“Twice Mine”

Tom had just finished making his own toy boat.  He brought the boat to the edge of a river and started to let out the string tied to it.  He was admiring how smoothly his boat cut through the water when a strong current took hold.  Tom tried to pull his toy back to shore but the current was too strong and the string snapped.  He spirited along the bank to catch it, but soon his boat drifted out of sight.  He desperately searched for the boat until darkness set in.  Unsuccessful, he finally gave up the hunt.

Several days later Tom was walking home from school and passed by a toy store.  A certain boat caught his eye.  He pressed his face against the store window to get a better look and sure enough, it was his lost boat.  He ran inside and told the manager, “Sir, that's my boat in your window.  I made it myself.”  The manager replied, “Sorry, son, but someone else brought it in this morning.  If you want it, you'll have to buy it.”  Tom hurried home and counted all of his money; he had just enough.  He rushed back to the store and purchased his beloved boat.  As he walked home he held the toy tightly to his chest and said, “Now you're twice mine.  First, I made you and now I bought you” (Good News Publishers, “The Boy Who Lost His Boat”).

This touching story perfectly illustrates God’s relationship with us.  He created everyone and everything.  He designed, crafted, and breathed life into each one of us.  Sadly, people still drifted away from God by the sweeping currents of sin.  In order to bring us back, God decided to pay a substantial price; He gave His own Son to die (John 3:16).  With this sacrifice God now owns us twice.  He made us and he bought us.

There should be no doubt in our minds that God loves us and wants us to be with Him (John 3:16; 2 Peter 3:9).  Look at the enormous lengths God has gone to get back something that was already His to begin with!  1 Corinthians 6:19 says, “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?  For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.”

Our Lord is beyond deserving of our love, worship, and above all else, obedience.  Let’s remember that we belong to God and serve Him in all we say and do.

The Hand of God in Unfolding History

Neal Pollard

Dave Chamberlin gave me a copy of the latest Civil War Times.  On page 14, there is a story about two of my great-great-great grandfathers and a picture of one of them, Stephen Pollard.  Apparently, the photo of great-grandpa has been "widely publicized" and went unattributed for some time.  It was found in the Liljenquist collection of Civil War portraits in the Library of Congress.  This grandfather survived the war and farmed in Haralson County, Georgia, until his death in 1899 (Petranek, Ed., Vol. 51, No. 6, 12/12, p. 14).

It's the story of the other grandfather mentioned in the article, John Rigby, of the 35th Georgia Infantry, that is so fascinating.  The authors, Linda Wheeler and Sarah Richardson, did not know this story.  My cousin, Paul Pollard, told me about grandpa Rigby.  While fighting in the battle of Gaines Mills in 1862, grandpa Rigby was wounded seriously enough to be discharged.  He walked from Mechanicsville, Virginia, back home to Haralson County, Georgia.  While he was recovering at home, he and grandmother conceived their first child. About two years later, he was well enough to rejoin the 35th as they fought in the Wilderness Campaign of 1864. Though he received only a flesh wound, grandpa was captured by Union Forces and imprisoned in the infamous Elmira Prison Camp in upstate New York.  He died shortly after the signing of the Appamattox Treaty in the Spring of 1865.  But, if grandpa Rigby had not been wounded in Mechanicsville (where I preached almost 12 years!), I would not be here! What seeming providence, as God's hand preserved a lineage that has produced several preachers and may well produce several more!

One of the most faith-building exercises is to study the eternal scheme of redemption in Scripture.  God worked out His salvation plan historically, through time and events, to bring the Christ into the world (cf. Gal. 4:4).  There were times, such as Noah's day, awaiting the birth of Isaac, the period of the judges, the divided kingdom, the Babylonian Captivity, and many other events or eras where that plan seemed imperiled.  Yet, more than merely a story of providence, God's eternal plan involves the sovereignty and intentional grace of God.  Peter said Jesus was crucified as part of "the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God" (Acts 2:23).  God announced it beforehand (Acts 3:18).  It was foreknown by God from before the foundation of the world (1 Pet. 1:20).  To see the people and events used by God to bring us Christ should excite us.  Be reminded that this same God is at work today, providentially bringing about His purpose through willing people like you and me.  Be a part of God's unfolding history simply by being at work to accomplish His purpose!