The Union flag was fluttering at half-mast over Buckingham Palace as the framed notice was fixed to the outer railings. It was a short proclamation from Her Majesty the Queen announcing ‘the death of her beloved husband, His Royal Highness the Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, who passed away peacefully this morning at Windsor Castle’.
Following the announcement, television schedules were interrupted as continuing news programmes, tributes and interviews were broadcast. Appreciation and gratitude were expressed for the Duke’s life and activities which impacted so many areas of British society and life around the world.
As is usually the case when a well-known celebrity or prominent person passes away, thousands of words are written and spoken, many hours of video and television time are used to portray the life and history, character and work of the person who is no longer alive. In the midst of the sadness and sense of loss there is often the desire to express gratitude for all that the person has meant to those who knew them and of the legacy which they have left behind for others to experience, enjoy and learn from.
John, one of the disciples who knew the Lord Jesus Christ, God’s only Son when He lived on earth, concludes his written testimony of the Lord’s life and ministry with these words:
“Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written”
That has become increasingly true down through the centuries. For if every single one of the millions upon millions of true Christians, who knew their lives being transformed as their sins were forgiven and new life given to them through the death and resurrection of Jesus, their Saviour, was to write their own testimony of what He really meant to them, maybe there would not be enough space on the earth.
It has been correctly stated that the Lord Jesus was the ‘Greatest Man Who Ever Lived’. He was, and still is, the most influential and most radical person alive today, Whose life and teachings have inspired, encouraged and changed lives, both past and present, preparing them for eternity with God Himself.
This Man, the Lord God in human form, died in our place, taking the punishment for our sin,
was raised victorious over death, hell, sin and Satan, AND HE IS ALIVE TODAY,
still giving forgiveness of sin and new life to all who humbly come to Him in repentance.
Not only do we have millions of histories of lives being transformed by the Lord, we have the greatest, most authentic, authoritative and true recorded testimony of the Lord Jesus which has been inspired by Almighty God Himself. We read:
“All scripture is God breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness (in God’s ways)”
and that the word of God
“does not have its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God
as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit”
How wonderful is that? The Lord God, as a loving Heavenly Father, desires that each one of us knows the truth about Himself, His work in creation and His calling of the Jewish people to be His witnesses. It was through them that He brought their Messiah, His only Son, the Saviour of all people, both Jew and Gentile, into the world to die in our place so we might be forgiven and be reconciled with Him for eternity.
When man writes history, he writes from his own perspective, giving weight to his interpretation, and may contain great errors. But when Almighty God writes HIS STORY, it is absolute truth, for God cannot lie.
We deny, disregard and deliberately disobey God’s living word at our peril. There will be a price to pay.
Ron Brickman