The enigma of immortality

Tears welled in his eyes. He had to willfully blink to clear his eyes as he read the verses again; "This mystery . . . Christ in you, the hope of glory." He could almost see Mr. von Ludendorff smiling at the thought that the sentence he had began about forty years ago have finally been completed. The "mystery" was the miracle of the Author and the source of all life dwelling in him. He now understood the meaning of Calvary. The resurrection of the Savior meant that God could now legally grant eternal life to those in the shadow of death. He could exalt the sons of Adam. All who humbled themselves under the mighty hand of God would be exalted in due time. It was the unspeakable marvel of the life of God in Jesus Christ conquering death! With his hands still shaking, he turned to the front of his Bible and wrote the words:

"Today, on May 14, 1978, I discovered 'the mystery of Christ kept secret from the beginning of ti . . . "

He stopped and looked at the date he had just written. Tears began to drop onto the open pages of the Bible in front of him: May 14! That was a day he vowed he would never forget. It was the date he had visited the church . . . May 14, 1938. It was exactly forty years! It was God's number of deliverance-‑40 years to the very day since he first sat in the Bible study and heard Mr. von Ludendorff ask, "Do you know the mystery of Christ?"

As was his life‑long habit, Jerry watched the news on television that night. He listened to the concerned anchorman speak of the rise in anti-Semitism in the United States. He watched a debate on the virtues of "mercy killings," of scientists speaking of future advances in medicine; of the possibilities of future experimentation with "fetal" tissue, on the rights of women to be able to choose to take the life of their children through abortion.

Some time later, he even listened to a doctor who was concerned about the increase of parental abuse of children. The man supported the licensing of parents to be parents.

"After all" he said, "we have marriage licenses, we license the right to drive cars, to own guns, to fish, to own a dog; isn't parenting a more important issue?

"If the parents don't raise their children in a way that is consistent with the standards of the U.S., then the parents should not have the privilege of raising children. The state should remove them."

What scared Jerry, was that it sounded reasonable.

That evening he began to understand that the war he fought in Europe was a minor skirmish compared to the real war. There was another war‑‑the battle between man and his Creator, between the devil and God, between right and wrong.

There were in truth, two wars. One was man fighting man, and the other, man fighting God. But Jerry had laid down his arms. He had relinquished his weapons of rebellion and enlisted on the winning side; in the war that would end all wars . . . the "good fight of faith." He had come to the end of a long journey and begun another one that would lead him to a "far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory." Jeremiah P. Adamson had found the glory that would never fade: the mystery of Christ in him, "the hope of glory."

Later that night, he thought on how many times he could have been killed during the war. He thought deeply about the night of the fire, and how he could have died, had not his faithful canine friend broken free from his rope and awakened him from a deep sleep.

He bowed solemnly before his Creator and prayed:

"Dear God, let me be as a faithful friend, who will break free from the restraints of fear, and awaken those who are sleeping in darkness, indifferent to the 'fire of Your wrath.' Let me 'blow the trumpet in Zion and sound the alarm,' and cry, 'Awake! Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light!'

"Deliver them dear Lord . . . deliver them that they too would come to know You, whom to know is life eternal.

"Bring them out of darkness into the glorious light of the Gospel of Christ, Who is the image of God. Let Your face shine upon them and reveal to them the enigma of immortality­ 'the mystery kept secret since the world began.'"

To be continued...