Today as I am on my journey through the Bible, I am in the Book of Leviticus. Now we know that in this book there are very specific and clear directions from God for the people. How the priest would dress and handle their duties. What would be prescribed of the people in situations that would require their care in what they touched or ate. To how they were to respond in situations dealing with animals, even dead animals.
There is just a lot going on and for Aaron along with his sons as priest specific requirements. I mean you will find that two of the sons put the wrong things in the incense they burnt and God killed them in a blast of fire.
At night I go to bed and reflect on the day. In those moments, I often reflect to what I have read about, learned about or experienced in how God interacts with all of His people. Whether, in the the times of Moses or today, thousands of years later.
I find myself more each day in awe of God and wondering why He did what He did then and what He is doing today. When you consider history from the Biblical perspective, God has changed how He dealt with man then and how are deals with us now. Or has He? We might be inclined to think we would do better if we simply had specific rules to follow. Yet, as we read Scriptures in the Old Testament we find that certainly did not work. Time after time they would fail to follow the simplest of instructions and thus fail. Enter Jesus Christ and God’ grace with His teaching to follow Him, and yet we still do it our way and not His.
I long for the day when we will, as His children, be in His Heaven without all of this we deal with today. No more pain, sickness, death. No more hatred and fighting over things that will not matter. No more them and us with conflicts over which in the eternal sense are trivial. As I sit here, I was reminded of the old hymn “When we all get to Heaven“-
Sing the wondrous love of Jesus,
Sing His mercy and His grace.
In the mansions bright and blessèd
He’ll prepare for us a place.
Refrain
When we all get to Heaven,
What a day of rejoicing that will be!
When we all see Jesus,
We’ll sing and shout the victory!
While we walk the pilgrim pathway,
Clouds will overspread the sky;
But when traveling days are over,
Not a shadow, not a sigh.
Refrain
Let us then be true and faithful,
Trusting, serving every day;
Just one glimpse of Him in glory
Will the toils of life repay.
Refrain
Onward to the prize before us!
Soon His beauty we’ll behold;
Soon the pearly gates will open;
We shall tread the streets of gold.
Refrain
I can remember as I sit writing this today being in the pews at Palm Avenue Baptist in Tampa as a kid. My grandmother standing beside me singing this great hymn of the faith. She always had Juicy Fruit chewing gum in her purse. To this day, every time I smell it, I automatically go to an image of her purse. As a kid, I could never really appreciate the message of this hymn. Now that I have lived this life I can truly appreciate-
When we all get to Heaven,
What a day of rejoicing that will be!
When we all see Jesus,
We’ll sing and shout the victory!
It seems that there are not many victories these days. We have had bad times before in the history of this nation and this world. But, having lived through some of it in my life time, this time just seems different. We often say it is just the cycle of life. Good days and bad days but it will all work out in the end. Now I am not speaking of what we would normally think of as we expect life to just keep on keeping on.
I know that for me, as I have mentioned previously, I am approaching the end of this life. Again, this is not an announcement of a problem, concern or of an imminent address change. Just saw our Doctor and had the usual test and he wrote me a note that said “Pastor, all is good”. I feel fine and we are enjoying life and the opportunities God gives us to serve Him, His churches and His people.
More specifically I speak as to the coming of Jesus Christ for His church. I know I am going with Him and trust you are, as well. With that said, what about those who have not yet received God’s free gift of salvation through Jesus Christ? They need to hear the Gospel. They need us to tell them about Him and show them about Him in the way we live our lives.
I close with the words of our Savior Jesus Christ as He tells us of this Great Commandment-
Matthew 22
36“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”
37Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’
38This is the first and greatest commandment.
39And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’
40All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
Then He tells His disciples and us how we can do that in the Great Commission-
Matthew 28
18 ...“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
A thought to ponder,
Elbert Nasworthy
