A REFERENCE POINT

A REFERENCE POINT

When I was a boy on the farm, in the depth of the Great Depression, the State of Idaho created work for the farmers in the area by building and improving roads, hiring the farmers and their teams, fresnoes and scrapers, and gravel wagons.

Most of the time, the farmers worked together amicably, but a few times there was friction, and one or both of the combatants were sent home.

We younger ones watched in awe as the surveyors marked stakes with a code and stuck them in the ground. They were actually instructions for the workmen who were to come later.

Every so often, a stake would have the letters RP in bold print, followed by numerals and letters. These specially marked stakes were nailed to trees, or some other objects which would not be moved.

One day I ventured to ask one of the surveyors what those stakes meant. He kindly told me that they were called "Reference Points"-- points which could be relied on in case other stakes became moved or loosened by other workmen.

We human beings need such a "Reference Point" in our lives. Our customs and trends of behaviour are prone to change, and we can easily become confused if we govern our lives by present trends.

Fortunately, we do have such an immovable "Reference Point" in the Lord, and in His Word.

Psalms 119:89 {LAMED.} For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven.

Isaiah 40:8 The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.

Matthew 24:35 Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.

I Peter 1:25 But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.

God's Mercy is another thing which will stand for all time-- immovable. David wrote a song about the Mercy of God (Psa 136) in which "For His Mercy Endureth For Ever" was the chorus for 26 verses.