There is a story that hails from the highlands of Scotland concerning a group of villagers who met one evening in the local community hall. During conversations around the tables someone suggested that each of us has acted bravely or heroically at one point in our lives. A man who was new to the locality saw an elderly lady who had not taken part in the conversation. In a quite disparaging tone he asked what act of heroism she had performed, completely unaware of the traumas and tragedies she had lived through. Her response was simply, “I have practiced the heroism of going on.”
When it comes to “the journey” that ability to keep going is one of the characteristics of true Christian pilgrimage. You find it expressed clearly in Psalm 129, especially the second half of verse two which says “…they have not prevailed against me.”
The psalm speaks of a prolonged period of oppression that the people of God have endured. The extent of this is outlined in the phrase, “…they have greatly oppressed me from my youth” (verse 2a). However, the wonderful truth about the faithfulness and goodness of God shines through - “they have not prevailed against me”
What does it take to practice the ‘heroism’ of going on in the Christian life?
Reflecting on that question, I have reached back into the church’s archive for help.
I was first of all reminded about John Bunyan (1628-1688), author of “Pilgrim’s Progress.” He wrote the famous hymn, ‘To be a Pilgrim,’ which contains the words,
He who would valiant be
’gainst all disaster,
let him in constancy
follow the Master.
There’s no discouragement
shall make him once relent
his first avowed intent
to be a pilgrim.
Reaching further back to Martin Luther (1483-1546) I found great encouragement in the words of his hymn, “A mighty fortress is our God”:
That Word above all earthly powers,
No thanks to them, abideth;
The Spirit and the gifts are ours
Through Him who with us sideth:
Let goods and kindred go,
This mortal life also;
The body they may kill:
God’s truth abideth still,
His Kingdom is forever.
And coming ultimately, and most importantly, to the source of all our hope in life, the Holy Scriptures, the prophet Jeremiah records, “They will fight against you but never prevail over you, since I am with you” (Jeremiah 1:19).
The apostle Paul was also able to testify, “after we had previously suffered and were treated outrageously in Philippi, as you know, we were emboldened by our God to speak the gospel of God to you in spite of great opposition” (1 Thessalonians 2:2).
Bunyan, Luther, Paul and Jeremiah’s ability to prevail rested on a number of enduring realities…
➡️ The Presence of God - He is with us, for us and ahead of us.
➡️ The Promises of God - He can be trusted and is faithful.
➡️ The People of God - The companionship of fellow pilgrims spurs us on our way.
I saw a beautiful picture of this a couple of weeks ago on the Isle of Harris. I was on the island with a group of men from The Preshal Trust. As a means of building friendships my boss arranged for 7 guys from an addiction support group called “Road to Recovery” to join us on the Friday evening. It was an incredible few hours, filled was a great deal of chat and banter! As I watched the interactions between the men and listened to their stories I was struck by the thought that what enabled them to stay strong as believers and remain on the path of sobriety was a friendship which is centred on Christ.
Drawing on God’s presence and promises these men encourage one another to keep going and are thus, like the experience of the psalmist, able to PREVAIL.
(picture - The Isle of Harris)
Song choice - Lord, I come before your throne of grace
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1r5rMcrNlmUMQqHyIBfCmg?si=YtwsF-OuT9-160jOeH26gQ&pi=iHT32HMRSleMD
No comments:
Post a Comment