Society of the L.A.M.B.

by DuCharme, Judy;

  Everyone sat quietly, eyes on Grandfather. He was the mentor, the teacher, everyone’s grandfather.

  “Joints?” questioned Josiah. He sat on a small footstool next to his grandfather. Many of the guests sat cross-legged on the wooden floor that was covered by a few worn but beautiful woven rugs. They pulled wooden chairs from the large dining table to sit near the leather couch and overstuffed chairs. All the room accessories were in muted tones, warm and inviting. The open-beam room with its high ceilings brought comfort to its visitors.

  Childhood memories again surged through Josiah. Board games late into the night at that table. Teasing and jokes and spilled popcorn. Hide-and-seek games with cousins hiding behind the couch or under the huge cushion seats of the couch. Once, he had lain on the rug and pulled the end over himself. His bigger cousins had rolled him up completely and started to carry him away. There was no telling where he might have ended up if Grandma had not put a stop to it.

  “We are the joints. It’s written in the Logos.” Grandfather smiled. “We speak the truth in love, growing up in all things into Him who is the head, and from Him the whole body fits together by what every joint supplies. We are connected like roots in the ground, like joints in the body. We need each other, but, like joints, unless we do our job, there is no movement, no life. Every move we make helps the whole body. It’s King Glory’s master plan. We must yield to it.

  “We need help, though.” Grandfather frowned and stood. He had the look of a professor in his library with a warm button-down sweater, khaki pants, and, instead of slippers, well-worn cowboy boots.

  “Somehow, we still need to contact more LAMBers, but it’s so dangerous,” Grandfather stated. “We must pray, we must believe, we must yield, and we must do the job He’s called us to. I believe that angels are among us.”

  “Angels? Heavenly beings? Now, in this day?” Josiah asked. The idea excited him but seemed a bit far-fetched, even though the boats seemed like angels. What a coincidental thought.

  “The Voice, in the Book of Songs, says, ‘Bless Jajireh, you His angels who excel in strength, who do His Logos, heeding the voice of His word.’ Not only must we obey the Voice so must the angels. They listen to what each of us says, and if it lines up with the Voice and the Logos, they help. If it doesn’t, they can’t. So we must be diligent and vigilant.” Grandfather’s voice was strong. It had always been a strong, vibrant voice to Josiah.

  As a child, he loved to sit on his knee and hear the voice of Grandfather reading a story. Always distinct—every word was clear. The only time his voice was weak was when Grandma died. She had so been the love of his life. But rather than live in grief, Grandfather simply chose to walk closer to King Glory and be there for young LAMBers.

  One phrase from Grandfather still rang out within Josiah whenever he was about to do wrong. “Is that how your mom and dad raised you?” would rise up in a gravelly but distinct voice. Even though it had a condemning tone, it also held love, and it brought Josiah to attention every time.

  Friends would talk him into some antic, and then he’d hear Grandfather’s voice. Josiah would pause, and his friends would groan. “The old man’s talking again, right?” they would ask. Invariably, his friends would comply, and the wrong was averted. Sadly, many of those friends were in the colony now. Thankfully, most probably assumed Grandfather was dead. So many elderly had been imprisoned and died during the great crackdown when the colony rules became the law of the land. Now, for many, life was an act of pretense. Jobs continued, along with buying and selling, but no one dared reveal inner life if they had it. Instead, people of all ages pretended they loved living with bizarre and hateful attitudes. The numbers of those who actually held those beliefs were growing. Josiah had started down that path, but now he knew he must return to walking with King Glory in his life.

  Josiah’s attention returned to Grandfather’s teaching.

  “We are the Society of the L.A.M.B. We walk in Love, Authority, Mercy, and Boldness. We must know that the LAMB of Jajireh, King Glory, lives in us, helping and empowering us to do the work He designed us to do. It’s a glorious plan, my friends.”

  Josiah felt worn out. The burden the LAMBers carried was heavy indeed. “But how?”

  Grandfather sat down and gazed one at a time into each set of eyes, clearly relishing in the life he saw.

  “By knowing the Spirit of Jajireh is upon us, that’s how. We must live in His presence,” he taught. “King Glory didn’t do miracles until the Spirit came upon Him, until He knew the Voice. He grew in wisdom and stature and in the favor of Jajireh and man, and then came the walk of the Spirit, following the Voice. Later, He said we would do greater works, but not without the Spirit…only with the Spirit.

  “The Twisted One tried to deceive Him out of knowing and obeying the Voice but was unable. Most people living today have been deceived out of it. They didn’t grow in wisdom and favor so had no roots when the Twisted One came.” Grandfather stood again and paced, his boots clunking a determined cadence over the wood flooring. This man had aged but not lost his strength.

  “We must proclaim our righteousness in Him. Oh, not on the street corner in these days. We’d get arrested immediately. We must proclaim it in our inner man. We must proclaim it with our own mouths. We must walk in it. Then we’ll see the Spirit upon and within ourselves and others.”

  Grandfather paused and turned to his grandson. “Josiah, King Glory has given you eyes to see the inner man of others. I also believe we will see angels. We must walk in King Glory’s wisdom, favor, and truth. He has given me dreams, Josiah, of old times returning to our day. You, young man, are the key that King Glory is turning to open that door.”

  Josiah did not know what to say. He was chosen? What did that mean? All eyes swiveled toward Josiah. Heads nodded and faces smiled. Josiah, lean and strong—usually smiling, known throughout his life for his joking—could not smile back. Instead, he ran his hands through his hair while his eyes locked on Grandfather. Josiah tried to still the pounding of his heart.

  * * *

  “SheMah, SheMah! Greetings! Have you been to an appearing?”

  “Halal, my appearing is to stand before GREAT and to behold Him.”

  Dazzling light shone and radiated from each being.

  “Ahh, but the duty we are made for is to be with the earth ones.” Halal did not stand still, and light poured from him in glistening rivers. The two heavenly beings stood on what seemed a mirror, making their light reflect all the more. However, the mirror was fluid with liquid diamonds bouncing like raindrops in a puddle.

  “Well spoken, Halal, but we heed only His word.” SheMah stood still while light emanated from him in shimmering rays.

  “Yes, yes, but how I long, SheMah, to hear His word in their mouths and go to assist. How long has it been?”

  SheMah swiveled to gaze across the expanse before him, shining laser-like beams from his eyes. “We are not moved by time, only His Logos. We must wait, Halal.” SheMah’s voice, deep and calm, resonated off every being and everything in sight, providing echoes to each word.

  “But would it not be of great help to provide the earth ones with an appearing? Surely they would speak again as they ought.” Glistening rivers pouring out of Halal seemed to turn into waterfalls as he pleaded his case with SheMah.

  “Halal, I know the Logos says that the redeemed should say so, but you have placed your ear too near the redeemed who don’t say so. Your ear needs to be near the throne of GREAT instead.” SheMah’s eyes held Halal’s. The light between them now crackled.

  “The redeemed are only a bit lower than us. It is easy to hear their murmurings.”

  “Oh, Halal, you have joked about that mistranslation of the Logos too many times. The verse says they are actually just a little below GREAT, the Creator Jajireh. They are crowned with the glory of King Glory. We are simply messengers and helpers to them.” Laughter rolled through SheMah like an earthquake thundering across the land.

 
; “Then we must help.” Halal continued to gesture as rivulets and waterfalls of light splattered everywhere. “They must be stirred up to remember, to speak, to believe, to shout.”

  “Halal, I have fluttered and whispered myself. I believe there is a stirring. And I have caught a glimpse of Rhema. If any is to do an appearing, it would first be Rhema.”

  The beings paused and looked behind themselves. They had heard something. “That did not sound like murmuring. It sounded like Logos-speak.” Faintly they heard “strong in Jajireh and the power of His might.” Halal and SheMah quickly whirled to behold GREAT on the throne. He was intently listening. He glanced up. His eyes, brighter than ten thousand suns with rays shooting every direction, were iridescent with moisture. They created rainbows everywhere.

  Halal and SheMah bowed flat before GREAT as they heard words of the Logos come from voices of earth ones. Tears of joy fell in torrents from GREAT’s brilliant eyes.

  “It is time,” boomed GREAT’s gentle but powerful voice. “They speak. You must go, give protection. Rhema, come forth.” GREAT sat on a throne of immensity covered with every gem discovered and those not yet known. The luster was dazzling, and the gems were placed in a pattern that proclaimed the name of Jajireh and His Son, King Glory, in every language imaginable.

  Rhema, a marvelous being, stepped forward. The brilliance of GREAT’s eyes flashed on Rhema as little rainbows danced about his wings and limbs. “Here to do your bidding, O, GREAT.” Rhema bowed deeply.

  “You will have an appearing. For now, a dream. Their faith can hold it.” GREAT shivered with excitement, sending rumblings throughout heaven.

  Halal, SheMah, and several others dispatched themselves immediately to assist Rhema as he visited the earth ones in a dream.

  Halal danced as they went. “Will they shout, SheMah, will they shout?” He skipped as shining water radiated everywhere.

  “Perhaps, Halal, perhaps. What a privilege to undergird one who knows his King and shouts the Logos! If all did so, the liar’s job would be over and the Glorious Kingdom would be manifest.”

  “Why, SheMah, do they speak the lies?”

  SheMah paused. Light gurgled like a fountain around his feet. “They have been deceived and thereby disappointed. They stepped back in their hearts and questioned the truth. Many earth ones believed the lie that the enemy whispered instead of the truth the Voice was speaking.”

  “How can that be?”

  “Too many who knew the Voice and knew the truth became slothful. They grew comfortable and forgot the shout, forgot to declare the decree of Jajireh. Some wearied of the patience needed in believing for and receiving their provision. The enemy continued to proclaim the lies, sometimes through the redeemed themselves. But now we hear declarations again. We’re back in business!” With that, SheMah began dancing too.

  THREE

  Visitation

  Josiah slept tucked into the small bed upstairs in one of Grandfather’s many bedrooms. These were tiny rooms complete with two small beds, a dresser, a lamp, and a rug. “Simple but sufficient”—that was his grandparents’ motto. Always enough but nothing fancy. Decorated with simple love, Josiah thought as he climbed into bed. As he lay there, the shout rang in his heart: We are strong in Jajireh and in the power of His might!

  Had he ever felt so close to King Glory, so full of King Glory’s love and power? The Society of the L.A.M.B.: Love, Authority, Mercy, Boldness. How could he go back to the colony and pretend? His OGs wouldn’t work. The watchers would detect him like a radar gun catches a speeder. But Grandfather said that King Glory would show him how to live, how to hide, and how to detect and recruit others to the Society of the L.A.M.B., as well as how to walk in the presence of Jajireh daily. Could it be? Yet Josiah knew the Voice said continually, “Nothing is impossible with King Glory.” He repeated the phrase over and over as he drifted into dreams.

  His dreams were full of lakes and rivers with abundant fruit growing on green and fragrant trees along the banks. He was able to converse with others underwater. He could breathe as easily in the depths as he could above them. As he came up, there was a boat with no one in it, but then its oars became wings, and Josiah realized he was face to face with an angel as he’d imagined that very day. The angel smiled, and immediately Josiah and the angel sat as men inside the boat.

  Josiah was uncertain if he was dreaming or not. The angel’s face radiated peace and strength. He was large but appeared very much a man. As Josiah stared, the angel laughed. “No, I’m not a boat with wings. I am a messenger of Jajireh sent to share your dream. It has been too long since I have been given an open door. Yes, Jajireh has chosen you, Josiah, to bring the shout back to your world. Your name means ‘founded of Jajireh’ or ‘Jajireh is my foundation.’ This is the reality you must carry to the world. You will carry it by living it. You will live it by believing it. You will believe it by speaking it.”

  Just then, a hairy little creature appeared between the angel and Josiah. It jumped up and down and from side to side, rocking the boat and yelling, “Me, me, me, me, me, me, me!”

  “What is that?” asked Josiah as he tried to move away.

  The angel said, “A fear-monger sent by the Twisted One to distract you.”

  “Well, it’s working.”

  The angel replied solemnly, “Is this what you choose to listen to?”

  “No!” shouted Josiah. He grabbed the thing and threw it overboard. It sank like a rock. “And don’t come back!”

  The angel smiled. “That is the A of LAMB—Authority. You have authority over the agents of darkness, not me. I support what you say in line with the Voice. My name is Rhema, the spoken word.”

  As Rhema spoke his name, Josiah heard it like drums inside his chest. Ripples flowed throughout the lake from the boat as the angel spoke, and shafts of light came out of his mouth. Josiah felt warm and free and strong. He laughed, a hearty and free laugh, as though his greatest need had been met. He felt giddy, almost drunk, but clean.

  Rhema smiled. “That’s what the shout does. As I represent the spoken word, as King Glory spoke into existence all that is, so you, Josiah, are the shout—you and all who know the joyful sound, the sound of the spoken Logos. You will speak what is written in the Logos—you will proclaim what the Voice speaks inside you. You will speak and shout it to the land, the waters, the walls—anyplace the watchers cannot see and hear you. However, they will hear and tremble, because the sound of freedom, the voice of the Voice, will go forth like these ripples over a pond, and men will again hear it in their inner man. The inner man will awaken, and the watchers won’t know how it happened. You will see it in their eyes, and then one by one you will be able to speak to them. Then the awakening will begin.”

  Josiah closed his eyes as Rhema spoke, trying to imprint each word within his heart and mind so as to never forget. When he realized Rhema had stopped, Josiah opened his eyes.

  He was on his cot in Grandfather’s cabin. It had been a dream, but indeed it was a visitation. He relived the event three times in his mind before drifting back to dreamless sleep.

  * * *

  As the sun streamed into Grandfather’s cheery kitchen the next morning, Josiah shared the details of his dream with Grandfather and all those present. The excitement over Josiah’s experience was palpable.

  “This is only the beginning. Oh, Josiah, what a gift!” Grandfather beamed as he scrambled eggs by the dozen.

  Several of the visitors brought gifts of food with them the night before. Josiah manned the toaster, making piles of toast. Jars of homemade jam and tubs of butter sat on the table. Grandfather made coffee and prepared orange juice before everyone awoke.

  Every few minutes, someone would stand to pray, thanking God for Josiah’s visitation, for the truth of Jajireh ringing in their hearts, for the provision of food and a place to hear the Logos of King Glory. Everyone would stop chewing and shout, “Yes, yes, yes.” Occasionally, everyone would clap, and invariably someone would star
t laughing. Soon all held their sides from laughing so hard.

  Grandfather reminded them, “The Logos says laughter does us good like a medicine. Thank You, O Great Jajireh, for healing all those here.” He filled the sink with hot water and squirted in dish detergent. Then, with a twinkle in his eye, he stated, “The Logos also says that if you don’t work, you don’t eat. You all just ate, so guess what?” Everyone jumped up, helped wash and dry the dishes, wiped up spills, and put away what was left from their feast.

  The group continued throughout the day speaking and sharing, shouting and laughing, asking and answering questions, giving voice to what had lain dormant within them. All received strength from each other and the belief in King Glory they held in common. Each committed to returning to their homes and businesses full of the Love, Authority, Mercy, and Boldness of King Glory and to become recruiters for the Society of the L.A.M.B.

  * * *

  Lily closed her eyes, bracing for the pain. Jajireh, help us please!

  Nathan taunted her. “Down the drain!”

  Then she heard the flutter. It didn’t make sense. It sounded like wings, giant wings. Was she in heaven so quickly? But wait, she still heard the whip and Nathan’s cursing.

  She opened one eye. It was magnificent. Between her and Nathan was a transparent shimmering wall of water. She could see Nathan trying to strike her, but he was stopped by a wall he could not see. Panic shone in his eyes. Lily stared at the wall but then realized it had the shape of a man—a man with wings. Jajireh had heard her prayer.

  As Nathan turned and fled, the man of water with wings became more visible and glorious. Never had she seen a more beautiful being.