In pursuit of promise

Naomi and I just took our children up to Barkerville to visit the site of the historic Cariboo gold rush. Barkerville gets its name from gold miner Billy Barker who struck gold there in 1862 and history records that his claim produced over 1100 kgs of gold! It was results like that which drew people from far and wide to the piece of land now known as Barkerville. They came from overseas, down south, back east and up north. Gold miners, doctors, barbers and saloon keeps all came with one thing in mind, to cash in on the gold. The promise of what could be exerted an irresistible magnetic pull on them that caused them to leave behind what they knew and embrace the unknown. They sacrificed, gave up personal comforts and toiled alongside others that they would normally never associate with, all for a treasure that regardless of size was temporary and finite.

I couldn't help but be challenged by the history of this town and the men and women who occupied it for a time. As a believer in Jesus Christ there is a far greater promise held out to me than any gold mine will ever produce. I have the unfathomable privilege of knowing Jesus as my personal Lord and Saviour and daily experiencing His immeasurable love in my life. Yet I must ask myself, does the pace of my pursuit match the promise held out to me? For temporal nuggets of gold men moved with surety and speed not wanting to miss out on a single flake that might be found.

I left Barkerville with a full stomach from the chicken & dumplings I'd eaten at 'Wake up Jake's' and a full heart determined to increase the pace of my pursuit so that I might lay hold of the infinite, eternal promise found in the person of Jesus Christ.

WHY?

Why? The quickest answer might be ‘Why not?’ but that might not be the best answer. Over the course of our day, week, month and life, we will all engage in a variety of different endeavors and activities. Some of these will be well planned and carefully detailed, while others will be spontaneous ‘fly by the seat of your pants’ experiences. When we reflect on our past activities, or pause to consider future ones, the first question we should ask ourselves should be ‘Why?’ We should be much more focused on the purpose of our endeavours than the preparation for them.
Heaven modeled this for us in John 3:16 when right up from God showed us His purpose in sending Jesus to earth – Love! There were 1000’s of years of preparation for that event but all of that preparation is insignificant compared to the purpose for the event. Everything that Jesus did on earth, and then instructed us to carry on with, was motivated by love. Love was the motivation for His service, His sacrifice, His submission and His warfare.
In 1 John 3:8 we read that Jesus came to ‘destroy the works of the enemy’. That is a statement with conflict and warfare all through it. In Matthew 11:12 we are told that it will take a violent aggression on our part for the Kingdom of God to advance. Again, a clear reference to the aggressive waring nature our lives are to display. But before we get too carried away, lets remember that while there IS conflict and warfare the purpose behind all of this is LOVE. We don’t engage in conflict for conflict sake, we engage in conflict for the sake of LOVE. So that those who don’t know Jesus Christ, whose lives are being negatively influenced by the evil one, might come to know the saving work of Jesus in their lives and the liberty He brings.
It is important to keep this purpose clear in our minds and hearts because this is what determines the difference between a peacekeeper and a peacemaker. At first glance a peacekeeper may look more loving than a peacemaker. A peacekeeper doesn’t want to do anything to ‘rock the boat’, shies away from aggression and can convince may people (perhaps even themselves) that the passive state they live in ‘abiding’. Whereas on the other hand, a peacemaker knows that to truly have peace you must be willing to engage in conflict. They don’t go looking for conflict but when they see the negative influence of an enemy on others the LOVE they have compels them to act.
Throughout this month as we contend together for our Nation it is my prayer that there will be a growing love within all of us that will propel us to the battlefield. That we will rise to the call to be peacemakers, and following the example of our Father in heaven, allow love to move us into places of darkness and discomfort for the sake of the lost.