I had the opportunity of swimming recently in the Solitary Islands Marine Park at the Woolgoolga beach just north of Coffs Harbour in NSW. I was duck diving under some of the waves coming my way when I spied a dolphin ‘surfing’ within a few metres of me in the next wave. It was one of those special moments in creation, observing a dolphin in such close proximity to me.
The word ‘solitary’ in the title ‘Solitary Islands Marine Park’ intrigued me. It reminds me of a special poem written by Dr Charles Allan back in 1926 titled ‘One Solitary Life’ written about the one who is the most influential person in all human history. It goes like this:
“He was born in an obscure village, the child of a peasant. He grew up in another village, where He worked in a carpenter shop until He was 30. Then, for three years, He was an itinerant preacher. He never wrote a book. He never held an office. He never had a family or owned a home. He didn’t go to college. He never lived in a big city. He never travelled 200 miles from the place where He was born. He did none of the things that usually accompany greatness. He had no credentials but Himself.
He was only 33 when the tide of public opinion turned against Him. His friends ran away. One of them denied Him. He was turned over to His enemies and went through the mockery of a trial. He was nailed to a cross between two thieves. While He was dying, His executioners gambled for His garments, the only property He had on earth. When He was dead, He was laid in a borrowed grave, through the pity of a friend.
Twenty centuries have come and gone, and today He is the central figure of the human race. I am well within the mark when I say that all the armies that ever marched, all the navies that ever sailed, all the parliaments that ever sat, all the kings that ever reigned – put together – have not affected the life of man on this earth as much as that One Solitary Life.”
It is true that in Australia today, the latest census tells us that the number of atheists is increasing, but in many other places around the world, many hundreds of thousands of people each year are becoming followers of this ‘One Solitary Man’, Jesus Christ. Consider what was said about the early followers of Jesus: “These who have turned the world upside down have come here too,” (Acts 17:6).
And the story continues today. Over the centuries, many others who follow Jesus have been motivated to perform great service for humankind, for example, Florence Nightingale, David Livingston, William Wilberforce, Susannah Wesley, Louis Pasteur, Martin Luther King, Werner von Braun (Apollo moon rocket chief scientist), Galileo, Helen Roseveare, Copernicus, Gutenberg (inventor of the press), Francis Collins (head scientist of the Human Genome Project) and Kepler (astronomer who discovered the three laws of planetary motion).
Millions of people around the world meet each week to celebrate and give thanks for the atoning work of Jesus on the cross and His resurrection from the dead. Let me close with the example of one of millions of ordinary people who came to know and follow this One Solitary Man, Jesus of Nazareth.
Paul Noble was gaoled in Adelaide in his teenage years after conviction for assaulting police and theft. Then, he heard about Jesus. Paul asked himself, could this really be true? Could Jesus Christ empower me to start my life all over again? Does He even love someone like me? Paul did some investigating and read the Bible. Paul prayed: “Jesus, if You are out there, come into my life and help me, change me. I want to leave my life of anger and crime behind.”
He became a follower of Jesus and changed radically for the better. He eventually became a church pastor serving in NSW and rural Victoria for years and encouraging many others to follow this same Jesus.
It is indeed true to say that all the armies that ever marched, all the navies that ever sailed, all the parliaments that ever sat, all the kings that ever reigned put together, have not affected the life of man on this earth as much as that One Solitary Life. Has He affected your life? Check out His credentials and see.
Have a great day.
