"Heavenward the Wagons"
From the early 1800’s up to 1869 many of our great-grandparents went West in a Wagon train. If we look carefully at their “great adventure” we will find many comparisons to the journey we are all making right now. We begin our journey by coming in contact with someone that acquaints us with the possibility of finding a new life beyond the valleys and mountains of this life. The agent offers us a new life in that land beyond compare known as “Oregon” or Heaven. We spend time learning the skills we will need to make this journey of a lifetime. Soon we make the decision to journey into the unknown territory where we have never been heaven or rather “Oregon” sounds great and a place that really must be seen to be believed. I was born in Idaho and raised just across the border in Washington state from Oregon.
Truly it is a place that must be seen to be believed. It is even more beautiful than has been described. Vocabulary does not contain the verbiage necessary to give an adequate description of the beauty and wonders “Oregon” contains. We have an idea what our final destination will be like but just like Oregon words fail to describe it. So with our decision we begin our great journey. We load our Wagon up with the supplies we think we are going to need for the long journey. From St. Jo to Oregon was a distance of some 2,000 miles. Each mile was covered by riding in a wagon that had no suspension under it. Each and every jolt was felt as the massive vehicle bounced and jounced its way across the prairie. Soon however we find the wagon is needed to haul our supplies and we walk. So in front of us is a journey we learn to walk the walk on. After all their is a correct manner in which to walk and a manner that very quickly takes a toll on you. We look to those that have gone on before to harvest what information we can from them. The Wagon Master (AKA the Holy Spirit) is there to bring comfort to us since he has made this very journey countless times before. We soon learn to listen to his instructions. He knows what we will need to know for our survival.
First thing he tells us is Walk don’t ride we will need these Oxen for the six months we are on the road to our new home. These Oxen (the five fold Ministry, if I may ) are chosen with meticulous care for they cannot be replaced along the trail. The Journey begins with great fanfare, many tears from some, we say goodbye to those we are leaving behind (the World) knowing we will not see them again if we make the journey. Thusly begin the long journey The first days and weeks are easy going. The prairie offers little in the way of obstacles to make the way difficult. So day by day we walk, night by night we camp out under the star filled sky. River crossings are made with no trouble. All in all it seems we have made the correct decision to go! Before long though we hear word the Indians are raiding the trains ahead. It seems they have gotten enough of people trampling down their hunting areas and driving off all the game. Now this begins to sound like the devil’s kingdom to me. He doesn’t bother with ones that just pass through his area But those that are interested in taking as many as possible along for the journey to “Oregon” are going to pay a price for their brazen attack on his kingdom. After all if he is not bothering you perhaps it is because you are not bothering him? We make it through the attacks of the fiery arrows he throws our way [
1Pe 4:12 “Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: “]with great effort and skilful use of our weapons of faith. Especially the Word of God which is our only offensive weapon,[Heb 4:12 “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”] our Winchester repeating Rifle! It comes loaded with a lifetime supply of bullets the only catch is you must study [2Ti 2:15 “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” ] or practice with it to become proficient in its usage. Some can not hit the broad side of a barn with a shotgun if they were standing close enough to touch it. Others through many hours of practice target shooting have become much better at it. One can never practice enough.We all have heard of “Annie Oakley” in history. Let me tell you of another “Sharpshooter”. My Grandfather would stand with an apple on his head and allow his brother in law Uncle Walter Corely to shoot it of f with the rifle placed over his shoulder aiming through a mirror. Uncle Walt never missed! Thank God ! with great practice we all can become skillful in the usage of God’s Word. It takes much more than Sunday practice to increase your skill level. Some of the better shots are now forming “hunting parties”[Bible studies] to supply us with fresh meat. These hunters are actively going out and bringing new people they run into along the way to join up with our wagon train. You see it takes each and every one of us doing his or her job together to complete the journey. The road ahead is going to get much rougher. We have Mountains to climb that will require all of us to haul the Wagons with our supplies over them. We can not make it on our own, we need each and every one!
As we all pull together we finally make it over the final mountain top and are able to see what lies ahead. We stop for the night at the edge of the great Western territories desert. Our Guide gently informs us we must now leave all the remaining baggage we have carted across the country to this point. Our Oxen will not make it across the desert with this great a load, so we spend the night going through the items we have loved for so long that now must be set aside and left on the trail. There goes grandpas clock, right beside it grandma’s bed and dresser are lovingly laced for someone else to pick up perhaps. As the next day dawns and our journey across the desert begins, it does not take long for us to discover what our gentle guide was warning us about. As the temperature rises the animals as well as us are beginning to show the wear of the heat and the ever present sand. Our poor old Wagon begins to grind from the sand in its hubs.
The next day we notice our water supply is already showing how much we have been using. We must conserve it or replenish it for the Oxen or we will be in trouble so once again we begin to discard items we feel we can do without. Extra blankets, quilts that grandma made for us on this trip all go! The solid silverware the pots the pans we are not using each night everything must go that is not a life or death requirement or we may not make it. The days of little to refresh ourselves with stretch out seemingly interminably, it seems we have forgotten what really cool long drink of water fresh from the source tastes like! The small amount of water that remains in the bottom of the barrels is turning brackish from lack of being refreshed. Hope seems a far distant glimmer in the gathering darkness of our situation. The old Prophet Jeremiah gives some insight into our situation [
Jer 2:13 “For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.”]Could it be that in our haste to lighten our load we have left along side the path our fountain of living water? The Holy Spirit Himself is often linked and compared to waters of baptism. The waters of baptism in scripture were always freshly flowing streams. Even the Hebrew “Mikvah” had a flowing water source that continually refreshed it at all times. Beloved this is what the Holy Spirit does for us in the desert times of our lives. He continually refreshes our water supply. We today in the midst of our many troubles and trials need to seek out the Holy Spirit where we left Him by the trail as we continued on confidently in our own methodology. He is there right where we left Him waiting patiently for our return to pick Him up.
Hallelujah! water is just ahead. The Oxen are difficult to handle now that they smell it. I guess God has not forgotten us after all!
We made it to the far side of the desert. Even though we had to turn around and retrieve the items we so desperately need. It is now a straight shot over the next mountain range, the Cascades loom up before us, but we have no fear after all we made it over the Rockies and across the desert what can this final mountain range offer as far as trouble goes? High nearly vertical cliff faces, deep cuts made by rivers that are running ever faster to the Pacific Ocean, deep dark rain forest thick with trees. are all that stand between us and our new home.
Now our loving guide reminds us that we are going to need the long heavy duty ropes to cross this final frontier! But in our desire to lighten the load we have discarded them along with many other tools we are going to need. What to do? Must we go back now those tortuous weeks that are behind us just to pick up some rope we did not think we would need? Just as we are about to give up and turn back we see the Columbia River and a small town is there yes, we can purchase the items we need to finish our journey there.
Beloved even when it seems all is lost, our great compassionate guide knows exactly where we need to go to receive the items we have cast aside that are yet required for our journey Just as out Westward journey required many things that we did not feel were necessary So our Heavenly journey requires items some may feel are “outdated“ and unnecessary. Perhaps we need to find an altar somewhere and purchase these items we discarded along the way. A good example of this is Holiness. Scripture plainly teaches that without holiness no man may see God.
Heb 12:14 “Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:” Have we laid down the standard of Holiness along with other teachings we felt we no longer needed? There came a time when we realized that true Holiness was not an outward appearance like what was called “Plain Dress” for over a Century. No! Holiness is a condition of the heart. But many decided that since plain dress was not holiness as we had been taught. We no longer need to be holy. Our Bible teaches otherwise! There are many other teachings we have set aside just as we have Holiness that are not optional to our journey. Some of the teachings we cast aside do not impinge upon our Salvation, but our full understanding of Scripture requires them! It would benefit us greatly if we would reexamine the things our fore fathers taught us that have been discarded as being to heavy for the oxen to pull or are simply not politically correct in today’s society. Remember being politically correct does not guarantee us being correct Biblically! The eyes of this World are not our Judge, but the eyes of the Lord are... 2Ch 16:9a “ For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him....”Friend, our journey is nearing its end. There are far more days behind us than lie ahead of us so lets push on with renewed vigor and determination to see our journey to its completion! I often think of the old song that in part goes “ for every mountain there is two valleys. We all love being “on top of the mountain” but remember it was a struggle to climb all the way up there, it will be a struggle to climb all the way down the other side.
The Heavenly Kingdom is on its way! Will the Father of us all find us sitting alongside the trail or working to continue the Journey?
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