Headquarter Happenings

“And all wept, and bewailed her: but he said, Weep not; she is not dead, but sleepeth. And they laughed him to scorn, knowing that she was dead.” (Luke 8:52-53)

As Jesus walked into the house, the mourning party exploded in ridicule. What He had told them concerning the little girl inside sounded preposterous, and they responded in a chorus of irreverent laughter.

However, what an amusing array of expressions they must have displayed a few minutes later as the Lord and His trio of disciples said goodbye to the happy family.

Once again, the Lord’s assessment had been true, though it had made no sense.

Throughout His ministry, the Lord was continually shaking up people’s thoughts about reality.

For centuries the Jews had been without a prophetic word from Heaven, and their faith had all but died. Oh, they had adopted a lifestyle of sacred traditions and rituals inherited from Moses and others, but in every practical aspect of life, the majority lived on a completely horizontal level.

It is not that they openly denied the truths of the Old Testament. They still heard them read at the synagogues and claimed them as their treasure. However, much of that knowledge they stored on the dusty, old shelves of theory.

So deeply was this error entrenched that when the Lord came and actually lived according to those principles, they questioned His sanity. When He gave the true diagnosis, which inevitably was at odds with the interpretations of the day, the atmosphere would turn nasty. A few of the bolder and more humorous ones would start to laugh, soon to be joined by their admirers. Before long the whole bunch would be making fun of Him.

Tragically, few of them ever seemed to realize or admit that they were actually laughing at the facts according to God!

We can learn from their mistakes.

As we read the Bible, the voice of Deity makes statements that are squarely against popular attitudes and philosophies. Faced with these opposing ideas, we have to choose.

Either we listen to the tune of the culture, and move to their side, or we lean our hearts toward the words of the Lord. If we are of those who have ears to hear, His authoritative voice will drown out the cheap cackle of the scorners and our souls will swell in harmony with the majestic symphony of Truth.

Though rarely a large crowd at any given time, the ensemble of true worshippers has a long history, and down through the ages, thousands have joined its ranks.

Earlier in this Gospel, when Luke recorded his investigation into the arrival of Messiah, he revealed evidence that not everyone had been swayed by the mood of unbelief. Even in that dark hour of ignorance, there were still a few who believed the prophets of the Lord, no matter how hopeless the situation looked. Simeon and Anna were two of these, an elderly duet that knew God was always right.

And so each of us faces the choice of every individual of every age: Who will I believe?

Dear Father, You are always right. Even when what You say doesn’t seem to make sense on this sin-cursed earth, Your diagnosis is correct. Help me listen and believe.

“And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.” (Daniel 12:3)

When he first heard these words Daniel was an old man, well over 70. He had served his Lord faithfully for nearly sixty years, which in itself was a rare testimony.

Add to this the humiliating details of his circumstances and some of the reasons he is a hero of the faith surface quickly. Yanked out of his home and country as a teenager, made a eunuch and forced to serve pagan kings, he still gave his life to God’s service. Somehow he embraced this graciously as the will of Jehovah for him.

Perhaps as a reward for his special faith, the elderly prophet received some of the most important end time prophecies in all of the Bible. The last one, spanning more than two chapters, ends with this interesting promise: God’s wise children will shine as the stars forever.

By itself that would be a very odd statement. How in the world are faithful believers going to shine as stars? Fortunately, the Holy Spirit gives a number of complementary passages that can shed a little light on the meaning. One of these is in the grand resurrection chapter, 1 Corinthians 15. As the apostle is explaining the glories of resurrected bodies, he makes a interesting observation, that at first glance hardly seems to fit the context.

Celestial bodies, he says, are very different one from another. Their individual glory varies immensely, a fact that modern equipment has only helped to confirm. Apparently, no two planets, stars, or galaxies are the same! This, of course, testifies to the infinite wisdom and power of our Creator.

But it does more than that. It also illustrates something about our heavenly future. Just as the expanse above us displays a vast army with different purposes and levels of shining glory, so will the future, eternal universe, teeming with redeemed souls. The Bible clearly teaches that the Lord will determine our eternal ability to shine according to our faith and works in this, our brief stay on earth.

We will all shine! Believers, no matter to what degree they influenced others for righteousness, will glow as stars . . . eternally!

I do not know exactly how this will happen, but God does. He will define it perfectly and make it happen.

But it is also significant that not all will shine with the same radiance. Our proper and never ending reward will be linked to our faithfulness to God right here, right now.

Most of us are familiar with “The just shall live by faith”, and each of us has been given a measure of faith. But do we live by it? Or do we give in to doubts that distract us, waste away our time, and neutralize our spiritual usefulness?

How much of my daily life is really lived by faith in the God I cannot see? Daniel obviously did a pretty good job with his, and he is an inspiration to me.

Dear Father, You have given me so much. You have blessed me in every direction I look. Please help me shine for Your glory here, so I can also be a bright testimony to Your grace for all eternity. Amen.