Door to Kandalaura (9 page)

I gasped, and then looked at Andron. “You knew,” I said.

“Yes,” said Andron. “This is why you are here. It's all been leading up to this.
Now you must go. He's motioning for you to come.”

I could hardly believe my eyes. The one moment in time I had always hoped for was
actually here. He was even more glorious than I had pictured. And here He was with
His arms stretched out to me.

I broke into a run, but the closer I got to him, the weaker I became. To my embarrassment,
I nearly passed out and ended up falling to the ground in front of His feet.

When I looked up, He stretched out His hand and took hold of mine. Then He drew me
close and hugged me. Waves of liquid love poured over me. My body grew limp, but
His love kept coming. It was wave after wave and even more powerful than what I had
experienced with Andron's father. Tears streamed from my eyes. I couldn't control
their flow. Hot and cold came over me at the same time, like ice and fire together.
Once again I couldn't walk because my legs had turned to rubber.

He picked me up and carried me over to a large rock, where He set me down beside
Him. Smiling, He looked at me with the kindest eyes I had ever seen.

“What is it you want, Mikey?” he asked.

I know He knew, but I told Him anyway.

At first I could hardly talk, then I let it out: “I . . . I just want to have a pure
heart like Yours and Andron's,” I said.

“Mikey,” he said, “I chose you because you already have a pure heart. Remember, I
asked you to be holy not perfect.”

“But sometimes at night You seemed so far away,” I said. “I got to thinking that
maybe I'd done something wrong. Then I wondered what would happen if You came that
very night. Would I go to heaven?”

“Oh, Mikey,” He said. “I don't ever want you to feel that way. You've been eating
at the wrong table. My Word is called the Bread of Life. There's life in My Word.
You must eat at My table. That means taking My Word into your heart and believing
it for yourself.”

“That's what I want to do,” I said. “I don't know why I still feel so guilty.”

“My Holy Spirit convicts people of their sin so they can repent, but the enemy is
the one who tries to make people feel guilty, even when they haven't done anything
wrong. There's a huge difference between those two things. Just
remember, son, even
if you should happen to commit a sin, you have only to confess it and repent. When
you do this, I no longer remember your sin. You mustn't ask me to forgive what I
no longer remember.”

“I never thought of it like that,” I said. “The enemy tries to make us think that
You are carrying a huge hammer, and You'll pounce on us if we do something wrong.”

Oh, Mikey,” He said. “Nothing could be further from the truth. If I ever carry a
big hammer, it'll only be to break the chains of guilt and shame from my people.
I came to free you from all of that. My people memorize John 3:16, but they fail
to read the very next verse. Look it up when you get home.”

“Yes, Jesus,” I said. “I'm so sorry. I believed lies and thought they were coming
from You, when Your Word says just the opposite. I thought You were mad at me. I
had no idea. I mean, until now I never understood Your love. I just didn't get it
about how You love us so much, like now when I'm with You. It's all so new to me.”

“Mikey, when I shed my blood on that cross, something miraculous took place. I became
the supreme sacrifice once and for all, and then Father raised Me from the dead.
When that took place, great power became available for the cleansing of sin and healing.”

“I always thought I believed that,” I said.

“Know this one thing, Mikey, and don't ever forget it. One drop of my blood has the
power to give you a clean heart. You have only to ask. It's your choice.”

Though my mind was working faster here on Kandalaura, it still took me a while to
process what He was saying. This was not just a brain thing; it was a heart thing.
My brain needed to be fixed, for sure, but my heart needed healing
from all the lies
I had believed about Jesus and how bad that made me feel.

He let me ponder and think. I began to weep because here in that atmosphere, I could
see what I had done. I repented and asked Him to forgive me.

He just waited. He never condemned me. When He put His hand on my shoulder, I looked
up and saw forgiveness in His eyes.

Finally I said, “I think I get it. I've been limiting the power of Your love by listening
to the enemy. I see that now. I let my fear of not being good enough stand in the
way of your love. Not any more, Jesus. Your love is way bigger than anything I've
ever known. I'm never going to stand in the way of Your love again. I want every
drop I can get!”

He smiled, even chuckled. “You're getting it perfectly now, son, and you're beginning
to see with your spiritual eyes.”

His words and the immense kindness in those eyes reassured me. Instead of making
me feel stupid for falling down and saying what I did, he made me feel all clean
inside. His love melted away every thought of not being good enough. For the first
time in a long time, I knew I had a pure heart.

I was totally changed in just a few minutes of being with Jesus. How can I ever thank
him enough or repay him for what he had done?

“It's by My grace you are changed, Mikey. Don't ever try to earn it or repay Me.
Just receive it and believe. It's your faith that delights Me.”

“Jesus, I love You so much,” I said to Him. “I never knew the power of Your love.
Now that I've experienced it, I'll never forget it. Being here with You means more
to me than anything in the whole world.”

He drew me close and embraced me as a father embraces
his son. His love permeated
every fiber of my being. I wanted to stay there forever.

Finally He spoke. “I have a job for you to do, Mikey. That's why I sent Andron to
fetch you.”

I thought Andron chose me, but it was Jesus. Andron was on a mission after all, and
I was it. Did Andron know?

Jesus perceived my thoughts and began to explain. “Andron was the door that brought
you to Kandalaura, son, but it is I who am the door to your destiny. You see, I have
great plans for both of you. You are already learning much from each other. In the
future you will also help each other. A season awaits you both which will bring much
joy, but it will also require everything I have put inside you.”

That sounded exciting but also rather scary.

Again He perceived my thoughts and said, “You're ready for it, Mikey. Your first
job is to love and help people wherever you go. I'm also equipping you for another
job. You'll know what it is shortly after you arrive at your home. My Holy Spirit
is giving you special gifts: the word of knowledge, the word of wisdom, and greater
discernment to equip you for everything I'm calling you to do. Read about these gifts
in My Word, son. Hunger for My Word, and it will come alive before your very eyes.”

“Yes, Lord,” I replied. “I‘m going to do everything You've asked me to do.”

“I know, son. That's why I chose you. There's one more thing,” He said. “Don't let
anyone tell you that you're too young. I tell you this. A day is coming soon when
my two- and three-year-olds will pray for people, and they will be healed. In fact,
it is already happening for some.”

My mouth fell open when I heard that. I looked at Him in amazement.

“That's because they will never have been taught doubt
and unbelief. They will only
have seen My glory,” He explained.

He put His hand on my shoulder and said, “I must go now.”

That's when I noticed the huge scar all the way from His palm to His wrist. Tears
gushed from my eyes.

“I'm so sorry,” I said.

He embraced me again and said, “It was worth it all, Mikey.”

One more time, His love overwhelmed me. As He started to walk away, I ran and hugged
His legs. I tried to stop Him. I couldn't bear for Him to leave. I wanted this to
last forever.

“Jesus, don't leave me,” I cried. “Let me go with You. Take me with You,” I pleaded.

He looked down at me and said tenderly, “Mikey, I'll always be just as close to you
as I am right now. Believe it. I'll never leave you. Keep that thought in your mind
and soon we shall be together forever.”

“I‘ll do whatever You say,” I said. “I love You so much I can hardly stand it.”

“I know that, son,” He said. He put His arm around my shoulder and began walking.
“I must go now. Tell my people how much I love them.” We walked a short distance
and then suddenly He was gone.

I stood motionless, almost paralyzed, till Andron came and put his arm around my
shoulders. Together we began walking back to his house.

“I guess I was your mission,” I said.

“Perhaps we are each others' mission,” he said with a twinkle in his eye. “Let me
grab you some fruit. We can sit down for a few minutes while you recover.”

So we sat down on the grass and started talking.

“I walked with Jesus for a few steps,” I said, “then suddenly He just disappeared.”

“Yes, He does that sometimes,” said Andron. “He's not limited to our dimensions,
you know. We never know what He will do next. But whatever He does, it's always for
our good. I'm sure He knew how difficult it would be for you to say good-bye.”

Andron was right. Jesus knew I was having a hard time saying good-bye, so He did
what was best.

Andron continued, “Sometimes when He visits in the afternoon like this, He creates
a new bird or butterfly. Once He planted a new flower and it grew right away. On
another visit, He planted a large seed. We had no idea what it would be. Eventually
it grew into a tree with leaves that sparkled like diamonds. Then they began to appear
in other places. I call them chandelier trees because the leaves remind me of prisms
that reflect the light into rainbows.”

“Wow!” I exclaimed. “I saw some of those on our ride. I'm amazed at everything He
creates. It never entered my mind that He's still creating. Most of all, I'm amazed
by His love. I had no idea.”

As I thought about what had taken place, tears began to gush from my eyes. There
was no stopping them.

Now even Andron had tears. He too was overcome with thoughts of Jesus's love. I had
never seen Andron like that before.

In that moment, we were bonded together deeper than ever before. We were more than
friends. We were brothers.

Arm in arm we headed back to His house for relaxation and dinner. I couldn't help
but wonder what the future would bring. I could tell Andron was wondering too. We
didn't talk the rest of the way because the presence of God was so heavy on us both.

Chapter 13

FAMILY, LAUGHTER, AND FAREWELL

S
INCE
I
HAD
only been in Andron's home for a short time, he decided to show me around.
It was like touring a huge log cabin. Beautiful woodwork was everywhere throughout
the house, including walls, furniture, and fixtures. There were no plug-ins or cords
anywhere. They don't need them. A wooden spiral staircase led to the upstairs. Mom
would have loved decorating this house for Christmas.

Andron's mom had brought the outdoors inside with
paintings and things she had woven
that had plants and animals on them. She made colorful cushions for the furniture
his father had built. The boys had done their part by carving beautiful animals for
display. Nicholas hung framed photos he had taken of the galaxies and stars.

In the middle of the lower floor, four steps led down to another even lower level,
which was their eating area. It was circular in shape with a huge round table in
the center. Cushioned chairs went all the way around. Hanging from the ceiling was
the most beautiful chandelier I had ever seen. It was made of wood, but many diamonds
and crystals hung down from it. I don't know how they kept the lights lit, since
they don't use electricity. They have other sources of energy for everything. All
I knew was that I could have easily lived in a place like that, not too fancy, just
comfortable. I felt as much at home here as I did in my own home.

Andron's mom began carrying what looked like a feast into the eating area. We helped
her carry it in. I could hardly believe my eyes. It looked almost like a display
in the 4H section at the fair. Fruit, vegetables, and dips were all carefully arranged
on white serving platters.

I saw display cabinets on the first floor that featured china she had painted. Her
talents amazed me. Actually the entire family seemed super talented. I wasn't surprised.
There were many things to look at, but the sight of food reminded me that I was hungry.