We Have A Rendezvous

Do not put your trust in princes, in mortal men, who cannot save. When their spirit departs, they return to the ground; on that very day their plans come to nothing. Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD his God, the Maker of heaven and earth. (Psalm 146:3-6, NIV 1984).

My Musings – “You and I have a rendezvous with destiny. We will preserve for our children this [the United States], the last best hope of man on earth, or we will sentence them to take the first step into a thousand years of darkness. If we fail, at least let our children and our children’s children say of us we justified our brief moment here. We did all that could be done.” (Ronald Reagan, 1964).

This is an excerpt from “The Speech,” that catapulted Ronald Reagan to national prominence as more than a “B” movie actor and launched a political career that ultimately led to the White House. It was made during the height of the Cold War, when the “hope of man on earth” was not all that hopeful. We had nearly averted a nuclear holocaust a few years earlier during the Cuban Missile Crisis when “cooler heads prevailed.” But the threat remained until his “rendezvous with history” as President of the United States that led to the eventual end of the Cold War and the Soviet Union.

Today, that “darkness” is rising from the ashes in territorial disputes in Ukraine, Taiwan and the West Bank, to name just a few. Layer upon this a nation (again, the United States) divided within its own borders following a twenty-year war on terrorism with less than stellar results. Not to mention (okay, so I’m mentioning them) a world not yet recovered from a global pandemic, increasing evidences of global warming, and crumbling global economies.

A new “rendezvous with destiny?” Perhaps. But is a divided nation, a divided world, up to the challenge? Well, despite the inspirational oratory of Ronald Reagan, which was inspired by Abraham Lincoln’s speech the last time this nation was so seriously divided, I do not believe that this nation is (or ever has been) the “the last best hope of man on earth.” Nor do I believe we will sentence our children and grandchildren to “a thousand years of darkness.”

Oh yes, darkness is coming. Whether in our lifetime, our children’s, our grandchildren or some other generation a thousand years from now. “Those will be days of distress unequaled from the beginning, when God created the world, until now—and never to be equaled again. If the Lord had not cut short those days, no one would survive. But for the sake of the elect, whom he has chosen, he has shortened them.” (Mark 13:19–20, NIV 1984).

But no king or kingdom will be the hope that rescues us. Because our ultimate hope is not “on earth.” The “last best hope of man,” the only hope of man is a man of the past. Crucified two-thousand years ago. Why? Because, “Jesus said, ‘My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place.’” (John 18:36, NIV 1984). A “man” of the past? Yes, but also a “man” of the future. Because He’s coming back.

Yes, there will, for a time (actually a thousand years of light not darkness), be a kingdom on earth when the “once and future King” returns to fulfill a promise. But after that a new Kingdom. A new heavens and earth. A Kingdom “from another place” that will never end.

My Advice – We may, for “our brief moment here,” have “a rendezvous with destiny.” And we must make every effort to be able to be justified in saying “we did all that could be done” for our children and grandchildren. But while that is important, the real “rendezvous with destiny,” is not being justified in saying “we did all that could be done” “on earth,” but that we were justified in the eyes of the Father by believing in the Son — the only hope for man “after” earth. Are you ready for that rendezvous?