BEACON

Armed with Courage

CALVIN REITSMA

Convention Review

JANE VAN MAANEN

VOLUtLSE XXX OCTOBER 1970 NUMBER 6

Puh l i r l ~c~ l mo>lthli.. rr:cept J u n c an61 A u ji o s t by the I -cs i r r~ t~on o i P ro t r i t : ~ r~ t IZciol-lncd Yotttlg Peril~lc'h So;irtica.

E X E C U T I V E BOARD: 4 t i t t lI,,~\.,.k:.:~ip t'rv<ic1~~11t I).,, c 1 s r l t : ~ i ~ \ ' i w i':r.idr~)t ( . .rb,l l ) > k - t r . ~ 5c. ,rct:tr: Linda Ekcma Assistant Seereta;?

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CONTRIBUTING EDITORS: IZev. IZobcrt IIarhach ................ 'Trt~tt, 5's. Error

.......................... AE.IIII:L 1.ubbcri ..) I ~~II I I , : \..:I, r ~ c l c n 1 1 .: itii;uc. St,, 'I C.I{,.I~.# I

. . . . . . . . . . . Karcrl 1.11lil~ir< Ncw5 Editor I:c,.. C;. 1,ubbrrs. Rev. G. V a r ~ Ilaren

From the P.l\torss Study K , t i .. I< ,I-::.... R xchcl L:!l,i,er-

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ED '0: mL

Armed wrth Cc-rage - C- - P r t rn-

FEAXISE Sunday School In the Proteslc~nt Rcformcd Churches, I I - Mr D Dozr:mo

SI%t.(GERS :N . STK&t.!GE LAND Thcir Origin - C . . 0. '~'.'o..d, r3bcrg

Si-irNGE3S IU A S W N G E LAND The Collbng - Proc. H Hnnko

STRANGERS I N A STPANGE LAND Their Destiny - Rev. D Engrl\rno

NEWS. FROM, FOR, AND ABOUT OUR CHURCHES Korcn Lubbers

ARMED WITH COURAGE A soldier returns from war. Without re-

garcl for his own life he has protected his hucldics from the onslaughts of the enemy; he is ;I Ilcrc~. IIr 11:~s Iwcn arrnctl with courage.

Courage: He has meL danger and has not Hincl~ecl. Courage has l i~adr an ordi~lary nlan a hero.

Yet the courage which turned this or- dinary soldier into a hero is meager in con~parison Lo thr courage whicli every child of Gocl needs to face tlir oi~stacle of each ne\v clap, To bc iir~nccl with courage is to starid preparrcl, al~lc, and willing, through God's grace, agairlst the daily onslaughts of the devil.

For the devil is a s1il)tle I~cnst. more clever than ally creature, savc those under the protecting wing of Jehovah. Thc clevil is clcver and he has allies:

Chief among those allies is tile weakness of our otm flesh. The fact of our salvation, peerless though iL really is, docs not prevent the devil from tenlpting US into wickedness. Tllough we are saved, we are shu~ers saved, and in this life cannot faultlessly function as chilclrcan of God. Thus, while being children of Cod to glory, \i7c are yet chil- dren of Adam, and so the devil has his chief ally.

The weakness of our hulnanity gives rise to thc effectiveness of tllc Devil's other ally, iianldy. tlic sin without us. There can be no cloubt in the ~ r ~ i n d of thc child of Gocl but tl~at. we live iu world rotted to the core, roiling and rejoicing in the filth of its o\v~i iniquity. But the horror of this iniquity lics in its pervasiveness.

It is a part of our homes iincl our lives throrlgh radio i~ntl television. All too easily we are hyp~~otized into imnlol,ility, and as soon as we ;Ire fi~~mobilized into nor,- discrimination, into passively following the crond, the devil has acliievecl a victo~y. For we .Ire different, and ought to be unique. Thus tlrc inva\ion and pcrvcrsion of our hearts and ininds by thc mass ~ueclia ib hot11 defeating and dangerous.

And this still i s not ;ill. The brazen, earthy appral of the world to the weak- ness of the flesh is still there. Less intrusive

perhaps, and probably lcss persrlasive than die subtle perversions of mind and heart. thr physical affections of the \vorld are still appealing to the basr nature of man, and \\'ill become even more SO as the end nears. For we are facing the period of the! li~st desperate persecution of the Churcl~ by the forces of Darkness.

Basically, the devil engages in two types of persecution:

The first of course is t l ~ e traditional con- form-to-sin-or-J-h1~ri1-you-at-the-stnke type of persecution. There \rill never be any lack of this t lpe of course, not as loug as the activc antipathy behveen world and Church continues to exist in th. life.

Nevertheless, the evil one is not stupid, and by this tune has realized that t l ~ e traditional t)pe of persecution tends to strengthen and disseniin;~te the Church rather than destroy it. The best that physiczll clestmction can do is accelerate souls into glory. -&fter all, what Christian would clinose a life of paill over an etcmity of glory?

So theu, what is therc? Perhaps t l ~ c quality of living. To a Christian. physical death is not much of a condemnnatiou, but a condemnation to life can be appallingly merciless. To live perpetually apart, to sce loved ones eroded and destroyed from within, to see the Church of God wither and appear to die as a gourd forgotten on the vine in winter, this is a much more heart-rencling persecution. To be demeaned 'and eroded from within, to have minds and \\ill benumbed by the common mcdiii, to lose jobs and \vcaltli, to losc position and standing, to lose acceptance and love, in short, to stand ~ltterly alone, \r.itliout tllc quality of life; this is heartrending persecu- tion.

Already on t l ~ e horizon can be secn the creeping, all-pervasive l>lack cloud of perse- cution. The cri~ployluent a child of God a n get is steadily shrinking, the need and desirc for aid (for example, parochi- aid) is increasing. To live with only your \rear). soul for conlpany is nearly i~lll~os- sible, yet the saints will persevere.

BEACON LIGHTS

\\'l~crc., thm, in the. ~nitlst of all tllih, is tile Christiirn to get his htrcngth and cour;lge for each tliry?

1%). v i r t ~ ~ c of our Christianity we are iilrciltly ;trmcd with thc "\vhole :lrlllonr of Cotl": Truth, righteou*ness, the gnspcl of ~ ) c i t c ~ . filith, s;tl\,ation, the \vord of Cocl (Eph. 6: llff.). So ;inned, we call stand, \\,c tcill stilnd, with collclge to face each nc\v tlily ;w the Church ~narches to glory.

I h t \ve cannot stand with courage unless \vr arc \vcll ic\vare of \\*hat we are amled with ant1 how to use this armament. in- trinbic part of this a\brareness must be the ahilit y to discrinli~ute - behveen good and evil, of course. and between habit and belief.

I>iscritnin;rtion implies the ability to chnngc \vl~en necess;ln, but to change hal~it, never belief.

Being iirmed with conrage also reclr~ircs a ft~nctionir~g sense of values. The kry \\sorcl hcre is f~unctioning. \Ire nlI b o n ~ \vll:~t is right, ancl ~vlrat o11g11t to be rerluired of us, but few of 11s f~~nction in this a\\rnrcnrss. It is too easy to say: "Oh, \\,ell, just tliis

From the Federation Board l'11c Feclcrntion Uo;~rtl would Like to taka

this oplmrt~u~ity to binccrely thank the Youl~g I'eople's Socirty of Hudsonvile Church for the time and effort which they fttrnishecl in order to make this past con- vention 11 meat success. \Ve realize the responsibility as well as the great privilege it is for one society to sponsor a conve~~tion. - The fn~its of your labors, as well 3s those of Rev. \Voudcnberg, Prof. Ha& and Rev. Engehma, are evidenced by our confession. . . . "It was good for us to have hecn thrre."

\\'e \\.ol~ld also like to thank the retiring 1,oartl nlcml~ers for their dedication throrlkn- out the past h\.o years. \Ve as young people do not irl\v:~ys realize the hard ~vork and tliligencr \vllicl~ it rcq~tirrs to be a me1111)rr of the Federation Board. Therefore, on I,eh;rlf of the young people, \rye \vo~~ld like yo11 to k110\v thilt \ve itppreciilte your effo~ts ;111tl \ve \\-ish yo11 Goth blessing.

Sincerely, T ~ i a FEDERATION BOAHU CAHOI. DYKSTRA, Sec'!~

once \voll't hitrt," or "I !ino\v it'\ \rrrongt that's the important tiling," ~ ~ i c ~ ; ~ ~ ~ \ v I r i l c for- getting that sin is ii cancer, vicio~~sly rating away the flcs11 of purity - i l l this gcnrratiot~ and the nest. \\'e too oftell Corgc~t thc fact that our little slip today coulcl 1 ) c a oltr cllil- tlren's destruction tomorrow. 'l'ht. next gen- eration cvuld be the last - it's up to us \\.ith the hand of our heavenly Fi~thrr ever over 11s to ;lm1 that generation. 1,ct us am1 it with courage.

Finally, to be nrmetl with courilgc implies faith: Faith in the strength Got1 hiis given us, faith in the promises of Got1 -and that they \rill indeed come to p:~ss, nnd faith that the Church will pescverc* until IIr mmes in g lon upon the 11e;rvcnly clouds.

IVhat a pronlisc! To Iaim th;~t overcolnes nyill be given a crown of life in Christ! Then surely the sufferings of this life are not to be compared to the glory which is to come. Let us stand then, in tllc clay of persecution, to the eternity of glory \vlrich is ours:

Armed \\-it11 courage. C. R.

Pat Karnps I\loocly lras serve-tl our yotttlg people ant1 our Lord long ;uncl \\.ell as sttbscription Illanager of our tl~agazinc. EIavir~g left the staff to gct mi~rried, \vc want to thank her sincerely for a job well dnnc and \t~ish her God's fi~llest I~lessings in the future.

Thank you so much. \i7ith Christian greetings,

THE FEUEI~A-1-10s BOARD KAHYS KUIPEH, Sec'g

BEACON LIGHTS

FEATURE

Sunday School in the Protestant Reformed Churches MR. D. DOEZEMA

more likely true, tbough, that s o n ~ c pitrcr~ts This is tire sccord of thmc r~rticles by Mr. \\qo~~ld tend to neglect this all-i~nport;unt ;Ircsic Doezrtrrcr or1 tllc t ~ l ~ i c of S ~ ( I I ~ ~ I ( J Schools. cf instruction, and are, therefore., h;11q>y - that the Sunday School pro\.idrs 1>11tl1 the

Z.

111 tile I;~st isw~r \vc ntte~npted to sho\v tllitt S ~ ~ n t l ; ~ y School teachers, though not ci~llctl I)!. Cod officially through the church institute, do, ~lc.\.c.rtheless, perform an in>- port;~nt \vork in t h ~ ch~trch. Tluo~tgh their instruction the cov i? ;~a~~ t s e ~ d gains familiar- ity \\.it11 t l ~ c . Ilil~le stories, and accluires a c1ecpc.r iz~sigllt into these storirs. I3ut this is only the 1)cginninX.

In tliscussir~r: tl~c. i~npor ta~tcr of Sunday Sc111:ol \ve col~lcl not fail to call attention to thc prograrlt of toclllory work. There's little tlottbt th;~t t l~is coristit~~tcs oltr of the ~nns: importa~rt aspc!cts of S~~r~ t l i t y School. 'The i ~ ~ ~ p o r t ; u ~ c c of c o ~ n ~ ~ t i t t i n g to Inemoq 11s ruuch of Scr i l ) t~~re ;IS nre possihly can, sinlply c i ~ ~ ~ n c ~ t Iw ovc*re~npl~i~sizc:tl. Cotl's \\'trrrl shot~ltl I)<, vrr! closr. to onr Ilciirts. . . I l~r-rc ;II.C, 11~1rly pilssi~g<~s tl1i11 :IT(, SO 1)cauti- t i l l , so f t ~ l l or co~nfort :~ncl i~~st r t~ct ion for Cod's pcoplc, t11:1t to have them fixed in onc's Ilielnory w o ~ ~ l t l 11e 01 ~111rold value to tht. cl~ilcl ol' Cotl. The St~ntl:~y School pipers this year provide ttoo vcrses to be s t~~ t l i ed ci~ch \vrck. One is part of a passage \vhich is to lei~rned in its entireh. The other is (1 vcrsc which illustrates a t n ~ t h b r o ~ ~ g h t out in t l ~ e lrsson story. \Ire feel that I>oth of t l~esr are important. 13y the entl of the season, the stndet~ts \\,ill llavr not only a Bil,le lIclsscrge memorizerl, but also various sc;~tteretl proof-tcats \vhich c.ul- not help but itid them in their later deal- ings \\,it11 Scripture-, whether that be in Societies or in their own individual Bible study. To 111s kno\vledge, catechetical in- struction tlocs not include the memorization of verses on t l ~ c systematized level of the Sunday School. ?'he day schools un- tlouhtctlly providc it, as do, pcrllilps, some 1lo111c.s. B I I ~ cvcn if one were to assume tlti~t cl~iltlrcn ~ilc~norize a great deal of Scripture i r ~ l l ~ e schools, :1nc1 that every singl~. I~omc h;~cl $1 systerr~atic program of ntc~noriz;~tion. it c ; i~~not possibly be argued that ;I l i t t l t . Illorc \vot~ld b c useless. It's

proganl and the incentive.

That bring5 us to \\hat \vc conaidcr the most important service perfomled I)y the Sunday School, namely, that it provides oppcrh~nity for the parents to I>r~sy tl~eln- selves, with their children, in ;I sh~cly of C:>ci'< \Vord ant1 it discl~ssion of tl~ose things \\-hich pertain to God's kingdom. No\\,, I'm nct a p x m t , myself, so I can't spei~k fro111 e;~er;ence. But it seelns to nle that its the chilcken become older and go off to school, it \\-ould become increasingly difficult tn sit do\\n u i th them ant1 sh~ t ly the 15il)lr. 'I'hr temptation would be to limit tllitt "str~tly" to the reading of a ch;tptcr itt t l ~ e supper table. I cannot help but think th,rt I, wc.rcb I a parent, \voulcl be pretty tharrkf~~l t l ~ i ~ t the Sunday School provided somrtlling \vitll and towards which to work. The S ~ ~ ~ r t l i ~ y Scl~ool papers dc;tl \\,it11 the Uil,lc tro111 the! historical-chro~~ologici~l point of vicw. I , i15

a parent, could, therefore, clse tlros~. p:1gcbrs to study the historical ~tarrativi. witlt niy children. J could read the Bible p;~ssi~xe to then], study the lesson s t o q in the. paper with them. ~lle~tlorize the verses with them. and revie\\, both the story and the vcrses.

I t is, of course, the duty of the pitre~~ts to u ~ ~ t r u c t their children in the fear of thr Lord. Concerning the con~mnntln~ents of God, w e rend in Ileut. 8:7, "thot~ s11:tlt teach the111 diligently unto thy children, and shalt tali; of then1 \\,hen thou sittest in t h i ~ ~ e l o ~ ~ s e , and when tho11 \\,alliest by the way, .and when thou liest down, and when thor~ risest up." "To see these chilt lrc~~, wl~cn come to the years of discretion, instructed and brought u p in" the truths of God's \irord is, and sl~oultl be, of prinlitry concern to cnvenant parents. And yet, we 11;1vo our own sinful natures with which to co~~tc~lc l . It's all too easy to I)c so husy wit11 "press- ing" matters, that there's r ~ o ti111e Icft to do that which should come first. I'erl~ags we even feel son~ewhat u~lquitlific:tl iintl would prefer to leave this instruction to

BEACON LIGHTS

the catecl~isn~ and the school. Fact is. though, \r7e ore quali6ecl; ant1 for the clegree to which \Ire are deficient, shame on 11s. iis adults, we should have a knowletlgc of and "feel" for God's l o r d that reflects the years spent in catechism, society and 1111c1rr the preaching of tlle \Vord on the Sabba~h. I dare say that, \vith fe\v esceptions, tl1c~ qrrcrlificatiot~s are there. But the same can not always be said about the will. Ancl that's where Sunday School eo~ild cornc! in. Jmt as we attend the various Societies to provide ourselves opporhlnity to he busy \\,it11 spiritual things, we could nlake use of the Sunday School program to serve not only as a .s+in~rrlrrs for, but also an oid ill o m instruction of our chiltlren.

I hope I've rnadc n~yself clear. It's some- thing that I find to l)c tme in myself. i\nd I figure that others n~nst espericnce somne- what the same thing - I'm not all tliat different. Permit me to illustrate, for the sake of emphasis and clarity. It happens that I make a point of preparing rather tl~orouglily for Slr. and Mrs. Society Bible discussions. So\\-, even though I am well aware of the fact that I profit immensely from this study, I kno\v very well t l~ :~ t , were it not for the fact that Society was ~necling soon, I would have been just too busy to have spent t in~e studying that chapter, or couj chapter, in depth. Society, tllcrcfore, was of great benefit to lrle I ~ c c a ~ ~ s c it forcecl me to do something that I otherwise wonld have sinfully neglected. And I t l d d lhal I \vould e.xperience the same sort of thing ir~ connection wit11 instruction of my chilclren. I wvould find myself busy almost every night and would, thus, rationalize c~way my responsibility as a parent. But with tlmt Sunday School p a p r staring me in the facc, I \vould be forced to have second thoughts. If 1 encouraged my dlilclren to take Sunday School seriously, and if I took it seriously myself, then I'm sure that I would pick u p that paper and go to \vork. Tliilt lesson, you see, would not only give rnc sonlr cwr- terg with which to \vork \vitli ~ n y chilclren, 1>11t it \\.oulcl also provide me with a gc~rrl, sometlhg to\var&s \vhich to \vork, r~ri~ncly, an ilnderstanding of the lesson and ;L

mastery of the verses. As I said, 1'111 SLICC

i t \tanld help me; and I can't help but tl~ink that others \voulcl find the snrne thing to be true if they \voulcl only give it :I try.

It goes without sa>-ing, therefore, that I fincl an important place for Sunday School, as a society, within our churches. It is not, IS we mentioned before, on :t level with catecliism. Attendance at c:~techisni is reclriired, as is attendancr at ch11rc11 services. S~~ncl:iy School, on the other hand, is a volnntary sort of thing. :hd yet, it seems to me that parents are saying something about themselves and their sense of values if Ll~cy do not send their children to Sunday Scl~c~ol, and send them well prepared.

So far we've dealt only with the proper attitude of parer~ts toward Sunclay School. Now about that of the cl~urch? I imagine tlit~t in all of our churclies, Sunday School tcarl~crs are approved by the consistory. l'llis is :IS it should be. The teachers are giving instn~ction to the covenant seed. It's important that this instmction be given by tliose \\rho l~nderstancl the truth, who haye no leanings toward the lie. The consistory is, naturally, in a much better position to pass juclgn~ent on the spiritual qualifications of prospective teachers than is the super- intendent of Sunday School. Rut I \\-auld hink that this ought not to 1)c the extent of the consistory's concern. Even though the St~nday School is not the o ~ g m of the con\istory, througl~ \vhich it ~rovidev in- struction for the youth of tllc churdl, the consistory should have an biterest in that instruction, an interest that goes beyond mere approval of prospective teachers. They sl~oulcl \isit Sunday School classes period- ically, as well as the teachers' meetings. ..\ visit to the teachers' meeting will, doubtless, make the superintenclent srluirn~; and visits to the classes w i l l do the same for the teachers. But that's all right. It keeps them "on their toes." Besides, it tells the pupils so~nrthing about the importance of Sunday School. \lost unportanlly, with respect to that instruction heing given, t l ~ c consivtory cannot be too careful. \V r could mentiou, incidentally, that at First Ch~irch, at least, the minister visits the classes occasionall)-. 1x1 111y opinion that does a lot for the chiI- dren. If the millister thinks that Sunday School is important, then, ccrtainly, tliey should too.

\\'hat do you Ecllo\\? about ha t? \Ve still need more space. No\v about it, Slr. Editor, can yo11 squeeze us in again nest time? ,\lost nssc~redly. Ed.

BEACON LIGHTS

CONVENTION REVIEW JANE VAN MAANEN

The 1970 con\,e~ltion is no\\? over, but its memories \ \ d l last (;it least until next year).

It began on \Vrd~icsdi~y, August 19, wlle~l tl~c. convc.~ltiorrre~.\ 111c.t at I-Iutlsor~villc~ c l ~ ~ ~ r c h for registration. \[any old Friends nqilin met and many new ones \\we found. T I I ~ I I off to our ne\vly ;~dopted honies for a good night of sleep, which would I)e

I..ate registratio11 was i ~ t 8:00 the ~ ~ c s t morning at the cl~rlrcl~. Rancly X'leyer cnllrd the Busi~iess meeting to order at Y:30. l l a r i l p Jonker gave a piano solo for the special number. After noon lunch, everybody \vent to F111ghes Park for the Sports lliser. Everyone was smilin' at 6:45 for tilt* conventio~l p ic t~~re a1 Unity (iym. iis il proup, it must br said, we didn't look too bad, it could've been worse. From the gym, everyone went over to the I-Iudsonville Hrfornied Church for the formal hlass meet- ing. Hcth \\'estr;l presented a f l~~tt . solo ;untl tl~cr Doon Y ~ I I I I ~ People's Society had ;I ~6rls' trio present tlieir specinl ~ l ~ r ~ n h e r . tic\*. B. \\'ouclenl~crg gave the address on the tl~erne "Strangers in a Strange Land" - Thcir Origin.

Friday morning c.1nle bright :and early. Seven o'clock, cvcryone clin~bccl 011 the hushes for thc ride to Silver Lnkc.. Ot~ce at the lake the cl~unrs offcrecl i i full day of fun. Even though \ve did act wet, and co~~ldn't find our stomachs at times, I'm sure all agree the dune rides were great! After otlr picnic lu~lches, the dunes offered a good place to slroI~. But if you got a little hot all you ln.~tl to do wi~s tun clown into thr cool \voter ( I ~ t t then yo11 hi~d to clin~b back up again). At 6:00, evc.ryhody wits i*agerly \\.ailing for supper, and then I~onieward again.

S:ttr~rday began at 8:00 with a delicious 11i111c;tke breakfast, ant1 tllrn small cliscus- $ion groups followctl. After noon Ir~nch, the East-\\'est l~allpames (battles?) began, e\vn the girls gave it a to-. The informal mass meeting \\.as in the Hope School gym; Prof. frank0 gave t l~e address on "'l'heir Ci~lling." .4n instru~l~er~tal trio g.~vc the

speciid nl~mber. .iften\-ards the bonfire \\'as lit, lunch was senred, and n miss sing-:~long was begun.

Slrntlt~y morning cialne it little too quick for ~rlost of the con\~entio~lecrs. Hut every- one rnc3t 111 tlie Chapel of the Pines for the sunrise sen-ice and discussion groups. The afternoon was left free for visiting or catch- ing up on some of the lost sleep. After the church scrvice that night Ed Ophoff led a very inspiring singspir;atio~~, where sevcl.al special n~~mbcrs \\.ere given. hlany young people \vc.lco~ned the conventioneers to the-ir homes for 111nc11, aftenvards.

Fe\v reitlized that .\Ionday had already come. After a late swim in Lake klichigan, tlie finill b~~siness meeting came to order. Voting for the new Boitrd members was taken care of before e\,erybocly left to get ready for the banquet. At 6:30 the Finial was ready and the final meeting of thc. convention began. XIiscd feelings werr among ;dl, sollie sad that it wor~ld all l)t. over soon and others glad for all the fun they ditl Iiave. Rev. D. Engelsma gave tlie final address on "Their Destiny," Jane \fan >laanen gave the special number for Hull Young People's Society imd Bn~ce L~~bbers gave a snxophoxle solo. Randy Xlcyer per- formed his firla1 duty as President by an- nouncing Gary Rouwkamp ;u thc newly elected I'resident. Gary took over his newr duties and announced that the 1971 conven- tion \vo~lld be in South Holland, Illinois. In the traditional closing, everyone sang "God Be \tTith You Till i\'e l leet -+gain," and evcryonc said a final good-bye wit11 hope of secing each other again nest year.

BEACON LIGHTS

BEACON LIGHTS

BEACON LIGHTS

-4s hos beconte trurlitior~c~l cl:c ~ci.sh to slutre sonre of the tl~orrgl~ts of tlre co~rc.cntiort wit11 ocrr rerrders. \Ve tlrerefore preser~t o scrnlrnury of the tlirce mufor specclres giver1 duririg t l ~ b

cottoention.

STRANGERS IN A STRANGE L A N D - Their Origin REV. B. WOUDENBERG

"For ice are drangc.rs before thee, clntl sojotrrc~ers (1.s were all orrr fathers; ncrr ckuys on the carth trrc as (1 sl~arlmc, urtd there Is none abidit~g." I CHROSICLF.~ 2Q:l.j

The theme chosen for this conventio~~ is a strange theme for young pooplr. 'I'o t ~ c ;I stranger is hardly ;I young person's in- clination. If there is one thing that yoilng people norn~i~lly desire it is [(I he at llonle and accepted by the cro\vd. They \\,ant to belong almost nlorc thali ;inytbing ctlse.

.-\ncl yet the teaclrings of Scripture are clear. \\:e find it in o w thenie test ;und in other places too, as l'salm 3931.7, "1 ill11 ;I

stranger wvith thee, and a sojourner, cis all my fathers were", or Hebrews 11:13, "These. all died in faith, not having received the promises, I>ut h;~\ling wen tlle~n efar off, and werc persuaded of them, ant1 em- braced them, and confessed that they wcre strangers ancl pilgrin~s on the earth." rZnc1 \\*e could go 011. There can he little tloubt but that your theme is it good one iind even a corlrilgeous one to consider if you take* it seriously.

But \\?hat cloes it mrirn? IVhat is it to br 21 stranger hi this u,orlcl?

To try to disco\-er, let us go back to a diiy when there was no s u d ~ callillg. the days of perfection in P*raclisr.

In Paradise .idam and Eve werc com- pletely and properly at honita. They be- longed to the world and t l ~ c worlcl l>c- longed to them. They spent their lives filled with the wonder of the newly creatc-d \vorld rejoicing in its greatness, and so it was intended to be.

Scriphlre indicates some of the peaceful- ness of their relationships when it si~ys in Genesis ?:Z5, "And diey were hoth naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed."

Sowv we in our wx-orient;ited worltl may l x inclined to give ;ill kinds of erotic con- notations to this; but i l l actl~iility it simply reflects upon the fact that clothing speilks, the clothing \wre \\,ear tells sorilething iil)out what \ve are inside.

It is so of us, and so was it of Adam and E\.e. They had nothing of which to be

ashmrd. They were not aslr.~mrd of their I)otlirs, and neither were thcy of any of their thoughts. As they went about together in the Garden of Eden day aftcr day, there was not one thor~ght that cros~etl their minds \\,liich they felt cornpelled to hide from c.,icli other. The-y \wre free to share their li\.es togrther completely without fear or resenation. And then in the cool of the cvening they \vould go togeth'r to eat of the Tr1.c of Life; and as thcy clid Cod \\roulcl come, and thcy would share their tl~ougllts with Him too, in \vorlder, filled \vith awe ant1 worship.

But \\+hen the fall came, it became dif- ferent. Immecliately we read, Genesis 3:7, "And tllc eyes of them both were opened, iind they L-ew that they were. naked; and they sewved fig leaves together, and nlade themselves aprons." You know what it meant. All we have to do is read on into verses 8-13, "And they heard the voice of t l~e LORD God waking in the garden in the cool of the day; and Aclam and his wife hit1 themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden. . . . And he said, who told thee that thou wast rldied; Hast tho11 eaten of the trcSc, whereof I cornrnanclccl thee that thou sllouldest not eat? hnd the man said, The \\Toman whom thou gavest to be wvith me, she gave me of the tree, and I clid eat. And the LORD God said unto the \wroman, \\'hat is this that tho11 hast clone? And thc. woman said, The serpctnt bepl~iletl me, ant1 I did eat." Openness and honesty, just so fast, were gone. Each llad to try to escnpe from \\.hat tliey tl~ought and what they had done. Shame liad entered to plague their s o ~ ~ l s .

It is this that has clli~rncterizetl the \vorld ctvcr since. Beginning with Siltnn's silgges- tion to Eve and passed on tlrroiigh .\dam ;dl inell have I)een moved Ily that great dream, "I shall be as God." E:lch one, in his o\vn temls and accordillg to Ilis o w

Eight BEACON LIGHTS

\tlc c;~n IIC* Iloncst to each other brcause the: guilt of our sin is i~ll gone.

It opens up befort. 11s a whole new tllilnllcr of life, i~ kind cf life t l ~ ; ~ t is strange to this \\~orltl ;ud alien. 'She world cnnnot sttintl honc.sty, it cannot stand the tn~tlr i ~ l > o ~ ~ t itself, it has to pretend; and all wh:) l~clong to the \vorlcl are accordingly swept into the colt1 isol;~ted lonc.liness of this pretcbnse. But \vc are strangers to that, or s h o ~ ~ l d be. \tTe clon't have to bla~ne others,

wc don't have to \vch tlorl't 11;lvc to I~ide. \Vhile yet sinners, \ v c S 11;1\,c 11c- come the friends of Got1 ~ I I I C I ciln speilk honestly to Him concerning our sins.

'I'his is the life of the covc.r~;tnt. It n1e:lns \rre can be open and honest lo c:~ch other also. Urconiing strangers lo this worltl, we mtr r into t l ~ e posibility of I~oncst fellow- ship \\'it11 each otller. Xlay Cod gr.u~t us that fello\vship at this conve~~tinrl together.

STRANGERS IN A STRANGE LAND - Ths CalJing PROF. H. HANK0

The calling to be strangers in a strange land is not ;in c;isy one.

It is tlifficmlt because the calling \vhich cuxnes to us from Scripture is con~plctcly contrary to all our nature. It is a calling \\.hich \ve can fulfill only by grace. It is tlifficult because it rccll~ires a great deal of \vistlo~n. I t is not easy to disc en^ \c!hat this cillling is. Especially the nature of thr! t i ~ ~ ~ c s in svhich wc live make \visdom rssen- tL~l to the h~lfill~ncnt of this calling. It is tliffici~lt I)cc;~usc it appears that l l ~ c lullill- I I I ~ I I ~ of it rccl~~ircs some extremely ratlicnl clli~r~ges ill our livcs. It re~liains a cl~~t-slinn \vhrthcr \rre arc. prcp;~rcd to effect such cl~iu~ges. I t is much easier to listen to this \pccch and go our own way after alL . . 1 here is ;III urgency about tile calling in spite of its clifficulties. To cease to be strangers in a strange land is to I~ecome ;I citizen of this world being comfortably at home here. It is to become a part of the world of sin. To cyase to be strangers is to forget that we are called to Imk for the return of Cllrist Jesus our Lortl. This is a clenial of all our faith.

The Principles Involved Tlle calling \vhich comes to us rests upan

the fact that nre are citizens of thc king- tlon~ of heaven \vho are called to live for ;I time in the tvorld. The whole itlev has ;HI c:lrthly onnlogy. The analogy is not as forceful in our clay when thc: world shrinks in sizc a~lcl wllct~t thcrc is an increasing coo- fornlity of custom anlong a11 the peoplts of the glohe. l311t if we could, in our minds, transport or~rselves back a century or so, we can ~ a i n some inkling of the force of this.

If, a cenh~ry ago, n citizen from tl~c* Srthcr- I~ulds travelled to this lantl i~nd lived llerc for a short \vllile, he wo~~l t l be, in the strictest sense of tile \\,ord ;I htr:ungcr in a strange land. Ilc \voultl IIC forcctl to live :::nong i~ pcu)ple \vho \\.ere so tlilferent fro111 l1i111 in e v e n rrspect that ;Iny ~)ossi::ility of contact with the111 was i~~~~)ossil)lc. He \vould live anlong a pc~oplcu \vIlo tlrt,ssed tliffercntly from his tnanllcr 01 tlrcss; \vho ate tlifferent foocls \vhich I~atl I I O ;~l)pc:~l to him; n.110 spoke ;I clillcrt-111 I ; ~ I I ~ I I ; I ~ c . corn- plrtrly n~iintelligil~le to Ilin~; \vl~o livetl 11y c ~ ~ s t o ~ ~ l s i1nc1 mores which wc~c. foreign to his w:~y of thinking. Thest, tlift'c+rcncc.~ con- stituted RII ins~~rn~ountahle I)i~rrier. I-It. would be a stranger. The rtss~~lt \vo~~ltl 1)~. Lllat he would have to remain ;I pilgrim \vhile lie sojourned in this 1;111tl; a pilgrin~ who looked forward e;~g~:rly to the day wlirn he would return to his fi~therli~nd, the land of his birth and citizenship, the hnd of his o\vn people where he co111tl "be at home."

Spiritually this is t n ~ e of Cod's people. It \\,as not al\\.ays so. Cod's peoplc too are born a part of this \vorlcl and "feel at home" here in the \vorld. 1311t God 11;~ mnde them stri~ngers. This is it \\pork of divine grace. Itre have not cl~oscn to IIC strangers. \tie have not joinccl voluntarily the company of tl~osc who ilrc str;\ngers. The reality is 11111cli Illore profo~~ntl. Cod I~as created a new man when I lr has savctl us. l i e has changrtl us co111plvtc4y and ra&cally. IIc 11ab overcorllc 11s by grace and 111adc us, in actual fitct, citizc115 of the kingdom of heaven. \Ye havc oIIr I I O I I I ~ ;lnd

7'f?08 BEACON LIGHTS

citizenship i l l I~tvrvtw, for u.e have been born ugitin fro111 Irt~;ivc.~~. \\re have the life of l~cavc~tl within us. 'I'hc wholc pattrrn of our life is tlclt.r~ninctl by the! principles kind trt~tlis of the I I ~ I I I ~ \id~ich is ours in heaven ;rncl \vliicll \ve sll;~ll, some day. enter. \fTc lii~ve not s e c ~ ~ this liolne; we hnve only the \\rorcl of our l:;~tlit.r tliat it is very heiiutiful irnd wondcrf~ll. 13ut have the assurance thict it is intlcetl ours, for our Fathrr has given us Christ to secure tliat borne for us.

\\'liilc \vc remain in the \\sorld therefore, we arc str;~rigers. The Ixtrrier tliat &\ides us from the tvorld is very real -though spiritual. It is a11 insurmountable barrier for the \vorlcl lives a life which is deter- ~iiinecl in tlic cliirk corridors of hell. \Ve live a life govcrnctl by the principles of heaven.

\ire arc ho\\,ever, called to be strangers \vliilc wc ;Ire in t l~is rcorld. \Ve ~nipht have the impression thnt I~ecause we arc strangers in ;I strange I;~ncl, and because this \vorlcl is tlic stri~ngc Ii~nd, therefore our calling is to I~iive ;IS little to do with the world as possil)le. 'l'liis 11;s I~cen tried from tinie to t i~nr in tlrc CIIII~CII. Tlierc. 11;tvc. bee~l monks \vllo si~w tlicir a ~ l l i ~ ~ g to be li~iiitecl to tlie dark anti cliir~~p \vi~lls of ;I ~nor~astery's ceU. Thcbrc I~itvc I)(*t!~i those who have sought some kinti or geogri~pliic isolation from the \\,orltl \\flic.rc. Ihc-y cot~ld live itlone.

Tl~is is not our calling. Tlic~rc :ire vicious rcilsons for Illis. One is tlint t l ~ e escape from the worltl is no1 ns simple ;IS all that. One could ;~lnlost wish tho1 it were. How easy it woitld tllcn be to I,e :I stranger in the world. All onc w o ~ ~ l d havr to do is to establish a cotnlni~nity of like-nlinded people on sollie distant island or oil some high niountain. Bitt it cm't be done. And it can't be dorw I>ec?r~se the world from \vhich \vc must I)e striingcrc is to be found inside of us - in otlr flesh. rhld \r7e take that flesh \\,it11 us \vl~crevcr wc go.

Another rcirson is that we \\~or~lcI, if \\.e nln out of tlic \vorld, I>e turning our backs on God's worltl. Cod created this world. It still I)elongs to IIini. We tilay not despise it. \\'c may not sneer at that which God has ~nade.

This \vorltl I\-lricli Cocl has made and \vl~icli Ilc still o\trns is first of all tlie crea- tion itscblf \vitl~ its trues and Howers and rocks. Scco~~dly, t l is \vorlcl \vl~iclt God has matlt: inclrltlcs t l ~ c po\irrrs c ~ f the creation

which arc h;irnessrd by llien and W I I ~ C I I i~rc~ used in rnnn's splcrlditl inventions. I\ittlios are God's. So arc iu1to111ol)ilcs. 'I'l~irtlly, the instihltions of life I)elong to Cod. The instihition of ~narrillge is Gotl's. So is the in\tihition of governlnent. So itre tho in- stitutiom of parenthood and Ial>or. I:ourtllly, the arts, so-called, are ;~lso Gotl's gifts nlhich He has given for the usc of ~iien. These creahires ;Ire all good. 'I'l~cy nrr given by God. They m11st be ~ ~ s c d as gifts of God insofar as that is possible. They must be enjoyed. They n i ~ ~ s t bc r~sed to glorify the God \Vho owns theni.

But there are a couple of additional truths which neccl baying ;ct this p in t . One of these is that \ve kno\v fro111 Scripture that a11 thi5 creation is temporary. God's in- tent is not that it ~hould last forever. \\'c. are repeatedly renlinded by Scriptitrc tlint there shall come ;I tirne \\-hen all this creation and everything in it shall I)c r~ttcrly destroyed. Cod a7itr~ta it thnt w;~y. This profoundly inflr~cncrs our use of t l ~ e r ~ ~ . 'l'liis has much to do with our calling.

A second truth is that \\.e also k~)o\v Fro111 Scripture that God does not i~itc.ntl t l ~ ; ~ t Hi people ever possess ;I great deal ol: tl~csc eiwthly possessions \\.liich l ,clo~~g to C;otlls world. h,lost of tlic creation I)clongs t(1 tlro wicked. Gocl \\fill.; this too. 'I'l~is is I I O ~ a fact to bc laniented. This is not so~ncatl~ing which arouses sadness in the so111 of the Chris~ian. IIe faccs this as a fact of life. . h o s t all God's world is in tlic Ira~~tls of nicked men who dominate it and control it. rind as time goes on and we near the end, th is shall become increusingly true. There \*dl be presently no room ;it :11l in iill the world for the people of God.

A third truth is tliat the \vicked i~l\r.ays corrupt all God's gifts. There is no cscep- tion to this whatsoever. The \viclicd \vorlcl ii dedicated, in sin and spiritual cl;rrknrss. to s*eal this \vorld fro111 Cocl ant1 to tlc- thione the God of h a v e n and e i ~ r t l ~ ;uid throw Christ out of the creation. 'I'his is their goal because they hate Gotl iuid Christ with implacable I~ntrc~l. 'I'l~is is t n ~ u be- c-ause they have 3 desire to sin ;IS n i~ ic l~ ;IS

they posvibly can i~rid esc;ipc the ir~tlg~nc-nt which comes from an angry Gotl.

Antl so they ;liwuys do o ~ ~ l y one tlting, they takc God's gifts and they 111;tkc tl~rsc. gifts dirty and obscene. They c:u~ do

BEACON LIGHTS

notliing 'lsc. :\lways they mi~k(: c8vc:ry gift of Gotl serve their sinful p~~rposns. They rape Cotl's worlcl and clestroy it. Tlley make radio ;lntl television tools to propngitte the lie and serve their o\vn sinful pleasures. They destroy marriage, for it heco~l~es a tool to sltisfy the lusts of the flesh. They al\vays corn~pt and destroy.

Yet they make a world which is glittering and i~ttritctive from the viewl~oint of sin. They creiite a structure \\'hicl~ is all~~ring and r~~t ic ing and uhich p111ck.s i ~ t the flesli aliiost irresistibly. They present the world of sin as the only intelligent way to live.

It is in the light of these principles that our calling nil~st be defined.

A Definition of the Calling There is a negative aspect to llle calling

to he Strangers in a Strang(. Li111d. This k not sc~rprising. Our calling is i~ntilheticnl. And an antithetical calling .~lulays has a negative ilhpe~t.

To understand this we must undrrstiind that Scripture defines this "wily of life" which the world lives as a certain kind of pattern. It is in keeping \vith their spiritual nature, for they are totally wicked. This way of life must never, in any respect, be a pattern for our lives. In t l ~ e tott~lity oT our lives we must be clifferent from this spiritual point of view. Their wholc life, in all its parts, is dedicated to sill. If wve are truly strangers, this is a \tray of life foreign to us. From a spiritual point of vie\\- we cannot livc like they do.

This c.ul be demonstrated in almost every area of life. The wicketl worlcl 11:ls a certain way of life when it conies to dress. Especially is &5 t n ~ e in our day. There is an unholy emphasis upon the i~llportnnce of bear~tifi~l clothes not only, 11ut there is a prevailing immodesty of dress which is a wvay of life foreign to the Christiiln. The practices of courtship and tliiting in the \vorld arc geared to their ~~ntlerst;~nding of rnarriagc*. Thesc practices arc ~~noccel~tahlc to us. Their language is bli~splic~i~ous and obscene, a perpetual recitation of tlie lie. Their use of radio and television is thor- oughly corn~pt and by it they tlespoil it gift of Cod. The C h - t i a n rejects all this.

There are two areas which I want to dis- cuss with you particularly. The one is music. llusic is a most \vondcrf~~l gift of

Cod. I t is cmincntly suited to glorify God. It is ;I po\verful vehicle for tc:lli~~g of God's tvorks, reciting His glory, prayi~~g in confes- sion of sin or in bringing our ~ ~ e c d s . It is a powerful instrument to move, excite, bring peace ant1 joy, communicate Cotl's beauty in a ~ ~ n i q u e way. The gift is corn~pted 11y tl~' \vorltI. T l ~ c \vorlcl cre;itc.s a music \vl~ic.h, in its \vords, not only, 1,111 aLso in its tunrs, I~c i~ t , tempo, rhythm. Ilarn~ony, etc., :Irorlsc6s passions, sinful lusts ant1 iiloves one in ways of wicked thonglits ant1 tlcsire. It speaks in ;in emotional way tliat ses is the ~nnhi thing in life, that pleasure. is the chief encl of Iliarl, that love is mere physical at- traction. It conveys a whole philosophy of life utterly godless and is a part of a way of life horn in hell. I-Iow s;~tl it is that yoilnK peoplc of Cod's covc:r~;unt are more attr;tctctl to this music than (11 1l1c ~nusic of tllc Church. It is a rlucstion of being str;~ngers ill a strange land.

Another is tile whole area of thr stc\vard- shill of our possessions. This is a broad is- sue involving the whole question of the pursr~it of entertainment, the spending of leisure time, tlie accumulation of this \vorld's goods. I t involves the whol(! cl~~estion of a systc~~i of values - weighing i l l the scales of Got1 whirt is important i r ~ lifc and what is not. It is t n ~ e indeed that life is not drab ar~tl colorless, without any fun. But it is idso t n ~ c that fun in life is not to be found in tlr;lining the cup of cartl~ly pleasure. Iiappiness is to be found in tlic service of the Lord Cod. Nor is a valid protest against thr mtrterialis~n of the age to I)c found in tllr I~ippic and drug culture alllollg societies' tlroponts. It is to bc found i l l a life that h;u it pattern other than that of a wicked worltl in which we must spcnd tlie years of our sojo~~rn.

U C O O

13111 our calling is a positive one. Our life is not a series of "tlon'ts." \Ye

\voultl I)c sadly \Prong ancl grossly n~islead- i ~ ~ g il' wc took this position. I'crl~i~ps \rre oldcr o~les have son~etirr~cs Icft you with thi~t i~~~pression. We ought not to do this. \C'c I ~ i ~ v c n positive ~,?lling ant1 \vc ;ire un- f;~ithful to God if we ignore it.

This calling is, quite nah~rally, to use Cotl's worlcl in such a way that we are spiritually different from thc \vorld of \vickeclncss. It is to use God's world ac-

BEACON LIGHTS

cording to a "pattern of lifc:" laid down in Scripture. It is to use God's \vorld ac- corcling to principles ant1 laws whicl~ bc- long to thc kingdom of heavcn.

All this takes into account tllr fact &at tlris world is passing. It takes into account that wc shall posscss lcss ant1 1e.w of it as time moves 011. It takes into account the fact that we seek a lreavmly city wl~ich i.~ built by Cod and \vlrich is our rter~lal clestitlatio~~.

Taking thc:sc. things into nccour~t our culling consists in llsing the \vorlcl of God to scek tile causc of the kingdom of Jesus Christ as th:lt citusc is mal~ifestccl in the \vorld. hit1 that cause of Jcsus Cl~rist Inan- ifested in tlle worlcl is not ;I cause \\,lich embraces the whole world arlcl n~ltich results in social renewal of all life's instit~~tions. It is the cause of the Ch~irch of Christ, of the prracl~ing of the gospcl, of the work of missions, of the cclucation of the children of the coventtnt in Christian schools: in short, of all thiit l>cIongs to the sillvi~tion of the people of Cod. Every gift of God must be used to further that callsc. To use it cbiferently is Lo sin. TVc are slrangrrs in n strange land when \ v c : seek tllc: city which hath foundations c ~ i t h the gifts Cod has givcn 11s. U'c hnve not two calli~lgs: one to seek heaven and another to c!r~joy the earth. We have one calling: to seek the Icingdoin of Cod and IIis righteousness; to seek tlle things \vllicl~ ;Ire above; to seek them with all that we are and possess.

There are several concrete suggestions with which we conclude.

1f7e must, as young people, encourage the developnlent of creative writing. paint-

ing, music, etr. in our circles. Therc was a time \\'hen 13r.~cow LIGHTS did sonre of this. We should do it t l g a i ~ ~ The young people n~ust, \\?it11 proper spiritual guidance from their pilrcnts, pastors and youth aclvisors, spcak out on the issues of the day \vhich particl~larly concern tllem. .bd H~<,\cozr Llcrr~s is a proper organ for just this. Thesc ibslles \\ ,~llld be d r u g abuse, music, tlating ;ind courtslip, co~lscientious ohiection to \r-;~r, rtc. There ~lrust be more involvcmeut of our young people in the activities of the church. Again, perhaps \\.r older ones may be somewhat at fault. \Ve Iluve feared that young people would ;Issame \rrork lot right- ly theirs. Hot there is much to Ije clone N I ~ few to clo it. 'I'llcre ih room for the energy of our covenant youth in the mork of the Church.

It all comes down to one esse~~tial prh- ciple. \Ve nlust learn to be diffcrcnt; Icam to bc strangers in the trued sense of the word; dire, with the courage of faith in Christ, to be Merent . And all this hcgins with tllr Word of God and prayer. IF this speech serves no other purpose, let it serve this purpose at leist - that it urgc to^^ to live close to tlre TVord of God in Scripture study and prayer. The rest is a l l vain ulti- ~nately unless \ve I ~ e g u ~ here. Each 01 11s must find t h e in our lives for our o\rrn devotio~~s. 117itliout such time our best efforts are fruitless. \ire must h d time to seek the stre~lgth, the \.ikdoln, the courage, the understancling we need from Scripture and fro111 God Who has called us. Therc is the pattern for our lives. There is tllc fountain of grace by which lone \ve can fulfill our calling.

STRANGERS IN A STRANGE LAND - Their Desliny REV. DAVID ENGELSMA

Beloved young people in our Lord Jesus Christ,

Long ago, a tuan had a vision. Hr saw injustice, oppression, and all \\tickedness biulished from the world. He saw tlre com- ing day of the deliverance ol' the poor and of the meek, long rcpresscd. EIc saw an earth nf blrssetl, perfect pc;~cc., all carth in whic11 the \volf will d\vell wit11 t l ~ e larnl,, and the leopard will lie do~211 with the kitl; an ear& of glorious rest for nlcr~, for s\r;ords

will be beaten into plougl~shares a11cl there \\rill be no strife or \xTar. "They shall not hurt nor clestroy in all my holy rnc~urltain," says God. You may share in that wonderful vision yol~rsclf, by reading Isaiah 11.

Later, another illall had a su~lilzr vision. It was a vision of ;I new heaven :tnd 3

ne\v earth in \vhicIr all things have been illade new; of a world of unsurpassable beauty, clefiing all efforts esllaustively to describe it beforeh:tnci; of a worlcl without

BEACON LIGHTS Thirteen

tears, without sorrour, without crying, witli- out pain, without drath; of :I worlcl \vithont any defilement, \vithout any nl)o~iiinatio~i- worker, \\ithout any lit.; of d worltl of peace iiniong all the peoples and n.itions: of a \vorltl of rrlitteriug glory, tire glory of God IIi~nself. You may share that vision by reading Revelation 2 l and 22.

Thebe \isions were true, authentic and reliable. There have heen, c ~ ~ n d still arc. many empty dreams sncl hallucinator)^ vi- sions. "These \vortls," however, "are tl-11~ and faitllful." The>. set forth your destiil)r, you who are strangers now in an alien land. This will be your h~ture, your end. It is certain, as certain as the truth ancl faitlifi~lness of God in Jesus Christ, U'ho has prepared this destiny, \\rho promises it to you, \I7ho now Icads you to it, antl \Vl~o \\,ill on a Day give it to you.

The glorious future en\~isionecl by propir- ets and apostles in the Scriph~re is held out to us \vl~o are strangers in a strange land. -ks strangers, we are people who are not at honic on the earth; people whose hearts are not set on this earthly life or anything it offers; people \vliose one and ordy hopc is elsewhere, on another land, another lift.; people who therefore with all their c:ncrgy seek and desire the other. We are strangcrs in an alien land for t\vo reasons. l%y the g a c e of God, we have been delivcrcd al- ready from the sin ilncl death that r~lie :~nd destroy this earth and this present trarthly life. Six1 corrupts tlie present creation iu everj- part. This life is nothing but a con- tinual death, as the prayer of our "Fom~ for the Administration of Baptism" espresses it. To a land and life so befouled ancl cloome:l, \ire are foreigners - thank God! Secondly, by the samc grace of God, me are already citizens of the Kingdom of heaven, and wc. ncm- possess and cnjoy thc lifc of t1i:lt Kingd0111. \\'c have been horn agairi f~.om above with the life of the Kingdoni to come and, thus, have been Lranslated into the Kingdom of God's dear Son. Mow, nothing eke satisfies I>esiclrs the perfection of tllat Kingdom. Str,mgers, in the sense ol God's \\rord and the theme of this Convention, arc! also men, women, and children of all na- tions, colors, and languages who in tlie \\-hole of their earthly life possess tlre life- style of the heavenly Kingdom, rejecL tlrc \ray of life of the people of the earth, antl

thus sho\v then~selves to he tliffc*rent, rad- icnlly different, from those at I~onic here on cartli.

These pcc~plc have a destiny. A "destiny" is a future that has been deter~l~ined and prepared for sonleone ancl that sonleday will be his forever. It is someone's end. "Destiny" is si~llilar to "destination." "Destination" is the place towards \vhich one is going, the goal to which he is striving. When we speak of tilt. destination of the strangers, we em- pl~asize that the strangers are col~sciously trilvelli~lg towards their destiny. They know urlint it is and they grasp for it. This brings out that the topic, "l)estiny," on which I speak, is an integriil part of the hul~jrct of this Convention, "Strangers in a Strange I-and." A stranger is a pilgrim. And s pilgrim is not someo~le who has gotten lost and \vlio wanders confusedly ;~hout, but he is one who is travelling to a destination, one who is going on directly to his tlestiny. Think of Cluistian in Bunyan's Tlae Pilgrinr's Progrc.s.s. He was the man going to the Celestial City, the ma11 with a destiny and a destination.

\Vr may give a three-fold description of that destiny of the shxngcrs. First, our destiny is heaven. It is the perfect, sinless life we have with God in the soul after rlei~th. It is the life with God that is con- rnmmated when the body is mi5ed fro111 the tlec~tf and enters into that perlect life also. 11 ir the joyous life, the beautiful Irfe, the glorioub life, the everlasting hfe of the \\,hole man, body and soul. Secondly, our destmy is the new creation, the new heavens ancl earth. \\'hen the Bible says that heaven is our dest~ny, it does not mean a vague, I~odiles, "spiritual" (and f~~nclamentally un- irltcrc~stinp!) elistence forever "up there." 111 tact, Scripture doe3 not in'~kt. 111uch of the hle of t l ~ e heliever \\it11 Cot1 after death .uid I>c.tore the restitution of all things. This is because Scripture sees our destiny ns the new \\-orld, the world renewed by the power of Jesus Christ and fashioned with a nc\v form, patterned :~ttcr Him. It hc~lcls hrforc us a ue\v creation, of brute crctlt~~rcs, of likes tmd ~nountai~~s, of skies ;mtl fieltls, of trees aud flowcrs, of animals, of thc elect hunlm race from all nations. It promises us a world of peace and harnlony, of laughter and joy, of health and vibrancy, of work, of culh~re, of knowledge. This crea-

BEACON LIGHTS

tion will IIC tlle presrllt crc;~tion - rcncwcd througl~ fir[.. Now, yo11 are strangers i l l t l ~ e etrtlr; so~neday, you will be ilt llol~lc on tlds earth. This is the teaching of Iio~llans S and 11 Pet1.r 3, to say nothing of the prophecies of tllc Old Testament. Thirdly, our destiny is God, God Himself, Got1 in Jenls Christ. \\'itllout this, ours wol~ltl be a worthless destiny, not worth I~eing pilgrirrls for, no matter wlliit else it lnight co~~sist of. God is o i~r tlcsli~~y ilnd destiniltio~~. l\:c are going to hi~vc God: the 111lncss of Got1 in Jesus Christ. \Ve are going to Il;~vc IIis life and riches. \Ve are going to hi~vc IIiln, in coveniunt fello\\~slnip. The \\'estnlin\t~.r Shorter Cntcchisln espressed that C;od is the destiny of the strangers in its first cluc.stion: "What is the cl~ief end of mitn? hliin's chief t.ncl is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever." I l i tvi~~g God ~nak(ns Irc*i~ven, heaven, i111d ~llilkes the new crcation \\forth desiring. Isitiith l,oi~rted to this i l l chitpter 11 when he \\rote that the earth will be filled with the L~lo\vledge of God. 'Tl~c theme test of this Convention, I Chronicles 99:1.5, esprcsses the s i n e thing, for I>avid says of the people of God that they ;Ire "strangers bcforc thee [God]." The lIel)rc\v preposition tri~llslatrd "bcforc" li~crally means "towi~rds," so that David si~ys that \ve are "strit11gc.r~ to~cards God," it no st beautiful thor~gl~t.

The rei~lity of being a stranger, therefore, begins ;md ends in God. The beginning of our being strangers is God's election of us in eternity. 1Ie elected us to be strangers in the world, itrltl in t l ~ c elcction gave us t l ~ e tlesti~~y of heavcrl. 'I'llis is c:vitlcnt in the very w,orcl, pre-tlestinatior~. By thc death of IIis Sol), Got1 gives 11s tile rigllt to I,c strangers with ;I heavenly destiny. 13y I-Iis Spirit, God separates w from thc \vorld unto llimsclf. And He Hinlself is the goill we arc to achieve, our md.

Tl~is destiny is not ot>tainal~lc i l l tllih life or on this c;trtln. It simply is no1 11c.r~. It is l1eyo11tl tllis lilo. It stilntls I ~ c a l r i l l t l t l ~ e rt~ins of 111c present f o m ~ of crc~alion. It will be ours :~fler h i s history entls. I f itny- one evrr tells you oZ a clreiim or vision in whicll the tlc!stiny of Gocl's peoplc lies in this life or on this earth, he is, ;tt that poult, a tleccitful prophet. 011r Ilopc tnay not he tlircctcci to this life, tl~c~rcforc. Keitl~er ollr longing nor our espc~li~tion is

fixed on the prrsent life on carth. 'I'l~is is tile confessio~~ of the theme-test: "our days on the earth itre ns a shadow and tllerc is no expectation" (not "none abiding," irs our version has it ). It is a n~istakc to I,ibc~nlc strbtle at this p i n t ancl to say, "Yes. \ve iirc strangers to the sinfulness of the prrsent tvorld, but not to the earth itself, to the earthly life, i~nd to the contents of the earthly life." Scripture is plain: " o ~ ~ r tlnys on the cor.tlr ilrc. as a shadow" ( 1 <:l~l.on. 19:15); "[they] confessed that they \ircsre strangers and pilgrims oti the eurth" ( 1Ieb. 11:13).

The earthly future of the striungcSrs, in s tuk contrast with their heavenly destiny, is dark and tlln-atelling. There is ;L sense in which tl~is is of ~lniversal applici~lion. The life of 1111 men and the esistc~lcc~ nt the worltl i ~ t large itre racked by sicli~less ancl war i111tl end in death and dccny. For this rreson thc hope of the non-stritngcr, the miin \vho is i ~ t home here, is vain. 13111 it i\ unicluely the pilgrinl who faces a forebotling future on carth. The future is dark for him henuhe Ilc is n foreigner in the \vorltl. He is a God-lovcsr ill a God-hating world. IIc is a citizen of 11eave11 in a country \\here Satan is god iund prince. The \vorld I~~ttes forcimers. Al\vays, ale child of Gotl s11lh.r~ trihuliition. The Church of the Inst tli~ys \rill rndurc the persecution inflicted 1,s the \vorld-po\\,er of Antichrist. Suffering, 1,ittc.r- ly painful suffering, is inevitable for the stranger. Indeed, it is an essentiirl part of being a stranger. You must know tllis and ex-pcct this, so that the espericncc of it does not ~III.II you from your cotlrsc to the he;~ve~lly tlestiuatiou. Think of (he misery of the. lives of the pilgri~~ls Ix-fore you, Ahr,lham, Ji~col), and tlle others. Con- sider Jesus, the Grcirt Stranger in iirl alien land.

So. tllr dl-\tin)- of the spiritual str;~~lgcrs i* not here. It is I>otind up with the co~liirlg of Jesus Cllrist on tlle clouds of Ilci~ven. Thcn, ;tntl o11ly then, \\'ill the visiolls of Isaiah i111d Jolln I,c rralized. Then, Il~crc. \ d l be ii crci~tion in \vhich God is all in all. Then, \ve \\-ill be raised to enjoy Cocl in pcrfcct fello\cship. -U1 of this \\.ill 1)r the mighty \\,ark of our Lord Jcsns Cllrist. g~aciously giving us our eternal clcstil~y.

Tot1 11;1\.c i t clcstiny and tlcstillntion. You know \vh:it it is and you drsirc. it. It

BEACON LIGHTS

is Ilc;ivcn, the new world, Got1 llimself in the Lord Jesr~s. Having i~ clcstiny ;tnd destin;ttion is vital to yoctr present life in the world. The importat~cc of it is evident from thct life and culh~re of the* yo11111 of our age, e~emplified in the hippie, who lack a destiny and destination. This lack ex- plains their empty, destn~ctivc, \vickc.tl life. Theirs is a lifc without a destination. They are going nowhere, heca~~sc tliry Ixive rlo- \vherc to go. The>- are ninllcss, co~lftlsi~tl, \r,anclcring. llodern yor1t11 sees no clesti~ly for I~inlst.lf or for thc worltl. 111 his ow11 mintl, he is an accidental p;lrticlc of living rnatttr that burns for a I)right monienl in the darkluss of encllcss tirn~. To him, Cnc histon of the world is a freakish wiavc on the c.ndles\ roll of the o c e i ~ n of nat~~rt:'~ hlincl tlrvclopment. The rcst~lt is l~cclonisni ;tnd tlcspi~ir, tlre hippie and tllc yippic,. 'l'lle parents of the present gener:rtio~r are ~ I I -

cleecl largely to blame for this, ;~ltliot~gl~ not in the \vily that the present generation sup- poses. The parents gave them no destiny nnd destination by raising them outside the covena~~t of God, by rearing tllem under thc: theory of evolution, and hy adopting the pllilosophy, at least in pri~ctice, that t l ~ c prcsent life is all tlierc- is. I'i~rents have so\vcxl t11e wind of a Goti-less upbringing of their cliilclren and now reap the whirl- wind of youth that are hope-less aud, thcrcforcs, pleasure-mad, violent, evil.

It is incomprehensible to Ine that those tvho~n Cod has delivered from this most \\+retched misery can flaunt the I~adges by \\-1lich tllc hopeless generation tlistinguish thenlsclves, e.g., the long hair of the. yotu~g men.

It is incomprehensible to nle that those tiit11 a destiny in the wvorld can revel in the abandoned, nihilistic mt~sic of the youth \\-ithout God in the \vorld, or abide the gospel of sex, violenc~, and despuir preached by rock.

It is incomprehensibIc to I I I ~ that one \vho has caught a glimpse of thc I I C ~ \ V worltl c o ~ ~ l d blow his mind with clrt~gs.

Cocl has saved you es;tctly fro111 this \\~etchedness. He has given you a destiny. It is this destiny that makes yo11 and keeps you a stranger in the world. I all1 rcfcrring no\\ to your o\\n conscious, willing choice to he a stranger and to continue to be a stranger to the very end. God graciously,

sovvrc-ignly made you strangcbrs i~ntl keeps yo11 striulgers. He did this ;I I ICI tloes this l,y election, hy the cross, by the rebirth, by thv s:~nctifying Spirit. But Cod works in such ;I way that you beconlc \villing to be a str;ulger. You want to be a stranger. 1-ou confess that you are a strilngrr. You live as :I \t~.;lngcr and fight to livc ils one. Sow, the tl~ing that makes yo11 ~villingly a stranger in t l ~ r c.i~rtlr is the dc.stirt!y, tl~i. ~lcstinatio~l. FOI t11c sitke of the go:~l ~ I I I I sl~all some tl:~y rc>i~ch, you now choose i111t1 persevere in tlir pilgrim-life. 1x1 Btt11y:un's parable, \vhy tlitl Christian endure his Il;trd pilgrim- age? \Vhy did be despise tlir olluring wares of V;lnity Fair? Bec-nse hr hiid his eye. and Ilc.art, on the destination, the Celestial City. Inclcc.tl, it was becat~sr of that "des- tiny" th:~t he set out at all. \Vhy does tllc chiltl of Cot1 live out his lifc 11s n stranger on tlic cs;~rtll? Because 11e w;~tlts to go to heavcn. IIcbre\vs 11 makes pli~in this vital, practic;ll importance of the knowledge of the tlcst iny. . i b r h sojo~~rncd because he lookctl for a city. The patriarchs con- fessed tl~cmselves pilgrims hecnuse they desirrtl a better country. a hc;~venly.

Onc implication of this iml>orti~nce of the dcst i~~at io~l to stul~ulate the cl~iltlre~l of God to livc as strangers is that it nlakes clear wlint rclcvant preaching is in our day, preaching relevant to youth. Young people so~neti~ncs co~llplain that the preaching is not rc.lcvant to their lives. There may be trtttli ill this criticism. IITe ministers ought to c:samine oltr preaching, both the public ant1 tllc private, whether wc apply the gospel to the needs of yo11t1i in thcse wild times. Young people, on the other hand, or~gltt to ask themselves whet11c:r they speak with the minister and the elders about their te~nptntions and difficulties, so that the niinistcr irnd elders can know them. If, ho\\vcvc.r, the complaint agilinst irrelevant preaching means to disparage prcnching of the. gospel, preaching of tloctrinc, preaching tllc- \Vord of Cod as it is in t l ~ c . Bible, the con~plilint rests on a mistake. The mistake is to suppose that a sermon el~out heaven, about the nenr world that is ;111out to be c.stablished, about God as Ilc is revealed it] Jrsws, is not relevant to the life of a y o ~ ~ n g man or young woman in a \vorld of frcr "love," war. drugs, u~~sympathctic parel~ts, learning, racial strife, marriage,

BEACON LIGHTS

and rcvolt~tio~~. 'i'l~c f:~ct is tliat it is just s ~ ~ c h ii sc!rlnon tlii~t is relev;lnt I)ccnusc it procli~in~s thr. glorior~s destiny i~ncl clestina- tion \vl~ich \\:ill irttri~ct you :rncl thi~s main- tain yo11 11s strnngcrs on enrth, thnt is, cause yo11 to live richtly i~ncl happily over against free "lovc," rt-volution and drugs aud in mnrriiipe, the Iio~nc, the Stale, ant1 the Church.

\\'lint elfrct will the desire for this destiny lii~ve on ii man's lift.? \!'hat is the stranger- lifc likc? It tlocs not consist of the avoid- ance of all earthly things, as much as pos- sible. To iutcrprct the life of spirih~a! str;ingers this way has been a temptation in the Church i~l\vi~ys. 'The long history of monasticisni 1)rovr.s this. 'Tliis notion still slio\\~s itself in the Chr~rcl~. It is the thought thict lies I)chintl the dour disparagement of e;~rtl~ly plcitsl~rc as such. The sexual rela- tio~~ship in ~nurriage, according to this out- look on t l~o lifi: of thc Christian, is nierely ~)cr~irissil>le nntl tlicn otily \vith a view to Iwgotting clriltlrc~~. The ioy of the in- ti111;lcy of ~ ~ i ; ~ r r i ; ~ g c is carnality. \Ire may eat, I~ut its so011 21s \vc c~ijoy tlicr c.sperienccs \rpr Iri~vc 1)cco111c ci~rtl~ly ~niriclrtl. It is this c.rroncoi~s c o ~ ~ c r y t i o ~ ~ of \\,II:I~ it 1tlc:tns to live i ~ s a str;u~~c.r tl~ilt pli~ccs all liu~nmi activity thitt is not directly reli~tctl to the Cllurc.11 1)ryontl t11r 1~1lc. It is s~~spicious of Ic:~niing i111t1 tl~ta arts.

l ' l~c life of :I striungrbr, the life lived under tllc siqn of tllc- eternal clesti~iy of heaven, thc ncw world, and God in Christ, will be a fr~ll, energetic life. \Vhat thc stranger does, he doc-s with ;ill his heart. He abounds in thc work of the Lord because he kno\vs th:it his Ii~bor is not in vain. It \+.ill be a life in which he uses and enjoys every legitimate creature to the g lon of Got1 in Christ. 1 Peter 2 teaches that the lifc of a stranger docs not consist of flight from the ~ni~ncli~ne itreas of civil govern- mcnt, Inhor, illid 11ii1rri:~ge. Hather, the cliilcl of Got1 is c;ille~d to I,e ;I citizen, an em- ployee, ant1 i~ I~ushard os tr .\-trc~t~ger. I Corinthi;rr~s 7:P9-31 tlrscril)rs the life of a stranger its ;I using of the \vorlcI \vithout :~husing it.

'l'\vo wurnir~gs arc in ortlrr. T l ~ e stranger will keep I~i~nsi:lf from bin. I'lris ia how he livcs ils il stril~~grr. Altlio~tgh thc citize~~s of thc lantl wc8 pi~ss througli n;uncb adultery a ~ ~ c l forliic;riion "frcc: lovct," :u~d altlro~~gh

they engage in it oprnly a1111 ~ ~ n ; ~ s l ~ : ~ ~ ~ ~ c ~ c l l y , we regard it as Cod does, :IS sin, i111d 11;1tc it and fiee from it. A l t h o ~ ~ g l ~ 111c8n j~~stify insubordination to i ~ ~ ~ t l ~ o r i t y , tlrc stri~llgcr regards all refusal to sr~l)~iiit to i~utliority, whether of parents, of I i~~s l~ ;~nt l , of thc civil govenui~ent, of the e~nployer, or of t l ~ c clclcrs as sin, as rebellio~i against t l ~ e nutl~ority of God in thr exalted Jesus Christ. ~ll~osrt \vho hpe~litently walk in sin, \vhctlier in- side or outside the institute of the Chr~rcl~, hare hell as their dcstiny. They itre not strangers and will not shztre t l ~ e tlestiny of strangcrs. Being of the world, they \\.ill perish with the world. The lifc of the stranger is holy in thnt it is sepitriitc from sin. Secondly, the htranger \\.ill nevcar iillo\v any thirtg to replace Cod as the goal of his life. He will never allow a thing to s i l ) l ~ o ~ ~ off some of the desire \\,ith which 11e tlrsircs God in Christ. His life is holy in t11i1t it is cowcrated to God. Here is ;in evil that \\;e&ens and lnars us. \Vith reapect to tllis, pwe~its among us fail, so that they rear children to tend to br at home in this worlrl. Life is lnnde to center, i1ftt.r ;ill, on tl~ir~gs, cartllly things, a ~ ~ c l on t l ~ e pleasure c-iutl~ly things ciui give us. T l ~ e evide~rce of tllc strrugth of this evil is, as al\\.;iys, l u s ~ ~ r i o ~ ~ s living. \Ve then indulge in, ;IIIII t.vi6n l'rtel that we need, lusurious food, lirvisl~ tlrink, palatial holiscs with such clu1)or;rtc fl11.11is11- ings that neither \vc. nor our chiltlrc~~ cla1.c live in them, and even f;tbulous c1111rch buildings. The rtdrnonitio~l sou~idcd I)y the church father, Her~i~as. in T l ~ e S11el)hertl applis to us: "You know that you, the savants of God, live in a foreign land, for your city is far from this city. If t11c11 you know your city, in \vhich you are going to dwell, \vhy do you prepare here fields and costly establishnlents and buildings and dtvellings which are to no pilrposc. IIc who prepares these things for this city ~ ; I I I - not go back holne to his o\vn city.''

But what positivr f o n l ~ \vill thc life of young people take, young people \\*l~o ;Ire strangers on the earth? Coucrctc.ly, \vlint calling does God have for tlle~n? \Vliat is there for thcrii to tlo? In our clay, tlrc notion prevails tliat if anytl~il~g wortli\\~Iiilc. ib to I= dc~ne, the young people ~ i i ~ ~ s t tlo it. T o u ~ ~ g people suffer the clelusic)~l tl~c~t they ii~ust undertickc, ;IS young pc-opltl, t l ~ c most &~;~ntliose projects. Tllcty s~~lq~ohi . tI1i11

BEACON LIGHTS

it i* their solemn duty to tlisnii~ntle the Stiite i~nd to put it back together ag~iin, for the first time, in the right \rray. \\"thin the Ch~~rc l i also, young people of college age feel then~selves called to take apart the entirr stn~cttue of the Clit~rcl~ i~nd to re- s t n ~ c t ~ ~ r e it according to their wisdom. .\firr~hilr dictrr, the adults :~cquiesce i n tl~ih ovcrwcming pride and foster the clelu- sion. This notion finds c*sprcssion in 1l1c slogan, "Nrvc.r trust anyone over 30." .411 of this nonsense rests on the s~~pposition that tlie goal of human life is youth. After 30, one is burned out ant1 llas only the prosprct of passing time, desperately trying to ernulnte the j-oung. The fact is that the goal of hunian life, in the light of Scripture, is not youth but niahirity, tlir grown-up man and \\.onian. \Visdon~ ; ~ r ~ t l untlcrstnnding arc 11nt I)oi~nti up \\.it11 yo~~tl l , I~u t wit11 tlie Iioilry licad. \\'hrn thc I'sal~nist locks back on his youth, he does riot sex' it as d ~ e apes of his life, which he longs to regain, hut he s a ~ , "sins of yol~th re- nlernber not." If I may put Scripture's thought in the language of our time, the Biblical injunction is, "Nevrr tn~s t anyoue untlcr 30." The implication of this for thc cl~~estion, "\\'hat are youth to tlo?," is tllis, that tlie ci~lling of yo11t11 is to prcp;~rrl Be 1)11sy gro\r.ing up! Be active g;tining ~natiir- ity! No\\, is the time for you to prepare yo~lrself to be a teacher, a scholar, ;In eldsr, a citizen, a husband, a wife, a parent, 'and all of these after a Godly ~nanner.

But is there d e n no valuahlc u-ork lor yoi~th to do now? Yes, there is. But why is it assumed that thk has to 11c work of ;L

lmnibiistic, showy, and c1ram;ttic niiturc? This is an ass~~niption that appears in the Church. The youth have to save souls and (lo ~ilission work. They mu?. accomplish iillcviation of racial tension. They must participate in widely advertised marches for this cause and the other. Youth itself is lint~nted by a sense of failure, if it has not clone or is not constantly doing these things. I am re- nlintled of the mistake of Elijah, bvho tho~~glit that God had to be in tlie great wind, the. n~ighty earthquake, or the hlaz- ing fire. But he found that God was in the still, sn~all voice. The work to which God calls yolrng people, young people who are strangers, is the work of honoring their parents. Rcriirmbering 11iy own youth n~id

c:lstil~g i t cursory da11ce about at yolrng pea- ple todiiy, 1 conclude that this is cle~nanding work nncl will take up 1ntrcl1 of a young person'% tinle and energy. The work to which Cod calls youth of the covenant is tlie work of loving God and the n r i g l ~ h r . Therr arc young nien and young women among yoi~ that have need, real need. Help t11~n1. Tliere are some th;lt are lonely. Bcl I ic .11~1 them. Therr are vunc that are \\roll,ing in sin, perhc~ps. Rvl~ukc tl~eni; give them no prace until they rcpcnt and walk again with you as strangers.

T l i ~ life of a pilgrinl, or strilngrr, in the worlcl is diflicult. The strangc:r is sustained, not only by the prospect of the wonderfut dcstin;ition that he \\dl reach along the way of pilgrimage, but also 11s the enjoy- IIIC.III i~lrc.;~tly in this life of t l ~ c destiny that i \ hi<. There is a beginning i~lrrady now of the enjoyment of our diatiny. Our t l rs t i~~y is fellowship with God, in the face of Jrs i~s Christ. TVe begin to have this s\veet commu~uon, through faith, already in this lifr. Therefore, the Psaln~ist said, "I am :I stranger with Thee" (I'salm 39:18). A strnngcr, yes. This means tears. But al- re.~dy now, "\\lit11 Thee," "witl~ God." This 1iic;lns joy, unspenkable joy. t\lrcady now. on tlie pilgrimage. And this works faithful- ness to the very end. No, l)y this God \vorks faithfulness in you, to the very end. God is the origin of the strangers. Cod is the end. God is the One IVho leads yo11 fro111 the beginning to tlie end. I le \\;in keel) ).oil, so that you enjoy the destiny He has I>rel)ared for you.

I t11:tnk you.

BEACON LIGHTS

NEFS from, for, and about our churches KAREN LUBBERS

There does 1101 see111 to be an over From Hope in Walker, Michigan: abluldance of news this month. Maybe biggest Ilews itelll be es- evcryone is too b ~ ~ s y adjustins to school life silllpl~, by cluoting from llul- again or else rccovcring fro111 ;I busy, bus). letin of Sept. 27: - R ~ ~ . and ~~~~~~j~~ smnmrr. Hopcfillly, nest month will be and fanlily for the better - with your help! farewell program of Friday evening anil the

generous gift. The Congregation will re~lri~in

From South Holland, Illinois: Confession of faith was made I)>? Beverly

De'long, Linda Vrocgh, Phil Var~ Baren, and Sharon Zandstra.

Two f;amilics have joined tliis congregti- tion: Xlr. and Mrs. Ed Stou\vie, Janice, who is illso a confessins mcmhrr, and three baptized children and also blr. aud Mrs. \,lenno Poortenga and four I~optized chil- clrcn.

011 Sept. 4 Rrv. L11h1)ers ;and Rcv. Elliot visitcd the congrc!gation to sl~o\v slides, to speak about the Ja11laica1 111ission firltl, ;inti describe Che typr of \vork to be clone there.

tUrrady tile young people are preparing for the 1971 Convention! On Sept. 23 they sponsored n I1ec.f tlin11c.r i11 tlreir church with the proceccls of SSDO going for tile Convmtion.

'l'lre John Aaak fanlily tra~lsferrecl to the church in Holland. S,licl~. and Barb Zand- strn to the church in Lovelantl. Anna Boer's papers were received from tllc church in Holland, hIicl1.

From Hudsonville, Michigan: The summer Slurclay School scssio~ls clldect

tlus year in early Srl)tcmher. The church is one of the few to conduct Suoday School during the summer.

A quote fro111 a special letter fro111 the yo11ng people to their co~~gregalion: ". . . we ;ts the H~~tlsonville young people and our lcnticrs have felt the greatest uiipact from the [Convention] week. It has drawn us closer together and c;n~sed us to know and urlderstand one another betier as ~ n e m b ~ r s of Christ . . . our sincere appreciation lo all of you who have helped so rnl~ch . . ."

in om prayers. . . ." On Tuesda}., Sept. 29, Rev. a ~ d SIrs. Kortering and family left far Hull, Io\va.

After a 111011th of furlough, Don jonker returner1 to his station in Panama.

Larry Roolc's address is: Sp. Larry Koole 380-52-3836 Co. B. 2nd Bn. 6lst Irlf. Fort Carson, Colorado SO9 13

Other Church News:

The Sunday School Slass Sleeting held on September 30 in Hope Churc.11 with Rev. Velclman as speaker.

September 23 eel~ded the clotlung drive carried out in the Grand Rapids area for the Jamaican people.

On September 9 Rev. Lubbers w;is in- st;~llrcl as our churches' only missionary. The harvest is great b11t the reapers so very fen-; yct the Lord provides for his 01~11.

This work deservrs our mauy prayers.

News from Covenant Chr. High:

Cove~laut now7 ha5 13.3 students ;~nd 7 f.iculty 111rnlberh. SIr. Tim Heembtra, ;I

graduate from Gal\ iu College, has joi~iecl the st'lff and teachcs m.tthcm;dics.

On September 21, four students from East Christian, a Grand Rapids high school. visited the school and various clusses.

Good Nexvs from, for, ,~nd about a11 of us: "Beloved, let u5 lovc one another; for love ih of God; and c.vrqfone tirat loveth is born of God, a11d kno\\.etl~ God." I J o l ~ r ~ 4: i .

BEACON LIGHTS Nineteet~