The Pilgrims’ Tombstones

Posted on by Adrian Clark

“This is what the Lord, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, said to me: “Confront Shebna, the palace administrator, and give him this message: “Who do you think you are, and what are you doing here, building a beautiful tomb for yourself— a monument high up in the rock? For the Lord is about to hurl you away, mighty man. He is going to grab you, crumple you into a ball, and toss you away into a distant, barren land. There you will die, and your glorious chariots will be broken and useless. You are a disgrace to your master! “Yes, I will drive you out of office,” says the Lord. “I will pull you down from your high position.”
Isaiah 22:15-19 NLT

There was a man in Jerusalem named Shebna, who was the palace administrator. It appears that he was neglecting his duties, instead building himself a “beautiful tomb”, presumably because he thought things in Judah and Jerusalem were not going to end well, and he would soon end up dead. Quite how his dead body would be interred in his “beautiful tomb”, with everything else going on, was not made clear in this part of Isaiah’s oracle. However, his plans were pointless because, unfortunately for him, God’s message through Isaiah was that Shebna would be taken into exile “into a distant barren land” where his death would follow, accompanied by the destruction of his chariots. In the short term, however, the Lord said that He “will drive [him] out of office”, demoting him from his prestigious position as palace administrator. Speculating, perhaps Shebna hoped that his “beautiful tomb” would become a monument in Jerusalem, promoting him as a great man for future generations. This was a brief cameo of the events in Jerusalem through Isaiah’s eyes, with the Holy Spirit bringing revelation, and a human story about a particular person’s reaction to the mayhem unfolding in and around Jerusalem. 

Shebna hoped to be remembered as a great man in his city, which perhaps suggests a question: “How will we be remembered in future generations, if at all?” And, come to that, would we want to be remembered at all? Near where I live, there is Dunfermline Abbey, the resting place of kings at a time when Dunfermline was the religious capital of medieval Scotland. Perhaps the most famous was King Robert the Bruce, who was interred in the Abbey in 1329, and whose name adorns the tower over the 19th-century Abbey church, which is located at the East end of the original 12th-century church building. The surrounding graveyard is populated by the remains of a number of local dignitaries and their families, some of whom were involved in Dunfermline’s linen and weaving industry during the 18th and 19th centuries. We therefore have a number of people remembered through their gravestones and other edifices located on the site. But is that how we pilgrims would like to be remembered? A name carved in a block of granite?

Perhaps another question to ask when we consider our legacy of memories is, “During my life, was Christ glorified through me”? We look back to the lives of great men of God, such as Billy Graham and others, men who dedicated their lives to spreading the Gospel. Some men and women gave their lives in God’s service, as we Elim Church members know when we remember the events in 1978 when 13 Elim missionaries were murdered in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). But for pilgrims such as us, quietly doing what God has asked us to do, in our daily lives, as salt and light in our families and communities, how will we be remembered? 

We pilgrims hope to be remembered for a life rooted in love, active faith, and quiet service to others. Rather than seeking personal glory, the core Christian calling is to point toward Jesus Christ and leave a legacy defined by grace, kindness, and perseverance through hard times. Perhaps physical memories will soon fade over the next generations, but our legacies will be recorded in Heavenly realms, one of which is the Lamb’s Book of Life. I also have a thought: once we reach Heaven, through God’s grace, we will find souls there who remember us and the influence we had on their lives while they were here on earth. I’m sure I will find men and women whom I can thank for their influence on me when I was in need of support during my pilgrimage.

But it is how we live our lives now that is important. James wrote, “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up in honour” (James 4:10). Paul wrote, “Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had” (Philippians 2:3-5). Humility is just one attribute that will underpin our lives on earth and ensure that memories endure. The key is following in Jesus’ footsteps, living the Godly life that He did, with love and compassion toward those around us. 

There are a number of practical ways in which we will be remembered in this life and for future generations. We regularly communicate with our Heavenly Father through prayer, including praying for our fellow believers. And of course, we pray as the Bible encourages us, for our government and for the needs of our societies. We pilgrims also regularly participate in the Lord’s Supper, remembering Jesus and all He did for us, and keeps on doing, day after day. We must also encourage one another, as Paul exhorted us in 1 Thessalonians 5:11, “So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing“.

And of course, we pilgrims mustn’t forget that Jesus reminded us of our responsibilities in our neighbourhoods and families. Matthew 5:13-14, “You are the salt of the earth. But what good is salt if it has lost its flavour? Can you make it salty again? It will be thrown out and trampled underfoot as worthless. “You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden”“. However, in the end, it is not about our legacy so much as our standing in Christ that will matter. We pilgrims trust in His grace and mercy for our salvation. It is not about how many times we go to church or how many hours we spend working for a Christian charity. We are saved and will be saved, purely through God’s grace. Shebna was heading for a sticky end because he failed to trust God for his salvation. His focus was on his works rather than God. A warning to us all?

Dear Heavenly Father. Thank You that You are a righteous God, and that Your judgment is totally without fault. Amen.

The Heart as a Letter: Paul’s Message to the Corinthians

Posted on by Adrian Clark

“The only letter of recommendation we need is you yourselves. Your lives are a letter written in our hearts; everyone can read it and recognise our good work among you. Clearly, you are a letter from Christ showing the result of our ministry among you. This “letter” is written not with pen and ink, but with the Spirit of the living God. It is carved not on tablets of stone, but on human hearts.”
2 Corinthians 3:2-3 NLT

Paul made a reference to the original tablets of stone, given to Moses so many years before. To say something is “carved in stone” indicates that it is there forever. Such a declaration is said to be irrevocable and unchangeable. The most common use of stone these days for written statements is found in a graveyard, where a stone plaque is erected over a place where someone is buried. Sometimes it is fascinating to visit a cemetery and read the inscriptions that can be found there. Not just the name and dates, but often an additional one-line anecdote is included, which provides a little more information about the person interred below. Some inscriptions are frivolous, others are more representative of the dead person’s life. But a good one for Paul, who wrote this epistle, comes from 2 Timothy 4:7, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith”. In all of this, however, the point is that things written on stone cannot be changed very easily. Ask any gravestone engraver. 

Paul referred to the Corinthians being a “letter from Christ showing the result of [his] ministry among [them]”. That’s a faith statement on his part, considering the problems with issues such as immorality that the fellowship of believers there were having. Paul then went further to describe this letter as being written on the hearts of the believers with the “Spirit of the living God”. And it was “carved”, not written with pen and ink. The picture in all of this is of a well-established and faithful group of believers, following the teachings of Paul in the ways of Christ. 

So what is the “human heart”? In the way Paul meant, it is not the pump within us that ensures our blood is distributed throughout our bodies. The Bible refers to it as the core of our being, encompassing emotions, thoughts, and will. It is that spiritual part of us that can feel and express our thoughts and emotions. It is in our hearts that we love and grieve, feeling emotions of happiness, joy, and sadness, and it is where we will find our consciences that direct so much of our lives. We can also find in our hearts thoughts of evil and wickedness that can lead to sin. So we have to be careful in matters of the heart. Jeremiah wrote, “The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is?” (Jeremiah 17:9). And so it is with an unredeemed heart, corrupted by sin and leading its owner on the broad way that leads to destruction. 

To the Israelites, Ezekiel delivered a message of deliverance, a promise that we find in Ezekiel 36:25, “Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. Your filth will be washed away, and you will no longer worship idols”. And he followed this verse with, “And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart”. That is the sort of heart that Paul expected to see in his Corinthian converts, and is the one that we pilgrims have within us. In our lives, however, we must constantly look after our hearts. We find good advice in Proverbs 4:23, “Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life”. Just in the previous chapter, we find, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding” (Proverbs 3:5). 

What message would God find written on our hearts? Would it be a Spirit-filled message of what God has done for us, our hearts throbbing with praise and worship to God? Or something else? But I know what should be found there, and we pilgrims keep our hearts pure and undefiled by sin, as we read God’s Word and follow in obedience His ways.

Dear Heavenly Father. When we believed in Jesus, You gave us a new heart. A heart redeemed and set free from the shackles of sin and evil that used to reside there. Please help us to keep our hearts pure and compliant, always focused towards You. In Jesus’ name. Amen.