Monthly Archives: October 2022

Christian Living

DISAPPOINTMENT OR REST? — BOB PRICHARD

A popular old hymn stresses our longing for our heavenly rest, but also our commitment to keep working until Jesus comes. It begins, “O land of rest, for thee I sigh! When will the moment come, When I shall lay my armor by, And dwell in peace at home?” The refrain repeats “We’ll work till Jesus comes, We’ll work till Jesus comes, We’ll work till Jesus comes, And we’ll be gathered home.” The words, by Elizabeth K. Mills, who died at 24 or 25, were first published in 1837. The tune, attributed to William Miller, was added in 1859.

I have been unable to verify if this is the same William Miller who twice set a date for the return of the Lord, but if it is the same man, it is ironic. William Miller (1742-1849), was a Baptist preacher who through his study of the book of Daniel determined that the return of the Lord was very near, and he traveled throughout the United States preaching a message of the need to be prepared for the Lord’s return. As his followers, known as Millerites, pressed him for a date, he announced in January 1843, that the date would be March 21, 1844. When that date passed, he and his followers recalculated, and set the date for October 22, 1844.

Despite the words of the hymn, many of Miller’s followers did not “work till Jesus comes.” They left farms untended, debts unpaid and took it easy. When the second date failed, these people were very upset with Miller, and he died disillusioned and forgotten in 1849, still thinking the Lord would return in his lifetime. Some of his followers pressed on, organizing the Seventh Day Adventist church. In their history they refer to the Miller failure as the “Great Disappointment.”

The hymn is consistent with the warnings of the Lord. He likened the kingdom of heaven to ten virgins waiting for the bridegroom to come. Five were wise, but five were foolish, and “took their lamps, and took no oil with them: But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.” All were in the same situation waiting for the bridegroom, but the foolish were not ready to serve when the cry came, “Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.” They all arose, but the foolish were unprepared, and missed their chance. “Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh” (Matthew 25:1-13).

Disappointment awaits those who are not working until Jesus comes. “Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them” (Revelation 14:13).

15 - First Timothy, Christian Living, Salvation

“REFINANCING THE PAST” — BOB PRICHARD

I enjoy the comics, not only because they allow me to have a chuckle in the midst of an evil and frightening world, but because they often suggest profound thoughts. A “Frank and Ernest” cartoon (9/8/2017) has Ernest speaking to Frank as a loan officer, telling him, “In order to invest in my future, I need to refinance my past.”

It is often prudent to refinance a loan, getting a better interest rate or a more affordable payment. There is usually a cost, but that cost is offset by future savings (if the borrower is acting wisely).

Your future is affected by your past, not only in terms of finances, but in terms of how your life has been invested. Whether you have used your time wisely, been diligent in pursuing an education, or lived above the norms of the world have a tremendous impact. Mistakes of the past, even long past, have a tendency to hurt us when we least expect it, like the “Marlboro Man” who quit many years ago but then faced cancer, or the crisis we face today because we did not plan for the “rainy day.”

When it comes to spiritual matters, even the best of us need to have our past refinanced so that we can have a future. From the time Adam and Eve chose to rebel against God, each of us has followed the same path. “As by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned” (Romans 5:12). “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). And that sin has a significant cost: “For the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23a). In fact, the cost was so high, that the only remedy for this great sin debt was “the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot” (1 Peter 1:19).

In the financial world, it is possible to dig such a serious hole of debt that no refinancing is possible. All that is left is to declare bankruptcy. That is where we find ourselves concerning our sins. We are bankrupt without Christ. Paul acknowledged his bankrupt state: “This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.” But Christ saved him, and gave him a future. “Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting” (1 Timothy 1:15-16). We have followed Paul’s pattern in sin, and we can follow his pattern in obeying the Lord to receive his gracious promise for our future!