Andy Menger, August 19th

Many religions in Asia do not see time as linear. Rather, time is a never-ending repetitive cycle. In the West, time tends to be seen as having various epochs and ages that lead to some climactic ending. The Norsemen saw this as true, but it all eventually ended in a massive upheaval of utter destruction and loss. No wonder they drank so much mead!

It would take the Hebrews/Jews and the Christians to evolve quite a different take on time. Unlike Hinduism, where the universe is eternal and time never ends, the Judeo-Christian view became one in which God is not only at the center of time, but also operates within and without history and human ages. Essentially, it is a perspective in which the eternal timelessness of God stoops to engage the finite and human. Because of that Godly engagement, humans are lifted from the hopelessness of “time” and into another dimension of ongoing grace, love, and majesty.

The Bible does call upon us to acknowledge that time here on this earthly realm is finite and we, as the hymn “O, God Our Help in Ages Past” proclaims, must be aware that all the sons and daughters of time are borne away! We are not to be carried off to nothingness and despair, but by faith in the grace given through our Lord, Jesus Christ, into a realm beyond our knowing. I remember the class poet of my 1969 graduating class of North Augusta High School writing these words, “We came to leave, we leave to become.” How true.

Good Shepherd is an ark for those children of God and those who desire to be His children, of helping persons to negotiate the winding and often confusing flow of time. Through our Children’s and Youth Ministries and Adult Formation, we seek to help parents, who are quite aware of the speed of time, and that children develop rapidly, of the necessity of timely action. The infancy years fly by. Children do not remain children long. Thus, faith and the knowledge of Jesus begins in the home. Parents are the first teachers of Christian values and living. 

Teenagers must be guided through a hormone driven frenzy as they move from childhood to adulthood. Adults should be aware of the essentials of the Christian living and the need to mine the Scriptures and perfect their faith every day. It is a necessity that we are aware of what and who we are becoming in Christ. 

The weekly gathering of believers on Sunday, is a definitive path in showing our worship and adoration of the God who saves us, and a way in which we can grow in a rational manner as Christians. When all is said and done, it really is all about Jesus. Dear friends, we bring nothing to the table, and we are one and all dependent upon the mercy offered to us in the name of Jesus. How sure are you of that fact? Are you Biblically astute enough to know why Christians believe Jesus is an effective antidote to our arrogance and sinful natures? Ours is an old and yet continually renewed story of God’s activity in human history. Come be a part of that in the now at Good Shepherd and join with the saints and angels in proclaiming God’s glory!

See you in church on Sunday,