"....I know whom I have believed, and I am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that day." 2 Timothy 1:12 NKJV
Preface: The following post was only going to be a preface to the post which is directly below this....Advantage Pilgrim....but it became too long for a preface so here it is as a post....followed by that former post:
They were two friends that I worked with for decades....this is blue collar stuff folks....dirt and grime and very physical....but both were college educated....and who I considered thinkers. Although never the three of us at once....I would have long philosophical conversations with both of these men.
Let me describe friend number one....he did not believe in God....although his wife was a Christian. He was an English major in college....way...way back when. He took the approach that life is all there is....but he liked to converse....and had absolutely no problem with....(he would even smile throughout)....my side of the conversation on the Bible and eternity and the Christian Faith.
Friend number two....he read extensively in philosophy....and took great pleasure in our conversations....and would actually bring up the topics. He was by far the most health conscious person I had ever known. Both of these friends had the advantage on me in that we were young....and then eventually a little older than young....and had many years ahead of us. They were comfortable on their side of the debate....for it would most likely be decades probably before any of us would actually die....and then first hand find out what the truth is. I on the other hand had to defend what could not be seen. Both of my friends definitely had the advantage on me.
The years passed....we worked together for over thirty years....and we were all nearing retirement....and the advantage shifted to my side....for they no longer could confidently look too many years ahead before we would all find out. Their position had not changed one iota....and they did not grow more confident....but mine grew stronger with every passing year of this earthly pilgrimage!
The first friend is now about eighty years old...the exact same man who I worked with side by side. I talked to him a few years after we both retired....and the same stubborn belief was there....but he appeared to grow tired of the conversation. There was no light in his eyes anymore as we spoke.
The second friend who took every pill and vitamin and mineral imaginable....including garlic....and wore a face mask for all of those decades to keep the dust of a power plant out of his lungs....and wore ear plugs even while at lunch....and would not stay in the room if the microwave was running....this good friend died from Covid and related illness. I remember the last time I saw him. It was at Barnes & Noble shortly before he died....I was perusing a book and he spotted me....came over....and as was his usual habit....brought up something that I would know something about. He asked a question on the Apostle Paul....from a philosophical point of view. There was still no real interest in any faith in God.....it was just good....healthy....intellectual conversation.
At seventy-four years old....and forty-two years as a believer in Jesus Christ....the advantage is clearly mine today in any conversation. To use John Bunyan's allegorical language....I can see the Celestial City today....whereas before I could only see the lights in the sky above. It's been a long pilgrimage....with every step of the way a learning experience. I thought at the beginning that the rejoicing could not possibly increase....but it has! I've had questions answered. I've seen my own sin devastatingly clearer....and saw the grace of God clearer! The majesty of Jesus Christ....and the Bible....became more evident with each passing year. I am not as much in dialogue anymore....as proclamation....Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved! I can say today with even more confidence....come with me for your own good!
Advantage Pilgrim.....October 2021
One could hold in one hand the most valuable diamond in the the world....and a cheap paperback Bible in the other hand.....and there would be no comparison in the real intrinsic and eternal value in the hand that holds the Bible.
One could be rich like a Musk or a Bezos....or adored as the greatest celebrity....or the greatest athlete.....or the greatest anything....but have nothing compared to any little old woman anywhere in this world.....hobbling home with a paper sack containing that day's food....who is in prayer and praise to her Lord and Savior....and coming King....Jesus Christ.
Take a look at your watch dear reader....or a clock on the wall....and whether you can see the second hand or not....it is moving....nothing can stop time. No matter how rich....or how happy one perceives they might be....that time is merely rented....with a contract that will run out.
So we debate this.....you and I....and time passes.....years.....decades maybe. In the beginning you had the advantage.....how foolish of me to waste my life.....but as time passes....your advantage lessens....for you once could exclaim with reasonable confidence that you would have many years to enjoy your thesis....and the conclusion of it all was far away.....while I could only say with confidence that the conclusion of all things would prove the Bible true....but now....as the years have passed....you can only say that the past is on your side....while I still point to the future...which is no longer far away.
But this God who you accuse of being unfair....he watched you debate against His righteousness for those so many years.....and yet still says...."Knock....and it will be opened." This God who you accused of being harsh....has offered you mercy for maybe fifty years....and still says to you...."Today is the day." Pick up that Bible that is probably as close to you and the next room....or the attic....or the basement....for the very same words that you may have read before....while you had so much confidence in yourself....may this time bring you to your knees....first in horror at where you are headed....and then humility in how wrong you have been....and then hope in He who opened your eyes....as He had opened all of our eyes.
