A Political Journey

What motivates me to write, the root cause, is to see the Lord honoured in my generation. This desire should be at the heart of every Christian, in every generation, primarily witnessed through an inwardly transformed life, the outworkings evidenced by participation in a just, compassionate and godly society. The appeal must be to those who desire truth in the innermost parts, those who want to know what is, what is real, tangible, objective, the meaning of this on the face of it bizarre thing we call life, is there indeed anything anymore that is firm, foundational, trustworthy and true. I can build bridges or burn them, but if the desire and thoughts expressed above leave you stone cold then there's little I can do for you, you have to want this. No-one will enter the Kingdom of Heaven unwillingly, nor will there be those in Hell who did not time and time again on Earth make clear their choice too. He exists outside of time for it is His construct, which is why Jesus is the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the universe created through Him, and what exactly is 14 billion years to the one who can bend light to His will. He has written aeons ago in the Book of Life the names of all He has chosen, who will love Him and serve Him. I am not God, I do not know in advance who will be saved and who not, but I do know I am obliged as an ambassador for Christ to warmly extend greetings from the living God, as every Christian is entrusted and commanded to do. You are invited to the wedding banquet at end of time, but you must my friend RSVP.

Personally I had no great interest in politics until recent years. First off, perhaps, a little backstory. Hmmm. Story. Regarding salvation, I can first remember being born again in Christ back in 1990 just prior to Easter, whilst working at a minesite, Warrego west of Tennant Creek. The roster had plenty of days off not worth the 2000km roundtrip by road for R&R in Darwin, so I was in to fitness. I remember riding out to the decommissioned smelter not believing in God, and when I rode back I did. The subsequent spiritual journey has been a lot longer slog than anything I've ever done on a pushy. One of our own describes the experience as the incoming tide slowly rescuing a grounded ship. At the same time, and this well before the coming reign of the elven safety gnomes, a number of incidents occurred onsite, at least one of which could've taken my life. Details aside, it felt interesting at the time, and in hindsight, divine protection. Plus, all that quiet time on nightshift gazing at the big velvety disco disco panorama above, wide horizons out bush, looking up at the stars if indeed I could count them. Yes John, just a surface operator then, underground comes later.

Hadn't grown up in a Christian home though many of the basics were modelled by parents, fidelity, no swearing, work ethic, love for family and value friendship. I did my best. Eventually during my travels leaving home late teens then Adelaide early twenties I hooked up with an older lady who was on again off again Catholic, but enough there that I remember experiencing non-platonic love for the first time, as opposed to lust. She wrote out the Lord's Prayer for me and I carried that in my wallet for the three years or so we were together, that was my first Scripture, and I remain grateful to this day.

'Our Father in heaven, hallowed by your Name,

your kingdom come, your will be done,

on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our sins,

as we forgive those who have sinned against us.

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

For yours is the kingdom, the power and the glory,

now and forever, amen.'

(This from memory though Matthew 6:9-13 has it ever so slightly different, Luke 11:2-4 renders an abridged version, and it is courtesy of Luke we know Jesus taught this prayer to the disciples, his first students, when one asked Him to teach them how to pray.)

Over the course of that year or round abouts I bought a copy of the NIV in Darwin alongside a book of daily readings by C.S.Lewis, the Business of Heaven. I was bright enough as a child, always enjoyed reading, so with just these two books under torchlight happily spent many nights in the campervan and became familiar with the material, with understandably perhaps an over-reliance on Lewis' lay theology. Still, his intellectual approach suited me and he covered in his oeuvre pretty much every angle a layman thinks of, he didn't shy away from any thorny issue, and I liked that. I read the Bible from cover to cover numerous times, sure I skim read some of the more exacting passages describing temple dimensions, repetition of the law, genealogies, kinglists etc, but I read it all. The Lord spoke through it all.

After the Lord's Prayer the passage in which I first remember the Lord speaking to me was the Ask Seek Knock of Mat 7:7-8 / Luk 11:9-10,

'Ask and it will be given to you, seek and you will find, knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.'

The verses go on to encourage the hesitant or timid to trust and be bold in approaching Him, confident in the love of this Father. You may fancy your skills as a psychoanalyst, brusquely parade your intellect in literary deconstruction, scoff and sneer in vulgar contempt - or just simply take Him at face value no matter what your socio-economic position. Remember most of Oxbridge are never going to see the Light of day despite the wealth of talent, if they continue in their sins. And the same goes for us all.

Note also the emphasis on a need for individual response, no community or society, extended family, no government, political system, no outward pressure can make this decision for you, nor deny you the opportunity. To be sure, besides the joy, the deep peace and surety, the firm hope of what is to come, there are consequences now, some severe, for those who see Him and believe. In the West we are far behind what gets doled out in North Korea, Nigeria, Iran, any brutal Communist collectivist regime or Islamic state, but blind Freddy knows it won't stop at cancel culture here, it's just the beginning. Unless we act, now.

Where was I. Whether mineral exploration, mining or tourism it seemed in putting a crust on the table I never had a weekend off which proved hazardous, it made finding a church gathering and committing to regular attendance that much harder, and to be honest too often I was busy with living a dual life of a foot in both camps, unlike the mighty angel astride land and sea, this was Augustine's please Lord but not today.

So then, time rolls on in the Dry seasons camping out under clear mild starry skies when later working as a tour guide, meeting folk from every nation, tribe and tongue, the tropical lightning thunderstorms in the afternoons and evenings during the Wet when for some of us work quietened down, this of course well before Tim Berners-Lee went and ruined it all. A lotta living water, big sponge, and yes boy, the days decades eventually came when I would find myself totally wrung out. You cannot mock the Lord, and I have never ever knowingly adopted that mindset, yet my speech and actions belied what faith I held in my heart, but as a father spares the son who serves him, so too I was spared from eternal separation.

The years ahead were some of the happiest in my life, yet paradoxically marred by conflict. International travel, marriage, freed from habitual recidivist use of marijuana, solid evangelical teaching, building relationships, service in ministries, university, the prospect of career, hearth and home. Overjoyed at the birth of my sons. A Dickens of a time, for it was the best of times..

A late nineties tertiary education in the humanities gave me the philosophical underpinnings to postmodernism and how one could possibly arrive at the subjectivity of all truth. Whilst briefly exposed to the Marxist school of criticism in English and History I didn't fully understand the future implications for wider society (often chose the token 'religious' essay question hence I could beat a path clear of their thickets, had no political education at that point, and no remembrance of any secondary education worth mentioning, so all up still a bit naive, but getting there). I did understand at the time how, whilst then endemic to the cultivated academy this wicked garden escapee of unintelligent contradiction we now refer to as cultural Marxism would eventually choke the crops, for even then it could be seen that fields afar were ripe for harvest, and remain so. Witnessing at new age fairs it was clear the fallback position of the spiritual not religious crowd, anything goes really, it's the vibe. But like many, I did not anticipate this civilisational cancer migrating into the organs of hard science, government and bureaucracy and commerce, incredibly, even military leadership have succumbed to the disgrace.

Even from the early nineties I understood biblically why though desirable, everyone was not a Christian. Yet for the life of me I could not understand why no great Christian took the field to fight these Philistines, at least it was not obvious to me in mass media. To the popular mind C.S.Lewis is the greatest Christian thinker and apologist of the forties and fifties, not a professional theologian yet full of the Spirit. For my money his contemporary in the States A.W.Tozer had not quite the same degree of influence, again self-taught and devoid of a theological education early in his career, yet wrote and pastored with a prophetic edge the drier and urbane Oxford Don lacked. Where were the Lewis or Tozer of my age? Why could no-one get any cut-through? Since the Billy Graham crusades of the sixties most would think only of the Revd Fred Nile in NSW politics being mocked by the queer lobby. Torn between the desire to serve God yet struggling with sanctification, and without support close to home, I elected for a secondary teaching career in my majors, thinking ultimately a Christian school would provide the pedagogical and pastoral opportunities for a good communicator with good intent. Well, nice idea at the time mate.

Yes I did my best, but it was not good enough, nowhere near enough. Though technically not a new convert, like a few I harboured designs as a pastor, a minister, it looked quite the life. But alas, to talk the talk one must walk it, and whilst my weak knees were strengthening too many times did I stumble. As the Lord struck the shepherd and the sheep were scattered, so in turn, due to my own sins, I was hit with a perfect storm of stress inducers and indeed left shattered, and all the fruit did fall.

It's getting late now, I'd like a cup of Rhoibos (thankyou to the Saffas I met in mining who introduced me), we'll begin the next installment soon, quite soon. Prayer, fasting, repentance in preparation, for Authority resides with the Lord.