"Forever's Journey"

    More than six decades after trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ, and after more than a half century of ministry, Dr. J. Vernon McGee made one of the wisest statements I've ever heard uttered by human lips:

    "I feel like I know less about Him today, at the end of my ministry, than I knew about Him when I first started."

     These words thrill me on a number of levels.  They speak of greatness, of humility, and of brilliant light received in the enigma of blinding illumination.

     First, "His greatness is unsearchable" (Psalm 145:3).  A true knowledge of God discovers an eternal Infinity that allows little more than the mere touching of the hem of His garment in our understanding of Him.  The more we know, the more we realize we don't know.  This doesn't preclude personal and intellectual comprehension, of course.  "With all thy getting, get understanding" counseled Solomon of the quest to know God and His truth (Proverbs 4:7).  We can and must begin the quest, and we can and must venture ever further into the light of Christ.  "Grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ" (II Peter 3:18).  It remains true, however, that the more we "increase in the knowledge of God,", as commanded by the Apostle Paul, the more we realize the writer Faber's poetic wisdom...

     "Shoreless Ocean, who can sound Thee?  Thine own eternity is round Thee, Majesty Divine!"

     I also find particularly winsome the humility expressed by Dr. McGee.  At the time of his statement, he was one of the most well known preachers in the world.  His "Thru the Bible" radio program remains on the air nearly 25 years after his heavenly homegoing, and during his lifetime, he preached to literally millions of people.  The frank admission of how little he knew after so many years of life, study, and ministry says much, not about Dr. McGee, but about the Lord who worked in his heart to keep His servant in the proper place of recognizing the greatness of the Divine, and the limitation of the human.  "O Lord, I know that the way of man is not in himself" (Jeremiah 10:23).

    Finally, Dr. McGee beautifully expresses the truth discovered by all who glimpse the light of God, namely, that it blinds even as it illuminates.  Again, the more we know, the more we realize how very little we know.  If we could indeed find that person who presently best knows the Lord, and if we could inquire, "Please, what would you tell us about Him?!", their answer might be, "I am blind!"  Think about that for awhile, and realize the brilliance of Light that would shine forth from the frank admission.  It's not that we cannot know our Lord, nor that we cannot fathom His truth.  It's just that the Vision at hand causes us to realize the unreachable Horizon that forevermore beckons us.

"Forever's Journey

There is no end to the quest we know, 
forever beckons on.
For our spirits soar in skies so blue,
above all clouds of storm.

Yes, we fly into the heart of God
as in His Son we trust.
And earth will soon be nothing more
than long forgotten dust.

So spread your wings and catch the wind,
o journeyman of hope,
and race toward horizons blessed
with those who also know

That the quest of hearts is Jesus,
He is our shining sun.
It matters not how far we've come,
the journey's just begun.

"Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen."
(I Timothy 1:17)