Like Him

In our century it has become increasingly clear that man's desire to be free of the surly bonds of earth and soar into the heavens has brought him to the very brink of new era. He has reached for the stars and seems to have taken a first feeble step into near space. Armstrong's historical statement, "One small step for man, one giant step for mankind," seems to summarise man's eternal quest for the heavens.

In spite of all the fantasising of science fiction, man is quickly becoming acutely aware of the many practical scientific problems posed in his penetration of outer space. It would seem that man is just too inhibited by the continuum of time, matter, energy and space to ever conceivably achieve his dream. The time required for man to travel safely at the speed required, using any propulsion and environmental survival systems that can be envisioned today, far exceeds man's survival capacity. The fragility of man's frame and the sensitivity of his biological systems mitigate against successful extended space travel.

Man's only real hope of breaking away from the forces of gravity and truly leaving the restrictive confines of this earth, lie in another direction entirely. Man  has the answer he seeks and the freedom he desires, but he does not seem to be willing to understand it or accept it. Man is truly designed for the stars, but he does not seem willing to fully come to grips with or grasp his eternal destiny.  A simple statement in the Word of God clearly settles the issue. John, in speaking of eternal sons of God said, "We shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.." If we are to know the fantastic future our Creator God has in store for those eternal sons He has chosen as the eternal objects of His love in Christ Jesus, we only need to know what He is like. What He is like, physically, intellectually and spiritually is the key to our eternal existence. To really explore our future we must examine what He is like in His resurrected body. Because, as even Job understood two thousand years before the event, eternal sons and daughters of God will be given a completely new resurrected body - like Him.

Paul made sure we understood that this new body entailed an entirely different and glorious sphere of existence. Physically, that automatically entails transcending the continuum's of time, space and matter. Jesus clearly set aside the limitations of time, space and distance after His resurrection. Evidently he travelled from earth to paradise, to heaven and back to earth in an instantaneous manner. We can only speculate about the vast stellar distances involved. In doing so laws relating to energy and propulsion would of necessity be negated. Because our finite minds cannot comprehend such fantastic we are hesitant to fully accept it or speculate upon its full implications.

Perhaps it is enough to rejoice in being the eternal sons of God who will see some day Him as He is and be like Him in eternity!

Keeping On Keeping On

Luke 9:62

 'And Jesus said unto him, no man, having placed his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God."

As a young lad I had the special experience of following a horse drawn plough as the land was being carefully prepared for planting and cultivation. There is hardly a thing that is more pleasant to my mind than those memories of long ago. In my mind's eye I can feel once more the pleasant coolness of the rich damp soil against my bare feet on a hot and humid afternoon. The earthy and pungent odor of new turned soil again fills the air around me.

In the quietness of my memory I can still hear the sound of the breaking plough ripping its way through the fallow ground, leaving in its wake a squirming trail of worms, grubs and insects, and the occasional nest of field mice struggling for survival. The sights and sounds of spring overwhelm me with a nostalgic yearning to set my hand firmly to the plough once more and yell out, "Giddap," to the team for just one more turn around the field!

But the memory of row upon row of shiny sod cleaved by the sharp plough also reminds me of sweating from sun to sun under the glare of a blazing hot sun. I can also feel the pain of muscles strained wrestling with a heavy turning plough. As the long afternoon of struggle wears on, I can feel once again a bone-weariness, giving way to an almost irresistible desire to lay aside my assigned task and make my way to the old swimming hole to frolic in its cold depths with the neighbourhood boys.

It was in such a rural setting that I learned my first lessons of discipline. The discipline imposed by my desire to hear my parents say, "Well done!". The discipline required if I were ever to know the self-satisfying sight of a field well ploughed, planted, cultivated and harvested. What a great blessing parents impart to their children when they give them such a gift of a disciplined work ethic!

Jesus implies discipleship may be viewed as an expression of such discipline in the spiritual realm. The need for a serious and disciplined attitude and approach to the work of God has never been more apparent. It seems increasingly difficult to find people of God who are willing to carry His work on to an ultimate productive and fruitful conclusion. It seems many would much rather be frolicking with friends of the world in the cool pool of the pleasures of this world, than toiling as yoke fellows with Christ and fellow-labourers in the hot sun of the field of spiritual endeavour.

There is no doubt about the nature of our field of spiritual labour. Jesus commanded us to pray that the Lord would send labourers into the field of lost souls. We know what is involved in preparing the ground to plant the good seed. We know it is necessary to break up our fallow spiritual ground. We know a bit about the cultivation and watering often necessary to bring forth the harvest. We know we need to go forth with weeping, bearing the precious seed of the Word of God. We know the promise of the harvest to those who will really lift up their eyes to the possibilities involved in witnessing and soul winning. We know the law of sowing and reaping applies to the spiritual as well as the physical world and that our Lord has promised that we will joyfully reap in due season, if we faint not.  If we would be His disciple, we but need to keep on keeping on for the glory of God!

 - Pastor John White

An Upward Look

Have you ever wondered what it would have been like to have lived in the first century and been one of those disciples who walked with Jesus? One of those who heard His stories as they fell from His lips and personally witnessed His marvelous miracles? One of those who walked with the resurrected Saviour on the road to Emmaus? One of those who stood and watched Him as He slowly ascended into the heavens in the presence of two angelic beings in white apparel? Or, what would it have been like to have been caught up into the third heaven, as Paul, into the very presence of the Lord?

Is it any wonder those who had been with Jesus, were said to have turned the world upside down? Surely Paul’s special insight into the sights and sounds of that other world, had a profound effect upon Him and radically changed His outlook upon this mundane world in which he lived.

Yes a glimpse of other places can sometimes change our outlook or up-look. Until I had the privilege of staying a few weeks with a pastor friend and preaching in a number of rural churches in the pristine and beautiful mountains of West Virginia, I could not truly appreciate the words of John Denver’s beautiful song, Almost heaven, West Virginia...”

Until my daughter and her family moved to North Carolina, the history, geography and contemporary nature of the state were of little special interest to me. But now I find the place has a special attraction and fascination for me. Perhaps it’s because I have loved ones there.

Until I was sure God was calling me to plant churches in the great land down under, I knew very little of the place; nor did I have any particular desire to make a twenty-four hour plane trip to see it and find out more about it. But now, since I have so many loved ones in Australia, both in the physical and spiritual sense, the Lord has given me a deep love and affinity for the country.

Although there are many beautiful spots on God’s green earth, none could compare to the marvellous wonder and beauty of heaven. Even so, the main attraction of heaven for the Christian is not the place but the people. The main Person Who draws us heavenward is Jesus. In heaven we shall see Him face to face. Just as our roots sometimes tug at us, drawing us back to the places and people of our origins, so does our heart draw us heavenward and homeward.

The presence there of loved ones who have gone before add to this upward pull. It is said that the  homing instinct of certain Arctic birds placed in zoos always compel them to look northward or homeward. We, who are temporary colonisers of planet earth, have a strange, other-worldly attraction as well. We are focused on another place. Our affections are set there. Our mind-set is in tune with our Master who resides there. We are looking for that city whose builder and maker is God. Through Christ, we as Paul, have been given a peep into that eternal city that is our eternal destiny, and it draws us ever onward and upward.

But is heaven a real place or, as some say, just a figment of a fertile imagination? Is it pie in the sky by and by, or the ultimate dwelling place of God with His people? I am convinced that heaven is a real special place. Heaven is not a figment of an overworked imagination. Nor is it just pie in the sky by and by. It’s not merely a grown up version of a big rock candy mountain.

Although heaven is a real place populated with real people, it is still beyond the keen of the mind of mortal mind to begin to comprehend its magnificence. Paul could not utter the sense of awe he felt about it, “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.”

Can you imagine the amazement of our rural forefathers would experience if they could see the wonders of modern cities and civilisation today? Heaven is a place designed and built for the people of God by the Architect of this vast universe. Look at the beauty of this world and multiply that beauty by infinity and we might have an inkling of the beauty of  that other land. Imagine a place without any of the terrible effects of sin and the fall of man. Imagine paradise restored in all its perfection and completion. Such is unimaginable! - John White