We are here today, on a spring board, from where we can reach the highest possible level of Christian scholarship, consciousness, and development because they cleared the way! They, who have come before us, left their comfort zones, stretched their tent curtains, braved unknown paths, cleared the way through dense wilderness, working on historical relay to get us where we are now.
They brought the heart and mind of our faith from its conception in the Garden, through its infancy in the Land of Ur, childhood in Canaan, adolescence in Egypt, youth, maturity, and even regression in the Promised Land, rebirth in Jerusalem, and Christian recreation in Judea, Samaria, and the ends of the earth. We are here today, holding in our hands the solid heritage of yesterday and the wonderful promise of tomorrow because they, the trailblazers, delivered and handed the faith to us!
We are here today, throbbing with life, because Noah built that ark. We are here today, guided, enriched, empowered, because Abraham followed God’s call to Canaan; Joseph sheltered his family in Egypt; Moses led Israel through the desert; Joshua led God’s people into the Promised Land; David consolidated the nation and even showed us how, despite human frailty, one could be after supreme wisdom; Job defined and modelled the meaning of patience and endurance; John, the Baptist cleared the way for the Christ and set the high mark for principled spirituality; Peter recognized and identified Jesus as the Christ and, very helpfully, showed us how to rise from failure and shame; Paul understood, processed and articulated the lofty truths of God’s redemptive work and wrote great volumes for generations to learn and teach. Yes, we are here today because these and numberless other men and women received revelation, inspiration, and commission from God and, selflessly – even heroically – they not only served as faithful custodians but also as zealous messengers to their compatriots and to succeeding generations.
Even when the writing of the Holy Scriptures already ceased in Revelation, the writing of the story and doctrine of Christ’s Church and the passing of the legacy, was continued by the martyrs, by the succession of thinkers and leaders who lived, redefined, and fine tuned the faith to changing times. From the dark corridors of history ring the voices of Calvin, Knox, Luther, and many more, joined by the drone of nameless Bible scribes and copiers, printers, and librarians, and other contributors to the preservation, multiplication, and distribution of the Holy Scriptures! Then, the work of missionaries, especially in the so-called Age of Voyage and Discovery, reached far flung islands and continents, eventually – us. Very recently, the work of Christian broadcasters literally fulfilled prophecy that the Word would be preached to all the nations! Indeed, through cutting edge broadcast and other communications technology there is at present, no square inch of the earth’s surface inaccessible to the proclamation of the Gospel!
We are here today because they, the trailblazers, cleared the way! They received and passed on God’s heritage, message, and blessings to us through energetic toil and loving sacrifice! They marched into unknown lands, braved rejection and opposition and transcended personal limitations. They unquestioningly received what was given them, walked the walk of faith, becoming links in an unbroken chain of defenders, heroes, and promoters of the faith. Indeed, we are here now because they cleared the way – because they laid down their lives to be building blocks of The Way!
Today, we stand at a spot where the paved way ends, confronted by a different kind of dense wilderness unimaginable to those who have gone before us: a jungle tangled with Space Travel, Laser and Digital technology, Satellites and Wireless Communication, Microbiology, Cloning, Climate Control, Atomic and Biological Warfare, Genetic Engineering, Star Wars, Social Breakdown, A New World Order, etc. These high tech monsters and other 21st Century dragons pose a unique challenge to our faith and faithfulness! Will the road end on our present spot? Of course not! We have the legacy of unbroken links of heroes from the Patriarchs to the Prophets to the Apostles to the Martyrs to the Reformers to the Missionaries! In fact, our latest and freshest links to our glorious and ever-marching heritage are the people who brought us to the saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ like the fiery preacher at camp, that patient teacher at school, that anointed singer at the concert, and yes, that usher at church. While many things have, indeed, changed, many things have nonetheless remained the same. It’s still the classic battle between good and evil, the clash between the body and the spirit. The choice of only two destinies: Heaven or Hell! Thanks to our strong heritage, this generation is more than amply provided with knowledge, wisdom, and inspiration! By the power of our God who led our spiritual ancestors through the wilderness behind us, we can and we will keep clearing the way for our heritage to continue the jungle before us!
Christian of today, remember the Christians of yesterday from whom you had the privilege to receive and think of the Christians of tomorrow to whom you have the duty to give. Run the Christian race of the 21st century that only we, the children of the 21st century, can and should fight. Join the unbroken link of heroes and heroines and receive the heritage of God, the beginning, middle, and end of our quest!
