There is a fifth dimension, beyond that which is known to man. It is a dimension as vast as space and as timeless as infinity. It is the middle ground between light and shadow, between science and superstition, and it lies between the pit of man's fears and the summit of his knowledge. This is the dimension of imagination. It is an area which we call The Twilight Zone.
—Rod Serling
I grew up watching the Twilight Zone. It terrified me. But I loved it anyway.
I remember two episodes clearly.
The first was about a woman whose world was being drawn toward the sun. As the world became hotter and hotter, trees would burst into flames and her clothes would become scantier (it was the 1960's after all). Just when I thought the world would burn up, she awakes only to find out that she had been very sick with a fever, and her real world was actually falling away from the sun and turning into ice.
The second was about a woman who enters a store and is abducted by mannequins. They tell her she is one of them and she must come back. In the end she realizes she actually IS a mannequin and joins them in a room filled with plastic people like her.
At the time, I always loved trying to figure out the mystery behind the story. Now I realize there was a message to them...one of 'what is reality' and the other 'finding your true self'.
Sarah Young, in her devotional book, Jesus Calling, describes the true fifth dimension: 'one of openness to (God's) Presence. This dimension transcends the others, giving you glimpses of heaven while you still reside on earth'. She goes on to describe how God used to be able to walk with Adam and Eve in the garden and how He desires to walk with us in the gardens of our hearts where he now resides.
That idea brought forth scripture after scripture that describes a garden and God's desire for us to live there with him. Let me put together a Twilight Zone that I found.
My life has its struggles. Chaos rules. Confusion abounds. Finding the strength to face another day is so difficult...I want to stay in bed with the covers over my head. There's a great storm surrounding me with my head under the covers. I hear thunder! Crashing! Crying! Then silence.
I pull the covers away and find I am actually on a soft pallet in a lush green garden. Not too far away there is a table filled with fruit of all kinds and the smells of purity and peace are everywhere. The air is calm. Birds are singing. Then the most handsome man I have ever seen appears, takes me hand, leads me to the table and offers me a beautiful fruit he calls Life. "I have overcome your world of Chaos," he says. "You have tasted the other fruit on the table: Love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness, faithfulness, and self control. Now is the time for you to try the fruit of the tree of Life."
As I taste the fruit He gives me, my eyes are opened to even greater awareness. Joy is overwhelming. I can't take my eyes off of His. They are filled with love just for me. I dance! I sing! I tell Him how wonderful He is and how my life will never be the same after awakening in His garden! He surrounds me with His arms and tells me He will never, ever, leave me alone. He will always be waiting for me in a secret place. A secret place is called Contentment. In the Contented garden, He will whisper loving words of peace that goes beyond anything I could ever see with my eyes or know with my mind. He explains how His hands will guide my hands to do unimaginable good for others and how He has planned my day before I ever awake. All I have to do is follow His quiet voice as He walks with me through whatever the day holds and His power will go ahead of me to show His glory in my life.
As I look down, I see I still have the fruit of Life in my hand. I thought I had eaten all of it but it was still whole. He explains that I will always have Life in my hands and can taste of it anytime I want. Further more, I can give this fruit to anyone else I want to so that they could taste of His garden and walk with Him. I thought of what others would think of me if I offered them this strange fruit. Would they laugh at me? and the garden started to fade. He reached for me but the covers were over my head again and I was hiding in my bed.
Crying, I thought of what a wonderful dream it had been. I wanted to go back so desperately! I put my hands to my eyes to wipe away the tears and realized there was something in them. A fruit. A strange, beautiful fruit. And with joy I took a big bite and listened..."I love you!"...and I followed the voice as He led me to share Life. His Life. In His secret garden He put in my heart.
There IS a fifth dimension.
