The Pleasure Of Progress Series

Spain once controlled both sides of the Mediterranean Sea at the Straits

Of Gibraltar. On her coins were stamped the two Pillars Of Hercules. They

represented the two great rocks, and the words NE PLUS ULTRA=no more beyond.

As far as they were concerned, Spain was the end of the world. Paul wanted

to get to Spain, for that was the end of the known world, and he wanted to

touch the whole world for Christ. But then, brave men developed the courage

to sail beyond these pillars, and they discovered a whole new world. Spain

was forced to change their coin. They just took off the first word and left

PLUS ULTRA=more beyond.

There is always more beyond, because God has written the principle of

progress into His plan for man. Progressive revelation characterizes the

Bible. God does not tell man everything all at once. He first gives the

law, and later the Gospel. Jesus said to His disciples, "You are not yet

ready for all the Holy Spirit will teach you. It will come when you are

ready." They first followed Him and became loyal to Him as Lord. Then they

were filled with the Holy Spirit, and empowered to carry the good news into

all the world. The body of Christ started small, but grew until it was a

world wide organization. The principle of progress is everywhere in the

Bible. We start as babes in Christ, and then press on to become mature

servants in Christ. Growth, advancement, development, improvement, and

progression are the very essence of the Christian life. Jesus said to His

disciples that they would one day do even greater things than He did.

Every Christian is to be pressing on to gain that more in Christ that

can never be exhausted. Progress is to be a permanent part of the Christian

life. There is no level where we have arrived at the end of our potential.

Paul said we know only in part. In fact, progress is eternal so that even

in heaven we will be guided by the motto-more beyond. The idea of a static

heaven where there is no more progress is contrary to the nature of God. It

would be mean we would exhaust the infinite creativity of God, and be stuck

in a perfection where nothing new and exciting could be added to our

experience. This is a denial of the infinite, which by definition has no

level beyond which it can not go. If it cannot go further, it is finite and

not infinite. By definition progress is eternal with an infinite God.

The saints and theologians of history have all agreed that heaven will

be a place of progress. For progress to cease we would all have to become

equal with God, and that can never be. We will, however, be ever moving in

that direction. The poet was right who wrote-

Thank God! There is always a land beyond

For us who are true to the trail;

A vision to seek, a beckoning to peek,

A farness that never will fail.

I like that phrase, for those who are true to the trail. This is one

of themes of Psa. 84. Progress in Psalm 84 is portrayed as a pilgrimage in

verse 6. They are called blessed who have set their hearts on pilgrimage.

These are people who have determined their lives will be a journey, which

will draw them ever closer to God. That is their goal says verse 7, to

appear before God in Zion. For the Old Testament saint this meant getting

to Jerusalem. For the New Testament saint it is getting to the New

Jerusalem in heaven. In either case, life is a journey through some tough

places, like the valley of Baca, but they never quit. They go from

strength to strength, that is, they get stronger with every challenge they

face and overcome. They keep on keeping on, making progress until they

arrive at their goal.

So the main thing we see about Biblical progress is-we need a goal.

You cannot define progress without a goal. If you are on highway 35 heading

South at 65 miles per hour you are making good time, but there is no way to

know if you are making progress until your goal is known. If your

destination is North, we know you are not making progress, no matter how

fast you are going South. If you are only going 20 miles per hour, but you

are going North, you are making progress. It is not the speed, but the goal

that defines progress. It is the goal that makes any race meaningful.

Without a goal you only have motion and action, but no progress, for a goal

is necessary to measure progress.