An expedition to the moon? —really?

        July 20, 1969, was a great day in history. Apollo 11 landed on the moon and Neil Armstrong took his first step there—50 years ago! An amazing feat of engineering, technology, people management, and raw courage.

        Do you realize there are nay-sayers? Some people still think it was a hoax, a conspiracy by the US government. One such person confronted Buzz Aldrin and provoked him so much that the astronaut took a punch at him. Such an action will never convince anybody that the story is true. Aldrin, of course, knows the truth but how to convince anyone else? If it is a conspiracy, I’ve never heard of any of the participants breaking rank and admitting it.

        These men went on a mission to the moon—and returned successfully! If we don’t want to trust the word of these astronauts, what other proof could we look for? Well, the original three video tapes of the landing were just sold at Sotheby’s in July of 2019, for $1.82 million—they should be proof.

What other factors are there? Apollo 8 had captured “Earthrise”, from behind the moon. The actual Apollo 11 mission and subsequent landings brought back lunar rocks and dust with some minerals distinctive from earth’s. There are also “retroreflector” arrays mounted on the moon, that can bounce a laser beam back to earth. So, the landings are authentic!

        This brings us to another expedition, one planned in the dateless past and executed 2000 years ago. A string of quotations can outline the mission:

·         “The Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world.” 1 Jn.4:14.

·         “I have come to do your will, my God.” Heb.10:7

·         “Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up.” Jn.3:14

·         “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole.” Gal.3:13.

·         “It is finished.” Jn.19:30

·         “The Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” Mat.12:40.

·         “I am going to prepare a place for you.” Jn.14:2.

·         “I am coming to you [my Father] now.” Jn.17:13

·         “He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself.” Heb.7:27.

·         “He entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption.” Heb.9:12

·         “He entered heaven itself.” Heb.9:24.

·         “God raised him from the dead on the third day and caused him to be seen.” Acts 10:40.

·         “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side.” Jn.20:27.

        This time the expedition wasn’t just “off-planet”—it was into death, a different kind of mission altogether. And the objective wasn’t just scientific investigation or glory for one’s country, it was to offer a sacrifice and get salvation for our souls! Jesus told us where He was going and what He was going for. The question is, did He succeed?

        The answer is a proud, “YES!” Like the lunar expeditions, Jesus has shown us amazing proofs. First of all, of course, we have His own faithful word: “I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever!” (Rev.1:18) Then we have other visual proof too. He was confirmed dead by the soldiers, now He is alive. His body was brutalized and torn—His disciples saw it all. Not only that, but Thomas saw the hole in His side, piercing right to His heart. Hundreds saw Him resurrected, then the Apostle Paul saw Him in all His blinding heavenly radiance.

        A few sentences here can hardly convey the dazzling glory of the Resurrection. Every sermon in the New Testament is full of it. But the next question is, “What does it all mean to me?” The Apostle Paul gives the definitive answer in Romans 10:9—

        If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.                     

  

Yes, you will! 

The fruit of the Spirit is…goodness

     The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

Galatians 5:22, 23. NIV

        Many years ago, when I was a student at Lakehead University, a United Church minister visited and gave several talks intended to promote interest among the students.  I remember only one thing that he said and it saddened me even at the time. He referred to the passage in Mark 10:17, where a young man comes to Jesus and says, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” And Jesus says, “Why do you call me good? No one is good―except God alone.” The minister fluffed off the question, even intimating that Jesus never claimed to be God. I later understood that Jesus was coaxing the young man to realize that He really is God.

        Thus, no human being can ever claim to be “good” in an “absolute sense.” Just what do we understand by the word “good”? My Merriam-Webster dictionary definition seems inadequate― “of high quality”! So, let’s try to get a feel for what Scripture, particularly the New Testament, means by “good” and “goodness”. Strong’s Concordance indicates that there are two main uses of the word “good”; one (“kalos”, #2570) relates to usefulness, such as good ground (Mt.13:8), or good salt (Mk.9:50), or good wine (John 2:10), or even a good shepherd (a shepherd who really knows how to care for sheep) (John 10:11).

        The other is intrinsic goodness, where God Himself is the ultimate, and the word we’re familiar with in Greek is “agathos” (#18) (think of Agatha). This is the root word used in our title verse, and in Mark 10:17, and is the only one we’ll deal with here.

        What does God call “good”? Jesus is good. (Mt.20:15) Again, Mark 10:17 indicates that only God is absolutely good. But the sun rises on the evil and the good. (Mat.5:45) Everyone knows how to give good gifts to their children. (Mt.7:11) There are good trees. (Mat.7:18) There are good men (relatively speaking, of course) (Mat.12:35) who have good treasure in their hearts. (Mat.12:35) There are good servants. (Mt.25:21) Mary chose the good part (Luke 10:42). The commandment was good (Rom.7:12)

        Although Paul could say that there was no good thing in his flesh (Rom.7:18), we have all still been created unto good works. (Eph.2:10)

        This intrinsic good is all around us. Let’s rejoice in God’s good work in us (Ph.1:6), maintain a good conscience (1 Ti.1:5), be filled with good hope (2 Th.2:16), and look forward to all the good things to come. (Heb.9:11).