BOOK REVIEW: JOHN PATON, MISSIONARY TO THE NEW HEBRIDES (His dates: 1824- 1907) SONG: “Give me one pure and holy passion. And give me one magnificent obsession. Father, give me one glorious ambition for my life To know and follow hard after you.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I17edLkBDCo If John Paton had written the final line of this modern worship chorus, it would read something like this: “To be owned and used by You for the salvation of perishing men.”1 The validity of that burning passion in this Scotsman’s heart is manifest through his life-long persistence in advancing Christ’s message against discouraging hardships. His efforts triumphed in the end. Paton describes his years of toil for his Master in his excellent autobiography, John G. Paton – Missionary to the New Hebrides. These South Pacific islands (modern Vanuatu where a “Survivor” episode has been filmed) was home to cannibals who had eaten earlier missionaries. John Piper’s audio presentation cited below and a Wikipedia article both chronicle well Paton’s history. Here I will attempt to capture traces of his one pure, holy, magnificent, glorious obsession and ambition for his life. Sample the following words from his pen recorded in his autobiography. Concern for the Lost p. 51 – “I was sustained by the lofty aim which burned all these years bright within my soul, namely—to be owned and used by Him for the salvation of perishing men.” p. 52-53 – (Before leaving Scotland, he was busy with missions work in Glasgow, but heard a call of God to men far away.) “Happy in my work…yet I continually heard…the wail of the perishing Heathen in the South Seas…. The wail and the claims of the Heathen were constantly sounding in my ears.” p. 74 – (Converting the heathen is a painstaking task.) “…But it could be done—that we believed because they were men, not beasts; it had been done…and our hearts rose to the task with a quenchless hope!” p. 232 - (Even on his furlough for rest in Sidney, Australia, he tried to interest the Presbyterians there to get involved with missions so near them – by sending missionaries & providing a ship to bring supplies and even help them escape for their lives if necessary.) Still I saw them [the heathen] perishing, still heard their wailing cry on the islands behind me. I saw them groaning under blinding superstitions, and imbruing their hands in each other’s blood, and I felt as if crushed by the awful responsibility of my work and by the thought of all that hung upon its success or failure. p. 308 – “My heart bleeds for the Heathen, and I long to see a Teacher for every tribe and a Missionary for every island of the New Hebrides. The hope still burns that I may witness it; and then I could gladly rest.” p. 412 - Life, any life, would be well spent, under any conceivable conditions, in bringing one human soul to know and love and serve God and His son, and thereby securing for yourself at least one temple where your name and memory would be held for ever and for ever in affectionate praise,--a regenerated Heart in Heaven. That fame will prove immortal, when all the poems and monuments and pyramids of Earth have gone into dust. pp. 435-436 – (While doing a speaking tour in England, Paton was invited to Charles Spurgeon’s home for a garden-party and was saluted by him [Spurgeon] as “King of the Cannibals.” But of all his London contacts, Paton cherished most the memory of being with Ion Keith-Falconer, a fellow soul winner who was later martyred in missions.) “…I felt that never before had I visibly marked the fire of God, the holy passion to seek and to save the lost, burning more steadily or brightly on the altar of any human heart.” p. 440 – “I have embraced them [opportunities] with a single desire thereby to promote the Church’s interest in that cause to which my whole life and all my opportunities are consecrated—the conversion of the heathen World.” p. 443 – “…I have often been taunted with being ‘a man of one idea.’” “My life has been dominated by one sacred purpose….” p. 444 – “…this is the noblest service in which any human being can spend or be spent….” “…if God gave me back my life to be lived over again, I would without one quiver of hesitation lay it on the altar to Christ, that He might use it as before in similar ministries of love, especially amongst those who have never yet heard the Name of Jesus.” p. 473 – “I did passionately desire to tell every human being the story of the Gospel on the New Hebrides, that other and still other souls might be won thereby for Jesus my Lord.” p. 496 – “Oh that I had my life to begin again! I would consecrate it anew to Jesus in seeking the conversion of the remaining Cannibals on the New Hebrides.” Joy of the Harvest John Paton labored on the island of Tanna from November 1858, until early 1862. There he buried his first wife and newborn son. He was in constant danger for his life and was forced to leave. Then, he spent time in Australia and Scotland promoting missions to the New Hebrides. In November 1866, he and his new wife began work on the island of Aniwa. There he saw wonderful success. After 3 years of toil, October 24, 1869, he held the first baptism and communion service on the island; there were twelve converts. He describes the exquisite joy he felt: …the Church of Christ on Aniwa was formally constituted. I addressed them…administered the Lord’s Supper, --the first time since the Island of Aniwa was heaved out of its coral depths!...For 3 years we had toiled and prayed and taught for this. At the moment when I put the bread and wine into those dark hands, once stained with the blood of Cannibalism, but now stretched out to receive and partake the emblems and seals of the Redeemer’s love, I had a foretaste of the joy of Glory that well-nigh broke my heart to pieces. I shall never taste a deeper bliss, till I gaze on the glorified face of Jesus Himself. …My heart was so full of joy that I could do little else but weep. p. 376 On another occasion, Paton’s ears were rewarded with hearing the heart-felt prayer of a convert and shared God’s joy at what he was hearing: The old Chief led them in prayer-- a strange, dark, groping prayer, with streaks of Heathenism colouring every thought and sentence; but still a heart-breaking prayer, as the cry of a soul once Cannibal, but now being thrilled through and through with the first conscious pulsations of the Christ-Spirit throbbing into the words—“Father, Father; our Father.” When these poor creatures began to wear a bit of calico or a kilt, it was an outward sign of a change, though yet far from civilization. And when they began to look up and pray to One whom they called “Father, our Father,” though they might be far, very far, from the type of Christian that dubs itself “respectable,” my heart broke over them in tears of joy; and nothing will ever persuade me that there was not a Divine Heart in the Heavens rejoicing too. p. 325 DEATH OF THE FIRST CONVERT Paul knew his first convert in one region. Romans 16:5 “…Salute my well-beloved Epaenetus, who is the firstfruits of Achaia unto Christ.” (KJV) Paton’s first convert was Namakei; the touching account of his death is recorded below. pp. 391-393 “The death of Namakei had in it many streaks of Christian romance. [Old chief’s last desire was to attend the annual meeting of the missionaries on another island.] …When he heard of the prosperity of the Lord’s work, and how island after island was learning to sing the praises of Jesus, his heart glowed, and he said, ‘Missi, I am lifting up my head like a tree. I am growing tall with joy!’ [“Missi” was what natives called missionaries.] “On the 4th or 5th day, however, he sent for me out of the Synod, and when I came to him, he said, eagerly, ‘Missi, I am near to die! I have asked you to come and say farewell. Tell my daughter, my brother, and my people to go on pleasing Jesus, and I will meet them again in the fair World.’ “I tried to encourage him…but he faintly whispered, ‘O, Missi, death is already touching me! I feel my feet going away from under me. Help me to lie down under the shade of that banyan tree.’ “So saying, he seized my arm, we staggered near to the tree, and he lay down under its cool shade. He whispered again, ‘I am going! O Missi, let me hear your words rising up in prayer, and then my Soul will be strong to go.’ “Amidst many choking sobs, I tried to pray. At last he took my hand, pressed it to his heart, and said in a stronger and clearer tone, ‘O my Missi, my dear Missi, I go before you, but I will meet you again in the Home of Jesus. Farewell!’ That was the last effort of dissolving strength; he immediately became unconscious and fell asleep. My heart felt like to break over him. He was my first Aniwan Convert—the first who ever on that island of love and tears opened his heart to Jesus; and as he lay there on the leaves and grass, my soul soared upward after his, and all the harps of God seemed to thrill with song as Jesus presented to the Father this trophy of redeeming love. He had been our true and devoted friend and fellow-helper in the Gospel; and next morning all the members of our Synod followed his remains to the grave. There we stood, the White missionaries of the cross from far distant lands, mingling our tears with Christian natives of Aneityum, and letting them fall over one who only a few years before was a blood-stained cannibal, and whom now we mourned as a brother, a saint, an Apostle amongst his people. Ye ask an explanation? The Christ entered into his heart, and Namakei became a new creature. “Behold, I make all things new.” In his autobiography, John Paton raises the question, “…is it not better to have one good idea and to live for that and succeed in it, than to scatter one’s life away on many things and leave a mark on none?” (p. 443) His devoted life answers a resounding “yes” to that question. He had one glorious ambition that he pursued in the face of death, loss, danger, discomfort, and ultimately accomplishment. We would do well to lift up our own prayer for one pure and holy passion. 1John G. Paton – Missionary to the New Hebrides, An Autobiography edited by his brother James Paton 1889, 1994, 2002 The Banner of Truth Trust, p. 51. RESOURCES: (1) For children, see Child Evangelism Fellowship Press for a picture missionary book and CD of Power Point on Paton’s life. http://cefpress.com/search.php?mode=search&page=1 (2) Various YouTube videos. Search “John Paton.” (3) John Piper’s audio summary of Paton’s book and life at http://www.desiringgod.org/biographies/you-will-be-eaten-by-cannibals-lessons-from-the-life-of-john-g-paton John Piper chooses a different book each year to highlight at his annual teaching conference. This year he chose Paton's book, and states that it is well worth the purchase for the account of Paton's dad alone. That dad was a prince of a man who yielded his children for God's purposes without selfish clinging to them. (4) Vanautu today – See Youtube video of native reconciliation with [martyr] John Williams’ descendants. Vanautu Christians today ask for Williams’ family to forgive them for killing their great-grandfather. Wikipedia says that about one third of the population today is Presbyterian, Paton’s denomination. (See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vanuatu#Religion.) NUGGETS FROM NUMBERS There are many lessons for us in this book of Moses. (NIV version used throughout unless otherwise stated) The book of Leviticus had to be written first to give the Levites their marching orders before they walked them out in the book of Numbers. (Photo of tabernacle at night with its pillar of fire, built in book of Exodus; covering dyed red, Ex. 26:14) 1. God knows our names. In the first chapter, vv. 4-5, God tells Moses the names of 12 men to help him. Of all the thousands of people under Moses’ command, God gave him 12 specific names. 2. God knows if we have leadership ability. (Numbers 1:16-17) The above 12 men were “the leaders of their ancestral tribes. They were the heads of the clans of Israel. v. 17 Moses and Aaron took these men whose names had been given….” 3. Ministry is both a responsibility and a gift from God. Responsibility – Numbers 18:1ff [to Aaron, brother of Moses] …You, your sons…are to bear the responsibility…v.3…be responsible…v.5 You are to be responsible. (Additional notes below on “being responsible.”) Gift – v.7 …I am giving you the service of the priesthood as a gift… 4. We should give our BEST to God. Numbers 18:29 “You must present as the LORD’s portion the best and holiest part of everything given to you.” As a teenager, I often sang the hymn from our church hymnal, “Our Best” by S. C. Kirk.1 Its words taught me well. They are worth citing here: Hear ye the Master’s call, “Give Me thy best!” For, be it great or small, That is His test. Do then the best you can, Not for reward, Not for the praise of man, But for the Lord. CHORUS Every work for Jesus will be blest, But He asks from everyone His best. Our talents may be few, These may be small, But unto Him is due Our best, our all. The editors of our hymnal were willing to include another hymn with the same theme. It was “Give of Your Best to the Master” by H. B. G., music by Mrs. Charles Barnard. Give of your best to the Master; Naught else is worthy His love; He gave Himself for your ransom, Gave up His glory above: Laid down His life without murmur, You from sin’s ruin to save; Give Him your heart’s adoration, Give Him the best that you have. Give of your best to the Master; Give of the strength of your youth; Clad in salvation’s full armor, Join the battle for truth. 5. We may pray for a successor when our season of service in a particular area is over. Moses knew his time of leadership was coming to an end soon. He prayed for a successor. Numbers 27:15-16 “Moses said to the LORD, ‘May the LORD, the God of the spirits of all mankind, appoint a man over this community to go out and come in before them, one who will lead them out and bring them in, so the LORD’s people will not be like sheep without a shepherd.’ ” 6. Without God’s protection, a nation is vulnerable. Joshua knew this principle. Numbers 14:9b “…Their protection is removed from them and the LORD is with us….” 7. The decisions of one generation will affect its posterity. This is taught throughout the book of Numbers. 8. God will triumph in the end. Numbers 14:21 “AS TRULY AS (1) I LIVE [just as truly], (2) all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the LORD. ESV (Emphasis mine) Additional thoughts on “Being Responsible” – subtopic from lesson #3 above: The mantle of responsibility that rested upon the Levites never lifted. They were living sacrifices, accepted as the “first-born” offering. In I Chronicles 9, words depicting this mantle of responsibility are throughout the chapter. (Emphasis mine) I Chronicles 9: 9 - were heads of families (Being “head” of anything carries responsibilities.) 17 – The gatekeepers… (“Keeping” anything, like gates, etc., implies oversight, responsibility.) 18 - …being stationed at…. 19 – just as their fathers had been responsible for guarding the entrance to the dwelling of the LORD. 20 – Eleazar was in charge of the gatekeepers, and the LORD was with him. 22 - …The gatekeepers had been assigned to their positions of trust by David and Samuel the seer. 23 - …were in charge of guarding… 25 - …Their brothers…had to…share their duties… 26 - …were entrusted with the responsibility… 27 - …stationed…, they had to guard it; and they had charge of the key for opening it each morning. [An aside: Duty can be daily, routine, repetitive, but still a God-ordained assignment. Zechariah in the New Testament was doing a routine duty when Gabriel visited him with news of John the Baptist’s coming birth.] 29 – Others were assigned to take care of… 31 - …was entrusted with the responsibility for baking the offering bread. [Someone had to do it.] 33 - …musicians…stayed…were exempt from other duties because they were responsible for the work day and night. Levitical responsibility is a theme in many other places in the Old Testament.
“The firstborn of both man and beast was considered as belonging to God…. Later the Levites were substituted for the Israelites’ firstborn, Num. 3:12, 41, 46; 8:13-19.” We are now the church of the first-born. (Hebrews 12:23) When we are born again into God’s family, we inherit certain responsibilities as well. We are God’s, not our own. (I Cor. 6:19-20) God and the populace in general expected more of the Levites. Notice how they stood out from the crowd in Nehemiah 9:38; 10:8, 9, 28, 34, 37-39 and chapter 12. King Abijah scolded a backslidden king for driving away Levites (II Chronicles 13). We, too, are held to a higher standard and should feel some weight of our charge. President George W. Bush felt a God-given charge to public leadership and wrote his autobiography about it. He borrowed his title (A Charge to Keep) from Charles Wesley’s thoughts in his famous hymn, “A Charge Have I to Keep.” Like President Bush, we need to find our place to serve and give it our best. 1The Broadman Hymnal, Ed. by B. B. McKinney, Broadman Press, Nashville, TN 1940, p. 343, p. 366. 2Cruden, Alexander. Cruden’s Complete Concordance of the Old and New Testaments. New York: Holt, Rinehard and Winston, 1949. THE LEVITES Economists say “As goes Ford, so goes the nation. And just as Ford Motor Company is an indicator of America’s economic strength, so the Levites were an indicator of biblical Israel’s spiritual strength. Taking a “helicopter” tour over the decades and centuries of Israel’s development, let’s spot check this group (the Levites) which was singled out by God to be His. Our focus will not be on the bloody, sacrificial duties or the praise part of their service but on the teaching aspect of the Levites’ ministry. Levitical teaching was God’s design, and a lack of it brought His rebuke in Malachi 2:4ff. …that my covenant with Levi may hold, says the LORD of hosts. My covenant with him was a covenant of life and wellbeing, which I gave him; this called for reverence, and he revered me and stood in awe of my name. True instruction was in his mouth, and no wrong was found on his lips. He walked with me in integrity and uprightness, and he turned many from iniquity. For the lips of a priest should guard knowledge, and people should seek instruction from his mouth, for he is the messenger of the LORD of hosts. But you have turned aside from the way, you have caused many to stumble by your instruction; you have corrupted the covenant of Levi, says the LORD of hosts, and so I make you despised and abased before all the people, inasmuch as you have not kept my ways but have shown partiality in your instruction. (NRSV) CHRONOLOGICAL REVIEW OF UPS AND DOWNS OF LEVITES (Scriptural quotes in NKJV unless otherwise stated.) UNDER MOSES AND JOSHUA: Levites chosen and duties spelled out. Things went smoothly till Joshua’s generation expired. Joshua 24:31 Every seven years, Levites were told to host a large, family Bible conference. Deuteronomy 21:9-13 UNDER JUDGES: A Levite over a house of idols! Judges 17:12-13; perhaps Moses’ grandson was an idolatrous priest. UNDER REHOBOAM: Levites leave idolatrous Israel and migrate to Judah as spiritual refugees. II Chronicles 11:13-14 And from all their territories the priests and the Levites who were in all Israel took their stand with him [Rehoboam]. For the Levites left their commonlands and their possessions and came to Judah and Jerusalem for Jeroboam and his sons had rejected them from serving as priests to the LORD. UNDER ABIJAH: II Chronicles 13:8ff – v. 9 Have you not cast out…the Levites? v. 10 – But as for us…the LORD is our God…and the Levites attend to their duties. UNDER ASA: II Chronicles 15:3 - For a long time Israel has been without the true God, without a teaching priest, and without law. UNDER Jehosphaphat: Levitical teaching brings peace. II Chronicles 17:7-10 – Also in the third year of his reign he sent his leaders…and with them he sent Levites…so they taught in Judah, and had the Book of the Law of the LORD with them; and they went throughout all the cities of Judah and taught the people. And the fear of the LORD fell on all the kingdoms of the lands that were around Judah, so that they did not make war against Jehoshaphat. UNDER ATHALIAH: Levites help overthrow Athaliah, the tyrant and usurper of the throne. II Chronicle 23:1-21 UNDER JOASH: Levites commanded to oversee temple repairs. Result: Worship restored (v. 14). II Chronicles 24:4-14 UNDER HEZEKIAH: Teaching, praise, scriptural support, sacrifice, and national security restored. II Chronicles 30 and 31 II Chronicles 30:22a – And Hezekiah gave encouragement to all the Levites who taught the good knowledge of the LORD. v. 30: 26 – So there was great joy in Jerusalem. v. 30:27 – The priests, the Levites, arose and blessed the people, and their voice was heard; and their prayer came up to His holy dwelling place, to heaven. 31:4 - …he [Hezekiah] commanded the people…to contribute support for the priests and the Levites, that they might devote themselves to the Law of the LORD. UNDER JOSIAH: Temple repaired; Passover and teaching restored. II Chronicles 34 and 35 35:3-5, 10 – Then he said to the Levites who taught all Israel, who were holy to the LORD: Put the holy ark in the house which Solomon…built….Now serve the LORD your God and His people Israel. v. 4 Prepare yourselves…v. 5 And stand in the holy place…v. 10…the priests stood in their places and the Levites in their divisions. UNDER EZRA, NEHEMIAH, AND MALACHI: (Post-Exilic Period) Ezra 3:8-13 – Levites helped oversee the rebuilding of God’s temple. Ezra 6:15-22 – Levites helped celebrate the dedication of the newly rebuilt temple. Ezra 8:17-20 – Levites provided with helpers. Ezra 8:30 – Levites helped guard temple treasures. Nehemiah – Levites helped to comfort the people and to make the Law clear to them. Nehemiah 8:7ff - …and the Levites helped the people to understand the Law; and the people stood in their place. So they read distinctly from the book, in the Law of God; and they gave the sense, and helped them to understand the reading. v. 11 So the Levites quieted all the people, saying, “Be still, for the day is holy; do not be grieved.” Nehemiah 10:10-13 – The once neglected Levites once again provided for. Nehemiah 10:28-39 – Levites covenanted not to neglect God’s Law or God’s house. Malachi 2 – Levites rebuked. (See p. 1) INTER-TESTAMENTAL PERIOD: ? ? ? NEW TESTAMENT PERIOD: Calloused Levite in Good Samaritan story. Miscellaneous teaching scriptures found in Acts 15:35; 18:11; 19:9-10; I Timothy 4:13. Barnabas was a Levite (Acts 4:36). Ephesians 4:7-11 – But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift…. He gave gifts to men…He Himself gave some to be…teachers. If Jesus has given you the gift of teaching, it is no small gift. Speak as the oracle of God. I Peter 4:11 Just remember that teachers are held to a strict standard. James 3:1 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON LEVITES:
Vicarious Repentance and National Sins The other day I read Nehemiah Chapter Nine and today read Daniel Chapter Nine. It is no coincidence that both chapters are known for their “vicarious repentance.” Although Daniel had no terrible sin to confess, he said “we have sinned” in verse 11. In Daniel 9:13-14 he uses “us” and “we.” The Jews (Daniel and Nehemiah’s nation) had once tolerated sins such as idolatry in their land, human sacrifice of babies, temple prostitutes, and lax observance of God’s law. Spectators could have observed parents who placed their infants into the red-hot arms of a pagan idol and watched their own children burned alive. No man-made law kept them from this practice. This grievous sin went on publicly. Today in our culture, what is going on publicly? Well, there are abortions with public lines of young ladies waiting for the procedure, hotel rendezvous for adulterers, ill-clad beach attenders, “shacked up” neighbors shamelessly living together and creating families, and roommates performing unnatural sex acts—all condoned by the laws of the land. Yet those who are grieved by these things are put down and called names meant to silence, intimidate, or vilify them. Evil is called good and vice versa. In Nehemiah 9, a throng of people confessed their own sins and the wickedness of their fathers (v. 2). Nehemiah stops confessing the evils of the land to praise God (instead) for His contrasting goodness, from verses 5 through 15. But the pivotal statement is verse 16, “but they, our forefathers…,” followed by a record of Israel’s decline. See the “but they” lists in 16, 26, 28, and 29. They
A sadness fills my heart as I see America in this sad scenario: “Even while they were in their kingdom, enjoying your great goodness to them in the spacious and fertile land you gave them, they did not serve you or turn from their evil ways.” (NIV) It took the seventy-year captivity of Israel in Babylon “to break the backbone of idolatry” in Israel. It was never again a problem after the captivity. What will God put an end to through this shut down and economic decline? How we need repentance personally and as a nation! Nehemiah 10 shows a degree of repentance because, as well as the forsaking of idolatrous practices, two things showing their hearts had turned to God were brought in: (1) Sabbath keeping and (2) tithing. Regarding Sabbath keeping, in our day, well-known companies like Chic-Fil-A and Hobby Lobby honor God with a Sabbath rest for their employees through a cessation of commercializing. Their practice carries with it an accompanying promise of blessing from I Samuel 2:30, shown above, that God will honor those who honor Him. Their success is a testimony to God. (I Samuel 2:30 was the same promise that someone gave Eric Liddell when he refused to participate in Sunday sports events in 1924 and later became the hero of the Chariots of Fire movie.) What national sin could be dealt a deathblow through the corona virus of our day? What could END in America because of it? Could abortion vanish forever in our land? Could our outcry change from “open up the economy” to “stop offending God?” And what could BEGIN because of the virus? A revival? May America “connect the dots” to see our flaws plainly. May the church and our pastors see clearly what they need to do. Other plagues in history have mysteriously advanced God’s agenda in supernatural ways that only God could have accomplished. Our prayer today is “do it again, Our Father.” Luke and Bifocals Age catches up with all of us! We see customers in the greeting card section of the store without glasses, who eventually were seen stretching their arms out further and further and struggling to read the small print. We know they must have reached at least forty years of age. It happened in Bible days too, except to Moses, whose eyesight was “undimmed.” (Deuteronomy 34:7) The painting to the left shows the aging Luke trying to complete his gospel with eyes that are not so young anymore. He needed a pair of bifocals, but they were not available at that time. He is utilizing the professional scribes of his day, the young men who could still see better. They are given the title of an “amanuensis.” Wikipedia defines that term like this: noun, “a literary or artistic assistant, in particular one who takes dictation or copies manuscripts.” (Drawing from first book cited below, pp. 76-77) These men originally took their dictation down “on wax tablets that served the same purpose as a modern scratch pad. Only when the writing reached the stage of a finished draft was a pen put to papyrus.”1 Of course, wax was cheaper than papyrus. This realization of the aging process may shed some light on the discussion about Paul’s eye problem mentioned in Galatians 4:12-15. He says that an illness accompanied his eye disorder. Perhaps some of it may be attributed to simply getting older; he needed bifocals too. Whole debates among Christians have ensued from beliefs about Paul’s eyes. Some have identified his condition as his “thorn in the flesh.” (2 Corinthians 12:7-9) For example, healing evangelist, F. F. Bosworth, says that his work was attacked by a fellow clergyman who widely distributed a leaflet with a lengthy description about Paul’s eye disease, just to discredit the work of Bosworth. The antagonist said: Paul was sick. He was the sickest of men. He had one of the worst and most painful of oriental diseases. He had opthalmia—a disease of the eyes… Here is Paul saying just this, “I will glory in my opthalmia. My eyes may be full of repulsive discharges; I may be the object of pity; no matter, I will glory in it. I will rejoice in my sickness.” …The Lord has written His Divine protest against this unspeakable doctrine, this brutal transmutation of the cross of Christ into a center of physical healing.2 Bosworth counters in Chapter Fourteen of Christ the Healer that the “thorn in the flesh” is none other than what Paul declares it, a messenger of Satan to buffet him. The Bible translations of Weymouth and Rotherham refer to this messenger as a “he” or “him.” This messenger was sent to buffet Paul; it was a “satanic personality and not a disease.”3 The word “buffet” denotes repeated offensives, as Jesus was buffeted after his arrest. With this perspective in view, we live in awareness of spiritual conflict and not with a mindset of patiently enduring sickness. We are so accustomed to getting corrective lenses that we fail to put ourselves into the Biblical narrative with the realism that aging eyes take on the inevitable egg-shape that steals our seeing ability. One day (thank God) these weak, perishable bodies will become like His glorious body and will no longer become failing in sight. (Philippians 3:21) 1After Jesus, The Triumph of Christianity. Edited by Gayla Visalli. Pleasantville, New York: The Reader’s Digest Association, Inc., 1992, p. 82. 2Bosworth, F. F. Christ the Healer. Old Tappan, New Jersey: Fleming H. Revell Company, 1973, pp. 191-192. 3Ibid, p. 194. |
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOo0fvOxiy0Dottie Gravely, Alabama and Beyond
Dottie holds a BA in Spanish and a Master’s in Foreign Language Education from the University of Alabama. She has taught English and/or Spanish in Alabama and North Carolina public schools. She and Allan, her husband of over 40 years, reside in Alabama. They have four grown children and four grandsons. Dottie became a Christian at age 15. Four years later she received the empowerment of the Holy Spirit for which she had been searching in order to fully dedicate her life to the Lord. Archives
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