I WISH I COULD HAVE BEEN THERE

Did you ever wish that you lived in a different time - in history past?  Did you ever think you would like to have been there when dinosaurs walked the earth?  Or have you wished you were part of the great reformation that took place in Europe?  Maybe you wish you could have been there when Jesus walked the earth.  Then this is just for you!

Matt 13:16, 17, “But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear. For I tell you the truth, many Prophets and righteous men longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.” Old Testament saints looked to the future, knowing that at some time in the future the Messiah would come. They wished they could have been there. I look back to the past and say, “I wish I could have been there.”

Acts 17: 26, 27, “From one man He made every nation of men, that should inhabit the whole earth; and He determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek Him and perhaps reach out to Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us.”

GOD’S TIMING IS A MYSTERY (Rom 11: 33)
Why am I a twenty-first century man? I did not choose to be here at this time. I am not overly excited about living in the twenty-first century, even though I know God put me here for this time. Still I have a lot of “I wish I could have been theres.”

I love history! The past is my passion, even to the point of obsession. How did I end up in a century that is filled with gadgets, computers, television, along with a mile-long list of other idle distractions? Except for watching the Super Bowl, I have no interest in twenty-first century entertainment.

I am an unpublished writer, not by trade, but by passion. I began writing for a company paper at work with the offer of total autonomy. It was an offer I could not refuse. I write about the past, seldom about the present or the future. Writing requires a lot of time; you live in world of solitude, a lot of coffee, and spending time pacing the floor. My interest in the past is what happened, who made it happen, and how it affected the future. God determined the time and exact places for all generations, so I acquiesce to His wisdom.

One way or another in our appointed century, we all play a role that affects the future; therefore, no one should be considered meaningless. Still as I look back in history, I think "I wish I could have been there" when God brought Eve to Adam. He had never seen a woman before because there was no such thing. I would love to have seen his initial reaction; she was a gift from God. I wonder if he said what is it, or did he think she was the most beautiful woman in the world?

I wish I could have been there when Joseph revealed himself to his brothers, just to see the shock and terror that left them speechless. (Genesis 45: 4) His brothers' treachery in selling him into slavery in the past caught up to them in the future.

Most of all, I wish I could have been there during the time Jesus walked the earth. Thank God, we have the New Testament to take us back in time; a journey back to the time of Jesus. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John tell us what happened, and who made it happen. The Bible, like no other book, puts us at the scene of history in the making. His crucifixion, His death, His burial and His resurrection were events that changed and shaped the future of the world.

Reading the Bible takes us from the twenty-first century on a journey back through the centuries to the time of what happened and who made it happen. We're all headed toward the future; the past keeps getting further away, while the future keeps getting closer and closer. The future is a race toward the end of our appointed time on earth.

The uniqueness of the Bible is that it was written to all generations, and therefore cannot be outdated or cast off as a relic of the past. (Ps 119:89, 90)
What Jesus Christ did in the past secures eternal life for all who put their trust in Him. For Old Testament believers, Messiah would come in the future. (Heb 11:13-16) For New Testament believers, that Messiah came in the past to save sinners past, present, and future. (I Tim 1: 15)

I was not there when God brought Eve to Adam, nor was I there when Joseph revealed himself to his brothers. Walking and talking with Jesus during His earthly ministry was given to only one generation. True, I was not there, but reading the Gospel account of the life of Christ allows me to take a journey that goes back two thousand years to a place called, “I wish I could have been there.”

WHEN THE ROLL IS CALLED UP YONDER
Because of the saving grace of Jesus Christ that was extended to me, I can say with certainty that when the roll is called up yonder, I know I will be there.John 20: 29, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”