Convention Notes

Psalm 90:1 – "Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations . . we spend our years as a tale that is told . . so teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom." We all understand that God is eternal. I think we also understand that we are not eternal. We are not here forever. Our lives are very temporary but we are encouraged to number our days and apply our hearts unto wisdom. The God of eternity is very interested in us, who are just creatures of time and He wants to put something into us that isn't temporal.

Ephesians 5:14 – "Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light. See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise." To redeem the time is to make the best use of time to profit eternally. On October 13, I left Canada and it looked like quite a few weeks and quite a few conventions, and I got a picture of an hourglass. An hourglass has a little bit of sand in it which begins to run down from the top, and after a while there is quite a pile of sand in the bottom of the glass and less in the top. Then the last grains of sand fall from the top and it is all over. So this wonderful privilege is like a few little grains of sand left in the top, soon to be over, but I feel greatly privileged to be on this side of the earth with people who are redeeming the time. We all want a place in heaven and the only way it will happen is if we get something from God now, while we have time.

When we are born, a "time account" is opened, just like a bank account. We don't know how much time we have and we can't see the sand in the top of our hourglass. Somehow, every day we use the time God has given to us. It is up to us to invest it. Every time a day comes to a close, we have either invested something in eternity or we haven't. It is a very sobering thought. I don't want to leave God to the last thing of the day. A hymn tells us we have the privilege of beginning the day with God, the most important way to use it. There is nothing that will enrich us more for eternity than to put God first every day. We will never regret that we invested time for God and His kingdom.

Luke 12:16 – "The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully ... This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater . . and I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry." This was a very rich man but one day his Time Account ran out, and I believe it was sooner than he thought. God called him a fool – why? Because he had no thought of God, of eternity or of others. He thought only of himself. He had invested a lot of time in the things of this earth and had a large bank account, but in heaven he had nothing. It reminds me that if I want something in heaven, I must be investing every day.

I thought about the home life and investments that can be made. The most ideal I can think of is the home of Joseph and Mary. I don't think it would be hard to understand what they put first in their days. They knew God's word. They loved His fellowship. They loved the word of God. They went to Jerusalem every year, just like going to convention. Children learn about investing from their parents, naturally and spiritually. As a boy, Jesus would have seen His parents reading and praying and at Jerusalem. When He was 12 years old, perhaps the year He professed, He said He wanted to be about His Father's business.

Genesis 18:19 – Abraham's home. "For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him and they shall keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment." One of our Swedish sisters told us of a translation that reads, "That he will invite his children and his household . ." It is wonderful that little children have the privilege of being invited to invest in the things of God.

Judges 13:12 – Manoah asked, "How will we raise this child?" The answer was not so much what they would do for the child, but that his wife would discipline herself and not partake of some things. How can I teach my child to think about eternity? Maybe the answer is the same. Listen to the word of God yourself and you will be a right example. I had to go to a home early one day, before the children went to school, and I will never forget the picture. The mother was there with her five children, reading the Bible. They were soon to go out into the day but they had something in their hearts from God. We are thankful to God for the investments that parents make in their children, who are the future of God's kingdom.

Then I thought about the ministry. Jesus invested time in the word of God and in prayer. It wasn't that he just happened to have time, He withdrew himself and prayed. Jesus had time for people. John 4:7 – The woman of Samaria came with a need and Jesus forgot all about himself and invested time. He taught her about the gift of eternal life, and before the visit was over she had it. I am thankful for the way Jesus sent out the ministry. He told the apostles they were not to provide silver or gold, not to worry about what they would eat or wear, because God would provide. He told them to go with one thing, the word of God which is incorruptible and eternal. Never feel sorry for our calling. To people looking on it looks like we haven't got much, but we have everything in God's word.

I went to a field where a little girl of 14 lived. She had three older brothers professing. One Sunday my companion asked me to mention to her that there would be an opportunity to make a choice. So I told her, and in the gospel meeting, Carla chose to serve God. I can still see the tears streaming down her face. The next year I got a letter from her and it was bubbling over. She wished she could share her joy with everyone. I saw her a few months later at a convention, just beaming, but two days after convention I got a phone call to tell me, "Carla is dead." She had been in a car accident. Later, her mother told us that Carla had asked her, "Mum, what is heaven like? I am serious." She was making choices and investments in the light of eternity, and though her little hourglass ran out very quickly, her investment in eternity was worth it.

I am so thankful for the desire God has put in my heart and your hearts to look above this life and realize there is a God in eternity, and that God has sent Jesus with this eternal, incorruptible seed to our hearts. I hope we will number our days and be thankful for every day that God gives us to invest in the things we will enjoy for ever and ever.

JUNE AFFLECK - Maroota Convention - NSW