I’m gazing down the Ocean Pathway from my little kitchen
table this morning, at the ocean which is shining like a crystal sea. My mind
goes immediately to the song, ‘Victory in Jesus’ and the words “I heard about a mansion He has built for me
in glory, and I heard about the streets of gold beyond the crystal sea; about
the angels singing, and the old redemption story, and some sweet day I’ll sing
up there the song of victory.” We have a song of victory even now, because
the old redemption story is ours to sing when we are in Christ Jesus. Oh, my
heart is pierced, but I have this hope, a hope which keeps me walking forward
despite the circumstances of life right now in this present moment. I quiet my
soul before Him in the quietness of this morning. I’m looking down at the tent
community where many of the tents have been taken down and some still remain.
Fall is upon us now, the change of a season. The 143rd Camp Meeting
summer season has now ended. The leaves on the trees which surround me are
displaying a hint of changing color, as the messages heard in Bible Hour and at
The Great Auditorium linger in my mind. He grants me renewed vision and hope
for those things ahead not yet realized. I’m tempted to slump in defeat, but
faith wells up within me, as well as the urge to continue walking by faith and
not by sight. I encourage you to do likewise and to sing that song of victory.
All is quiet in the tent community now. They have packed
their things away and gone home. The joyful sounds of laughter and singing have
been replaced by the sounds of acorns falling and the squirrels scurrying about
gathering them. The magnificent Auditorium organ is silent once again. I hear
the sound of the ocean waves lapping upon the shore, as I remember this past
summer and all of the lessons learned here. I began this summer contemplating
the purpose of life and this pilgrim pathway we walk. I was thinking about the
fact that much of our lives are spent waiting, waiting for that next thing to
happen, whatever it may be. We set goals and strive for them and once they are
achieved, we strive for the next thing and it begins all over again. Some
people spend a whole lifetime waiting for a goal to be achieved, a vision to
come to pass. I’ve even seen people pass away, never seeing that goal or vision
come to fruition. On this earthly path we travel, our finite minds can’t grasp
the full scope of those things which the Lord has planned for us. We only see a
small part of the whole and this is only a small part my friends. Eternity is our
goal.
I had the privilege this past spring to spend a good deal of
time visiting with my aunt who passed away mid June. She never had married, nor
had children. Her nieces and nephews were her children. She introduced us all
to music and many a family gathering was spent gathered around a piano, singing
hymns of the faith. We spent her final days in rehab reminiscing, talking about
music and faith. One day we sat together with other residents in a hymn sing. I
glanced around at these elderly folks, some with dementia and others whose
bodies were just worn out. I thought of how quickly time passes and how all
these folks were once young and from many walks of life. All had traveled
different paths, but all now stood on common ground at the edge of eternity. I
listened to them sing with quivering voices and such gusto. Their faces were
aglow with faith and hope. They all had a common goal. My mind turned to a
scripture from 2 Corinthians….
“For we know that if
the earthly tent which is our house is torn down, we have a building from God,
a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.” 5:1
This life, these bodies are temporal. As I watch the tents
coming down around me in the community here, my mind once again turns to this
portion of scripture.
4. “For indeed while
we are in this tent, we groan, being burdened, because we do not want to be
unclothed, but to be clothed, in order that what is mortal may be swallowed up
by life.
5. Now He who prepared
us for this purpose is God, who gave to us the Spirit as a pledge.
6. Therefore, being
always of good courage, and knowing that while we are at home in the body we
are absent from the Lord-
7. For we walk by
faith and not by sight-
8. We are of good
courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home
with the Lord.
9. Therefore also we
have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him.”
I have gained a whole new perspective this past summer. Our
Lord has shown me the richness of life in the here and now, as we live it in
the light of eternity as our goal. Life takes on meaning and purpose, when we
have as our ambition to please Him day by day. Maybe we can’t make sense of the
things in our lives right now, but we can know that in Christ, there is a purpose
and a plan in the eternal perspective. We know that when we are born anew in
Him, we are given His Spirit as a pledge, a promise of eternity with Him.
Many great hymns of the faith have been penned right here in
Ocean Grove. The summer began with the passing of my Aunt Margie into the
eternal promise. The summer season ended on Labor Day with the passing of our
beloved Director of Music Emeritus and Song Leader, Lew Daniels. He shared with
us the stories behind these hymns. One of his favorite ones being, “When We All
Get to Heaven”…the 2nd verse reads…
“While we walk the
pilgrim pathway, clouds will over spread the sky; but when traveling days are
over, not a shadow, not a sigh.
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.”
We are walking the pilgrim pathway my brothers and sisters
in Christ. We are on our way home.
“But thanks be to God,
who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved
brethren, be steadfast, immoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord,
knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.” 1 Corinthians 15:57-58
Blessings be yours in abundance!