An article in a health magazine caught my attention recently, not so much for its content as for its title, The Eighty-Year Journey. It had a special relevance to me as I was approaching, all too rapidly, my eightieth birthday. The subject of the article was the common lifespan of today, when more people live to the age of 80 than has been the case in past years. A lot of things, mental and physical, happen to us as we travel this span of life. And certainly a lot of things happen in our world during this period of time, many things that affect us profoundly.
My first impression, approaching this age, was one of disbelief: how could 80 years have gone by so fast! As long as health is relatively good, we don’t really notice the changes taking place in our lives and in ourselves. We are jarred sometimes to realize how many family members and acquaintances, how many beloved brothers and sisters in the ecclesia, are no longer with us. Maybe one good thing that happens after this length of time is that the return of our Savior begins to seem closer and more real.
Looking back over an 80-year period, we realize that much has occurred in the world that has served to strengthen our faith, although there have sometimes been disappointments. But many things have transpired on the world scene to verify our hope in the promises of God and their coming fulfillment.
I was born between the world wars. I remember uncles and other acquaintances telling of their experiences in France in 1918, only ten years before I was born, although ten years to a child seemed much longer than it does now. I was told there was a depression during that time, although I had little knowledge of what that meant. My Dad was gainfully employed; only later did I learn that, for many people, times had been really bad. I would come to learn also of the effect those conditions were having on other parts of the world, and how our placid world would be changed as a result.
Sometime in my preschool years, our family life changed dramatically. My Dad had been raised by Christadelphian parents, whereas my mother had joined the Baptist Church as a young woman. Neither was particularly interested in religion until my grandfather’s death seemed to awaken something in my father. He took his Dad’s books home and began to study the Bible with some diligence. He also contacted the Christadelphians in Houston.
As a result of study and personal discussions, my parents and other family members came to be baptized. Thus I grew up in an ecclesial environment. By the time I started to school, Sunday school and Bible readings were important parts of my life. That, I believe, has been the biggest blessing of my life; it would certainly shape my outlook on everything that would happen in my world.
As it turned out, my Dad would not have the luxury of an 80-year journey. He had been physically strong, but there was a problem with his heart. When he became aware of this, he realized his life would not be a long one. As a result he felt urgency in his service to the Lord, an urgency that he tried to impart to others, especially his family. When I was nine years old, I was listening to my father debating a minister on a public platform. He had so looked forward to the opportunity to proclaim the truth about God’s promises, the nature of man, and the coming Kingdom of God on earth. But at that very moment his life abruptly ended. Needless to say, that would have an effect — not only on me, but on everyone who knew him.
My mother’s family was not Christadelphian. Although we were very close to my grandparents and the family, there was a special bond with the ecclesial family. This led my mother to marry again, to a brother in the faith. So we children were blessed to have this part of our lives continue relatively unchanged.
By the time I reached junior high school, everyone was very aware there was something ominous in our world. The depression years had been in many ways carefree, and people didn’t seem to worry much about world politics. That changed when we started hearing that Europe was again being plunged into war. The radio was our ears to the world, and we began to hear speeches by President Franklin Roosevelt and Prime Minister Winston Churchill of England. And we would hear so often the raging, excited voice of Adolf Hitler. Even as children, we knew our world was changing.
Of course, the brethren talked a lot about the fact that all this was leading us toward the coming of Christ and the Kingdom of God. Christadelphians have always been interested in, and have followed closely, everything relating to the Jews and the land of Palestine. From earliest childhood, we were taught that there would be significant developments relating to the Jewish people. We had always been told to watch for the sign of the Jews returning to the Land of Promise before the coming of God’s Kingdom.
Of course, Christadelphians talked a lot about world events and their relation to prophecy. I was always impressed by the fact that, in our magazines and other literature, Christadelphians had always spoken of such signs as fulfilling Bible prophecy — not just when these things began to happen, but in earlier years as well.
When World War II came to an end, and we first learned of the terrible extent of the Holocaust, we were profoundly affected. How thrilled we were to see how the spirit of return to the Land came upon the children of Israel. It seemed that every surviving Jew in Europe was making his or her way back to Palestine. Then in 1947 and 1948 our country supported, and the United Nations approved, an independent State of Israel.
The birth of Israel was, in world affairs, the most thrilling and significant event of my lifetime; I felt privileged to have seen it. Of course, everything did not go as we had hoped; again and again, the time of our Lord’s return seemed to have been delayed. But we hold to our assurance that Christ is coming, and the Kingdom of God with him.
I sometimes miss the obvious fervor of past generations of Christadelphians, but I also take pleasure in the coming of new generations in the service of our Lord. I feel that our God has blessed us greatly and I pray, as surely we all do, that our youth will appreciate the Truth and carry on the work of the Lord.
Eighty years seems a very long time when we are starting out, but the years pass by with incredible speed. You younger ones will begin to realize just how fast as you grow older. The greatest lesson to be taken from the idea of the “80-year journey” is that we should make the time count. We should use our allotted time to serve our Lord, to learn from His Word, making it the guide of our lives, to build up the ecclesia in these last days, and to pass on the true gospel to others.
We have been made aware of the work of past generations in bringing the Truth to this part of the world. But that work has not been limited to past generations. It is still going on, and we can and should be a part of it.
There is a lot of evidence around us today to assure us that the Kingdom of God is coming, that indeed it must come.
Every generation of believers, from the time of the apostles until now, has many things in common, the most important of which is the Word of God. Anyone with wisdom can see human history must have a beginning and an end. The Bible explains this to us and, in the process, gives us the only true hope for the future.
In the meantime, the trials and tribulations of every generation of believers have a purpose:
“And some of them of understanding shall fall, to try them, and to purge, and to make them white, even to the time of the end: because it is yet for a time appointed” (Dan 11:35).
Every generation will, one day soon, enjoy the fruits of salvation together, at the “time of the end”.
The Bible is the Word of God, and it alone — and no other “sacred book” — reveals the truth about salvation and the future. The LORD has said,
“I am God, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure” (Isa 46:10).
There shall be a rest with God in “the end”, and we are counseled to “labour to enter into that rest” (Heb 4:11).
God has declared often in His Word that His purpose is to fill the earth with His glory (Num 14:21; Isa 11:9; Hab 2:13,14). There will be a “time of trouble such as never was” (Dan 12:1), but then it will give way to a time of righteousness and peace such as never has been.
One last thing has not changed from generation to generation since apostolic times. We have been commanded to come together to remember and celebrate our Savior’s sacrifice. To celebrate his example of obedience to the Father’s will.
Every generation has gained spiritual strength from this, and all generations have enjoyed fellowship together in our Lord. Each time we meet in this way, we are reminded that, if we follow him, we will sit down with him to eat and drink in his Father’s kingdom.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One