you understand what I just said? I told you to grow up! Isn’t that what parents tell their children when they want them to show more maturity? Is this process complete in you, or are there ways in which you could show still greater maturity? Do you find that this process of growing up gets easier or harder the older you get? I want you to think of this as a life-long project, and you have made some progress. Don’t let the progress that you have made so far make you hardened and rigid against further progress. Continue to become as little children that you may continue to grow in the Kingdom of God.

When you consider events to come, do wonder which category of people you will belong to in the Book of Revelation? Do you suppose there is more prestige associated with a smaller group, so being one of the two witnesses is better than being one of the 24 elders? But considering the population of the world even 144,000 is not a large number by current standards. Do you suppose that these numbers refer to fixed and literal counts, and that you are competing with your fellow believers for them? Don’t limit me. Don’t assume my infinite power is constrained by fixed numerical categories. I promised to go and prepare a place for every one of you.

Do you describe your faith as a walk? When you read that I called my disciples to follow me, is walking the first image that comes to mind?  You can follow someone who is walking ahead of you, but the same term is used to describe the response of a dance partner. Which do you think is a better illustration of your life of faith? You can walk behind someone at a great distance, but dancing requires you to be closer. Is there enough closeness, intimacy, intricacy of movement, and coordination of responses between us for this to be the appropriate term to describe it? May I have this dance?