Where do you live?
For a lot of us, there is a stirring in our hearts;
a restlessness and a longing for another place.
We've heard rumors of it, but we can not substantiate them.
Some of us have friends and relatives that have been there.
Some of them have gone and never returned. Were they the strange ones?
Or when we call them that, are we just trying to hide our envy?
Some of us have been there ourselves, but we're not sure how we got there,
or why we came back.
It is a place somewhere between here and eternity.
It is out of place, really. And it stands outside of time.
It is a place of indescribable, transcendant beauty.
It is a place of simple, yet infinitely voluminous truth.
It is a place more real than this that has "been pulled over our eyes to blind us to the truth" (The Matrix).
It is not a "clothing optional" community, yet you will be stripped bare of all you put on to hide your shame.
It is not an amusement park, but the intensity of the highs and lows far surpass any man-made thrill ride.
And the closer you get to it, the further away you will feel.
I call it InnerLand (after the book of the same name by Eberhard Arnold).
It is the interior life. It is a place of overwhelming intimacy with the fullness of the Godhead.
It is solitude, but not escapism.
The citizens have ranged from the most ascetic of monks and nuns to those who are learning to abide there in the midst of every day life elsewhere.
I've known those who have accused monks and nuns of losing sight of what it means to be a follower of Christ. "Well . . . they've isolated themselves from society. How are they fulfilling the Great Commission to 'go and make disciples of all nations'". To which I would say, "What have YOU done lately in fulfilling it? And I would ask what's more important, the Great Commission or the Great Commandment?"
Still others have said, "How are they contributing to society, shut away as they are?" To which I would say, "They are much like Christ in the fact that their worship is nearly constant, their intercessory prayers are fervent and effectual,
and the things that the Lord has revealed through them is a rich heritage to those who long to know God, experience
His resurrection Power and become a friend of Jesus. Even though it was not their intention, their contributions to society are beyond measure."
Hear The Lover calling to His beloved . . . "Come away with me".
