Insightful Musings on the Scriptures

by

Raymond P. Sparre
Northwest University class of '67

Hello, nice people.

And being a nice person in the view of everyone is not necessarily an easy arrangement to pull off. I guess we all have to determine WHO is most important to please.

Becki and I did a walk/jog earlier. Thankfully we did so without getting very wet. But it rained torrentially before daylight.

I’ve already done a business run into Molalla—even picked up a check owed me—even deposited it—meaning we can pay a few more bills.

Do the right thing.

Love, Dad/Ray.

This is part of a quote from Isaiah 42 that begins this way: “Here is my servant whom I have chosen, the one I love, in whom I delight” (v. 18). It’s easy to recognize the same message being spoken by God the Father at the baptism of Jesus. It was in the form of a supernatural phenomenon—“…a voice from heaven” along with a dove (Matthew 4:17). That special demonstration confirmed divine endorsement of Jesus—“This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17). It’s interesting to note that hundreds of years before Jesus, Isaiah essentially quoted God in regards to the Messiah—then at the prophecy’s fulfillment, God quotes Isaiah, which means He is quoting Himself. It forms a perfect circle.

I don’t spend a lot of time consulting commentaries, however I did read a little from Matthew Henry on this prophetic passage. Here’s a line that stands out to me: “Note, The great design of the gospel, is to bring people to trust in the name of Jesus Christ; his name Jesus, a Saviour, that precious name whereby he is called, and which is as ointment poured forth” (from Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible). And a phrase that particularly stands out to me is “The great design of the gospel.”

We are still driving a 1997 Toyota Camry with nearly 319,000 miles on it. I have to reason that the Japanese engineers who designed and crafted that 2.4 liter engine have to be swelling with delight and pride to behold the outstanding success of what they have designed and intended. In like manner, I have a good friend from high school who is trying to retire as an engineer from Boeing. He’s qualified to do so, but he’s having a hard time actually cutting the connection. Why? Because he has had so much fun and enjoyment designing and engineering certain parts and components for their newest big flying tanker, and there is nothing short of delight at seeing his own creations make it into reality, and proving to be of long-lasting reliable quality.

You can be sure that the Great Designer and Engineer of the Biblical Gospel is equally pleased to behold so many of His human creatures choosing His Product who follow the Owner’s Manual and watch that combination prove reliable all the way to eternity.

This awesome product is not just for whole “nations.” In fact it’s unreasonable to think that nations can be redeemed, as though God strategizes to save people in groups. Nope, the evidence is that the road to ETERNAL LIFE is single file—not in pairs or families—but individually—one by one. And my paraphrased rendering of the FOCUS could go like this: “THIS IS NOT AN EXCLUSIVE OFFER ONLY FOR JEWS, BUT FOR EVERY PERSON FROM EVERY NATION, TO PUT THEIR ETERNAL HOPE IN JESUS CHRIST—THAT NAME THAT IS ABOVE EVERY NAME—BECAUSE THE DESIGNER KNOWS THAT ALL OTHER OPTIONS ARE HOPELESS.”