How uplifting! How joyous! How reassuring!
Whenever I think of our Congregation at Launceston South, I am constantly and persistently amazed at the many many rich and varied missional paths that so so many our folk pursue through the worldly forest in which we live. And do so with so much faith, so much hope, so much intense labour, so much endurance, so much power, and so much conviction as they carry out the work of God.
And I wondered, and continue to wonder, did God actually choose each of us for our task(s) as our text today suggests? For me certainly, the gospel did come (eventually) by power, assurance, and the Holy Spirit. But later, much later in life…
So was I chosen at that point? Or prior to that? Or at all? Or did I do the choosing?
When I think back to the few near-death experiences I have had, one stands out, like a lighthouse on a foggy headland… I had been to Launceston, (I lived in Hobart at the time) to listen to a favourite Minister one Sunday. On the way back I crested a rise and there was a vehicle coming at me, in my lane… Very fast and very close…
Sometime later, I opened my eyes and found I was stopped on the gravel on the side of the road. Safe and sound – the four of us… When I rang the Minister, he said, ‘It is not your time Harvey – the Lord has got work for you still to do.’ That was a very long time ago…
So maybe, just maybe I had been chosen. But maybe I didn’t get the message, earlier. Maybe I’ve just started listening for that message more in recent years. Maybe, just maybe when the pupil is ready, the teacher appears… Praise be to God!