The Ark

I used to love action-adventure movies! I remember when the Raiders of the Lost Ark movie first came out back in the early 1980’s. I was fascinated with it and also with the two sequels as well. I still have all three movies on VHS tape, but no longer have a VHS player. 😂

In the early 80’s my spiritual life was just picking up from where I left it, somewhere back in the 1970’s. Like a lot of people, I was raised up going to church, made a profession of faith at a young age, then drifted away from Christ in my teens and early twenties, and pursued my own way of living.

Then in the early 1980’s I began my journey back toward God. Looking back now, I can see how spiritually immature I was. I remember thinking that The Raiders of the Lost Ark movie was a Christian movie. After all, it was about the Ark of the Covenant, right? Wrong. Actually the movie wasn’t biblical, and it wasn’t about the Biblical account of the Ark of the Covenant. In reality it was just an action-adventure film.

The Bible reveals that the Ark of the Covenant was built by Moses. as commanded by God, to hold the Ten Commandments, which was in the form of two stone tablets, as told in the Book of Exodus. It was a symbol of the covenant between God and His people.

Recently I came across the following quote from Charles Spurgeon’s devotional, Morning and Evening, and it introduced me to another way of thinking about the “Ark.”

“Reader, can you find rest apart from the Ark, Christ Jesus? Then consider that your religion may be in vain.” #CharlesSpurgeon

Charles Spurgeon speaks here of Christ as the Ark: Christ as the source of our happiness and the source of true rest in Him. Christ, whom we can not live without and the one who feeds our souls. Christ, to whom our soul can sing!

I found this “Ark” when I turned back to Christ in repentance and faith back in the 1980’s. What a difference He’s made in my life ever since. It was not until I saw the sin in my life and called out to Him to forgive me, that change began in my life. Looking back, I really don’t recall growing in Christ in my teens and early twenties, but I do recall growing in Christ after I repented of the sin in my life, and discovered the joy of knowing Christ.

Spurgeon further elaborates along this line of thought when he says:

“Are you satisfied with anything short of a conscious knowledge of your union and interest in Christ? Then woe to you. If you profess to be a Christian while finding full satisfaction in worldly pleasures and pursuits, your profession is probably false.” #CharlesSpurgeon

A gentle but sober reminder that growing in Christ should be the Christians primary source of satisfaction, interest, and place of rest. If this isn’t true in your life, ask yourself why not. Actively seeking and growing in God is the business of believers, and if you’re not, well, that’s probably a big red flag….

“Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble.” 2 Peter 1:10