This Is the Way... Till We Meet in That Better Kingdom
by Robin Webber
It's been five years and 50 columns since I first started writing "This
Is the Way." I selected the title for this column from a fondness for
a verse I had often heard in church services as a young boy. Its use by the
speaker was always offered in a positive and stirring sense about how those
in the wonderful world tomorrow under Jesus Christ would have responsible
teachers guiding them towards proper living.
Breaking into the thought, Isaiah 30:20-21 affirms: "But your eyes shall
see your teachers. Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, 'This
is the way, walk in it.'" In a sense, it is a prophecy and a promise
to give all of us hope.
"I would plant a tree today"
As I became a man, I came to recognize that while I longed with all my heart
for the Kingdom of God to come to this earth, I had to also live fully for
today, as well as yearn and prepare for a better tomorrow under Christ. As
one person once said, "If I knew the Kingdom of God was coming tomorrow,
I would still plant a tree today." There is always that incredible positive
tension that pulls between the present and the future in the heart of a Christian.
While God uses the Holy Spirit to guide His children into wise decisions
and offers marvelous examples in the Scriptures, I also firmly believe that
God would ask for us to take note of those around us in everyday life or in
human history who have "made a difference." While they may not be
believers, some part of their lives can serve to illustrate what Christians
need to be doing.
For five years now you and I have been on quite a journey in this column
as we have spent time with kings, mountain climbers, jungle explorers, doctors
in trauma wards, dynamic crusaders for global causes and people who were gifted
in word and tongue to be able to capture the essence of the moment and grant
people a hope beyond their present despair.
