Et Moi !
The angels woke,
I do not mean they sleep.
But that explosion! Such a bang!
It rocked them.
There is no need
The chief archangel said
To be alarmed. Here
Space and Time begin.
In seconds now,
Things which chaotic seem
Will be resolved
Into their order of substantial elements;
Stars of varying size, to take
Their place in the expanding
space,
With greater ones planets
that will
Orb with their companion
moons
With such sublime precision
As will proclaim their laws.
Amidst these myriad forms
There'll be a flaming ball,
A sun to shed it's heat and light
Upon one special globe
Which shall be called the
Earth;
So beautied, as we should
envy
All its features, filled
With ingenious things,
With living forms of every kind;
Where creatures not unlike ourselves
Will Jive awhile and be like little gods.
It is God's grand design
That they might prosper and
become
Innumerable of their kind
As are the stars themselves.
Beings whom He will love
And show them of His own
Great nature, with promise
That one glorious day
They'll share our freedom
But with greater worth.
The
lady of the cottage, in which we stayed for a few days, gave us a warm
reception on our arrival.ć Our visit was
memorable, also, for the greeting we received from her husband when he returned
home from his work.
He
was a short, stocky man with a purposeful air about him but it was his
handshake that impressed me most of all. It was the firm grip of a hand
roughened, over many years, by the materials he used. I asked him what his work
was ; ‹A furniture makerŠ, he said.
The
cottage bore all the marks of his craftsmanship. It was modernised throughout
with cherry, maple and other woods used in the windows, doors, wardrobes,
table, chairs and kitchen lockers. The standard of workmanship filled us with
admiration.
Next
morning, I asked him for whom he worked.ć
‹The bank managerŠ, he replied dryly, and moved away to his workshop.
His
business was shaping wood, and his hands were those of a man used to grasping
tools such as the saw, plane and chisel.
This
directed my thoughts to another man who had worked wood with cruder tools, and
I wondered what his grip had been like. Did he greet those whom he met
with a handshake like my host? If so, they too must have been impressed.
ć
This other man
had followed in his ëearthly father's' footsteps, and was known as the son of a
carpenter. Undoubtedly his work would have been good, but in his early years he
had spoken of another job he had come to do. It was that of his Father in
heaven. It was to this that he devoted his adult life.
He worked not
only to assist the maintenance of his family, but revealed that his real
lifework was for all mankind in fulfilment of God's promise to us.
ć
Time
was precious to him, too. In the course of his ministry he was to say, ‹I
must work the works of Him that sent me, whilst it is day. The night cometh
when no man can work. My Father worketh hitherto and I workŠ.
Those
who met Him recall his touch, for his hands healed many people of their
afflictions.
The
blind man would never forget the feel of the hand that led him out of the town
before restoring his sight. Another would remember, for the rest of his life,
the grip that lifted him from drowning in a perilous sea.
The
twelve who followed Him (with one exception) would never forget, during their last
meal together, how He gripped first one foot of theirs, and then the other, in
order to wash them in a symbolic representation of His service to mankind.
This man had a message for the world which is
still valid today, though many fail to recognize it.
He said He was the door through which
anyone could enter into eternal life. He said He was the light of the
world.
He is a window through which we can see not only the sunrise and sunset, but
the view into heaven itself. We can see into the mind and heart of God.
As
a man He made things for material comfort and is now in heaven preparing a
place for those who trust in Him.
As
God He also made the world. The Land, sea and air are the fruits of His
handiwork, yet how humbly He served His fellow men and women on earth.
He brings not only spiritual comfort, but
eternal security.ć Did He not
say, of those who hear, and heed His words, ‹none can pluck them out of My hand
or out of My Father's eitherŠ?
That
grip is strong and fills the soul with confidence. It is the grip of a man who
came into this world with a purpose which affects us all.
Surely
one would want to meet this person and get to know more about Him. Jesus Christ
who can do so much for us now, this day, died for us so that we might have a
proper relationship with our Maker - with
God?
In
acknowledging
our need of Him we gain so much - not just
in this life but also for the one which lies beyond the grave.
It
is of great comfort to know when one passes from
this world it will be into His presence.
BROKEN GLASS - UNBROKEN LIVES
Glass
breaks, that's for certain. A tumbler falls to the floor and shatters into
pieces. Pouring boiling water into it would have a similar effect, but this
does not happen with the cafetiere when making coffee.
We
know that the window pane of a house needs handling with care yet we sit,
without worry, behind the windscreen of a car. All are made from the same basic
material š glass.
So
what is the difference? Those which do not break easily have either had
something added to them or have been treated in some way to make them stronger.
Human
beings have been around for a long time and have coped with a wide variety of circumstances
and conditions.
We
have made improvements to our physical well-being and comfort. We can treat all
sorts of problems and conditions from which we suffer, but we have never
managed to change our natures for the better.
Not
one of us is perfect. We are all flawed at heart. We do not live as we should
do, or as we were meant to.
We
have laws to live by, but we break them. Parliament passes new ones year in and
year out, and they are respected by most people, but we all fail to
comply
with the most basic and fundamental ones of all which apply universally. The
Ten Commandments.
Man's
history is one of personal and collective failure, and everyday the newspapers,
radio and television confirm it. We cannot dispute that we need some inner
strengthening.
Like
glass, we need that extra added something in every situation.
Only
one person, according to the Bible, lived the perfect life and that was Jesus
Christ. It was a perfection endorsed by God, for it was a life of obedience to
His will, even though it meant Jesus having to die for us in an appalling
manner.
‹No
fault in himŠ, was the
verdict of Pilate, and, when challenged, none of his critics could accuse him
of doing anything wrong by way of thought, word or deed.
A
leading Jew visited Jesus one night wanting to find out what was His secret.
Because
Jesus did, and said, such extraordinary things the man could only conclude that
Christ‰s power must have come from, and through, a special relationship with
God. How else could one account for his special goodness that was so different
from anyone else?
Jesus
answered the question hidden in the man's mind.Š You need a new heartŠ, Jesus
told him, ‹a spiritual re-birthŠ.
‹GodŠ,
said Jesus, ‹is SpiritŠ. He is like the wind which cannot be seen, but His
presence, like the wind which blows where it will, can be experienced.
Spiritual
renewal brings with it an indwelling consciousness, and infusion of His power
enables a better life to be achieved.
Repentance
shows a desire to put the past behind one, but what Jesus presented to
Nicodemus was how his life could be better lived in the future.
This
admirable man saw in Jesus the ideal which he sought for himself. Would that
everyone, everywhere, have the desire to be better than they are!
Our
nation seems to have long abandoned any notion of a spiritual and moral
revival. To be spiritually ambitious for one's own good does not come easily in
an increasingly corrupt society.
ć
One
thing Nicodemus recognized about himself was he could not mix in society as Jesus did and be
free from taint. He knew that he was vulnerable. Like glass he knew that he could fail and sought the source of Jesus'
power.
Maybe
vulnerable is not a word which one likes to apply personally, but many
people have found out just how vulnerable they are only after a personal
failure.
With
Christ‰s power we are given strength and a new confidence. Our materialistic
instinct is inhibited thus enabling us to live a more successful life closer to
that which God expects from us.
That
which was brittle within us is made less breakable and we can seek His guidance
whenever we need help. It was this life changing, spiritual experience of the
early Christians which changed the course of civilization.
However,
unlike shattered glass, we can pick up the pieces. Broken lives can be rebuilt
anew. Many people, from all over the world, can testify gladly to the truth of
that experience.
There
is great power in spiritual rebirth. Christianity still makes the grade, and
trusting in Christ is the answer to broken lives and shattered hearts.