Milestone or Millstone?

Milestone or Millstone?

Stained glass windows, wooden tabletops, baby in a bathtub’s palms: pictures, patterns, and paduasoys. Corduroy pants, corrugated roofs, furrowed foreheads: style, strength and struggle. Ripples on a pond, rings in a tree, wrinkles on a face: whirls, whorls and worry.

‘Why do things come in threes?’ asked the inquisitive young man. ‘Because God is triune, this is His creation, and you, I, and our neighbour are His image,’ replied the wise old man. ‘Then am I triune if God is triune?’ ‘Yes,’ answered the old man, adding, ‘The One who made the earth, the sea, and the sky is the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. And He has made you body, soul, and spirit. Thus you are a soul-spirit with a body.’ While looking at its joints the young man pointed his right digit upward, saying, ‘Well, I see that there may be even three aspects to the one thing.’ ‘Yes, very clever!’ said the old man with a philosophical tone to his voice. ‘Creation, Fall, Redemption. We are here due to God’s creation. But these wrinkles on my face are due to the rebellious Fall of man. However, the joy in my heart is due to His gracious redemption.’

Like an almost deflated balloon, lines began to crease the young man’s brow! And after a pensive pause he said, ‘Does this mean WWIII looms?’ Then, as one would look at a fish in a pond the old man stared into the young man’s soul. Then he answered, ‘WWIII already rages. It is a hidden war. It is below the surface, spiritual. Therefore this war is fought not with the weapons of this world. In WWI trenches were full of bodies; the outer man. In WWII souls were lost at sea; the inner man. And the war that is now being waged is an attack on our spirit, that which animates us. “We wrestle not against flesh and blood.”’

The young spoke again, ‘Didn’t Nietzsche’s madman run around in daylight with a lit lantern announcing that we have killed God?’ ‘Yes,’ the old man replied, ‘If God is dead then we are triply dead. But it is not we who kill God! For, God is a Spirit and is unable to be killed. Rather it is God who kills us – first spiritually, second physically, and third everlastingly in the torments of hellfire! For, “the wages of sin is death.” And, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Only a madman would kill that which saves us from the wrath of God!’

The young man deeply pondered these words and tried to surface from the silence with these words, ‘The Saviour was put to death by men!’ ‘Yes,’ replied the old man, ‘but it says in Scripture, in the Book of Acts, “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a Man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs which God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves know – Him, being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, and crucified, and put to death; whom God raised up, having loosed the pains of death; because it was not possible that He should be held by it.” Therefore God the Son in the Person of Jesus Christ is the great High Priest who offered up Himself for our sins. Thus God slew His only begotten Son to bring us life. Paradox? Yes. God a madman? Definitely not!’ The young man was now quiet.

Gently breaking beneath the surface tension the old man then added, ‘“Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” Those the Father has chosen, the Son has Redeemed. These the Spirit regenerates. The Spirit reveals the Son who reveals the Father.’ In wonderment the young man drew breath and said, ‘Then even salvation is triune!’ “Yes,’ replied the old man, ‘Believe in the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. And repent and believe in His gospel, the message of Christ’s cross.’ The conversation thus being ended the old man pronounced this benediction: ‘“Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”’

Dear reader, many great events have taken place in history. The greatest of all was the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Jay Adams puts it like this, ‘The cross was not merely an act of compassion and mercy directed toward mankind; it was a cosmic event in which God demonstrated who and what He is before all the universe.’ Do you really know who and what God is? We need to be careful what we believe about God, for Jesus says, ‘Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depths of the sea.’ Matthew 18:6. Do you see the cross as a milestone or millstone?