Dear Phyllis,
In our last session we noticed that the head of
Jesus was as fine gold. We said that told us that He had the thoughts of
God. But then that verse goes on to say that His locks are bushy and
black as ravens (S of S 5:11). The first time I tried to teach the Song of
Solomon I struggled to find some spiritual teaching and said that hair is given
to us for a covering. Not too good. It wasn't until many years later that the
Lord showed me the profound meaning of that verse. One day I looked in a mirror
and saw something I had never noticed before. I saw a couple of strands of
white hair. Then I noticed that the top was getting a little shiny. I was
getting older. I thought, “Oh, is that what that verse means?”. Black and bushy
can only mean one thing – Jesus hasn't topped out yet.
When I was in the business as a front line fighter
pilot we looked at 30 year old men as elderly. Pappy Boyington was one of the
most famous pilots of the 2nd WW. He was 30 years old when he was
given command of the famous Black Sheep Squadron. Because he was nearly ten
years older than most of his men the name Pappy got tagged on him. I was 25
when I was flying with the Fight'ng 40th Fighter Squadron and
considered myself near my peak. In 1941 when the Austrian diggers (soldiers)
went into the Septic Valley to take on the Japanese the environment was so
demanding they didn't send a man in who was older than 25. They said anyone
older than that just couldn't take the harshness of the environment. It is a
medical fact that most men top out when they get in their 30s. For anyone in
their high 30s, that is about the limit for NFL football players. From there on
it is all down hill. From 50 on the roof begins to look like there is a little
frost on it, and from 60 on getting “a hair” cut starts becoming a reality. The
point is this: anyone with jet back hair and a full bushy mop of it hasn't hit
his peak yet. This is what the Bible means when it tells us about Jesus, that His
locks are bushy and black as ravens that He is still at His peak. Or in
other words, there is no decay in Jesus.
One of the melancholy facts of life is that the best
of men have a fade away point. I believe Ronald Reagan was one of the greatest
men who ever sat in the Oval Office. During the Carter administration I was so
infuriated and embarrassed by his deplorable conduct that I was ashamed to call
myself an American. I said I never wanted to set foot on that soil again. But
when Reagan took over the change was dramatic. I was so proud of that man it
was an honor to call myself an American again. For the first time ever I bought
an American flag and put it on a pole in my lawn. But, like all men, Reagan
topped out. Then the sad day came when he made his final speech and said he had
Alzheimer and would no longer appear in public. It was a few years later before
his flag draped coffin was laid to rest, but age had nibbled away at the once
great man and he drifted off into history.
Among the many absolute unique features of Jesus is
He hasn't topped out yet. He still has a full head of hair and it's still jet
black. Hebrews 13:8 express it best - “Jesus Christ the same yesterday,
today, and forever”. Jesus was 33 when He left this world to return to His
father. He was still in His prime. His hair was black and bushy.
When we talk about the hair of Jesus we can sum it
up with one word – TIMELESS.
But if we look at the world we live in we see the
opposite phenomenon taking place. The 2nd law of thermal dynamics is
entropy increases; everything goes from order to disorder; everything turns to
decay. The one universal, inescapable, laws of life is aging. And the end of
aging is death.
Fundamentally getting saved is getting
married to Jesus.
The marriage relationship is given to us as an illustration of our relationship
with God. But what is marriage like here? The following is the standard
experience of an average unsaved couple:
You see that girl sitting three rows over in English
class. You know she is a cheer leader but this is the first time you have been
in class with her. She looks cuter here than she did at the football game.
Three weeks later, with sweating hands and a dry mouth, you ask her for a date.
Oh me, that was great! Then you ask her, “Say, could we do this again next
week?” It takes a year for one Saturday to get to the next, but 7:00 o'clock
finally comes. Then the hands on the clock start spinning like the spring went
boang. Four or five hours with her pass like ten minutes. The greatest moment
of the week is when you can pick her up and the worst is when you kiss her
goodnight and have to go home alone. Then you get married. The first three
months are, “Oh me, this is better than I imagined” Then 15 years later you are
sitting at the breakfast table one morning. She is sitting across the table in
her ragged house coat and hair undone. All that youthful beauty is on its way
south, and she is screaming at the kids. You say to yourself, “Man, this is
dull. What a drag!”
That is not too unrealistic. That is exactly the way
it happens in millions of homes. My 60 years in the Orient have only been
marked by infrequent visits to the states, usually spaced by seven years. Without
exception, every time I have returned home the greatest and most depressing
feature I have had to deal with has been the change in the church. What
were once warm vibrant fellowships have ceased. Joyful, on fire Christians,
have cooled down. The great fellowship we enjoyed the last time we were here
isn't there anymore. Jesus warned us about this in the first view He gave us of
the Church in the Seven Churches of Rev. 2&3. The Church in Ephesus lost
their first love. This is the most dangerous deadly disease I know.
There have been many wonderful mighty movings of the
Spirit as He has made His way across this globe headed from east to west. But
none have lasted. The Methodists were once the greatest evangelistic movement
in church history. Today it is one of the sickest most putrid denomination.
Oberlin College was founded by Charles Finney. Today it is one of the worst,
anti-christ, liberal, progressive, institutions in America. In 1954 the island
of Lewis in the Hebrides Islands saw one of the most amazing awakenings of the
20th century under Dunan Campbell. Thirty years ago I was asking
Allen Redpath what has happened on Lewis island. He said it is as dead as a
tomb stone. It has reverted to being as dead as it was before Duncan Campbell
showed up. A large number of young people went out as missionaries but the
church has died.
What is the answer? I don't know. I know the change
hasn't happened with Jesus. He is timeless. He is as wonderful today as
He ever was. The problem is with us. How do you ward off deadness? How
do you maintain the first love? Maybe it is the way that you keep the fire
going in your marriage. You've got to work at it. You have to stay in love with
your wife. If you do, she will become more wonderful with age. We tend to ride
the wave of the moment. But if your walk with Jesus is not founded on great
fellowship, but on consistent daily meetings with Jesus every morning, He won't
change. I thank God for the disasters that have fallen in on me. I have
been stripped of everything I owned in this world. At one time the only thing I
had left was Jesus. Oh thank God! What this has done has stripped away all the
props and what I have found remaining has been the most wonderful wonderful
Being beyond anything I dreamed possible.
Oh, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus! Your hair is black
and bushy! You haven't changed a bit. You are more wonderful today than You
were yesterday. Oh, Lord, let me love you more.
bill
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