October 10, 2011 - Columbus and His Calling

This is the day set aside to commemorate the landing in 1492 of Columbus in the West Indies, the New World, and while Columbus didn’t exactly discover America, there are some compelling facts that we can think upon this day:

Columbus wrote in his Book of Prophecies, "It was the Lord who put into my mind--I could feel His hand upon me--the fact that it would be possible to sail from here to the Indies . . . All who heard of my project rejected it with laughter, ridiculing me . . . There is no question that the inspiration was from the Holy Spirit, because he comforted me with rays of marvelous illumination from the Holy Scriptures . . . For the execution of the journey to the Indies I did not make use of intelligence, mathematics, or maps. It is simply the fulfillment of what Isaiah had prophesied ..."

I used to think that referred to where Isaiah spoke of the world as the “circle of the earth”… and some have surmised that the purpose of his journey to prove the earth was round – but that had been done centuries before – Columbus was inspired by the writings of Isaiah, and was determined to take the gospel to the ends of the earth.

He personalized passages from Isaiah, such as: "Listen O isles, unto me; and hearken, ye people, from far; The Lord hath called me from the womb; unto the end of the earth." (Is 49:1,6)

His name meant Christ-bearer, and while his interaction with the people he found in this hemisphere was less than perfect, there was a Christian motivation behind his actions.   He named the place where he had landed San Salvador, which means “Holy Savior”, and upon its dedication, prayed:

O Lord, Almighty and everlasting God, by Thy holy Word Thou hast created the heaven, and the earth, and the sea; blessed and glorified be Thy Name, and praised be Thy Majesty, which hath designed to use us, Thy humble servants, that Thy holy Names may be proclaimed in this second part of the earth.

A great question for us today as we celebrate discovery – what does God want us to discover about Him today?  Isaiah 55 is a great challenge for us:

⁶ Seek the LORD while he may be found;
   call on him while he is near.
⁷ Let the wicked forsake their ways
   and the unrighteous their thoughts.
Let them turn to the LORD, and he will have mercy on them,
   and to our God, for he will freely pardon.

Have we become complacent in our knowledge of God – are we seeking or standing still?