Our Forerunner

During my career as an educator, for better or for worse, I suffered from what I now acknowledge as an affliction of sorts. That affliction was ambition. The teacher had to become a vice-principal. The vice-principal had to become a principal. The principal had to become a superintendent and finally the superintendent had to become the director of education. In order to become a superintendent, it was necessary to become qualified as a supervisory officer. It was a qualification that I thought about achieving for several years before attempting it. The final encouragement came from observing a respected colleague go through the gruelling process and become qualified. Indeed in making the grade, he became a forerunner of sorts for me. He became an example I thought I might be able to follow.

In those days there was no set of courses you could take and become qualified as is the case today. There was simply a provincial written examination followed by an oral examination if you passed the written. The written examination consisted of curriculum and program questions as well as questions relating to knowledge of the Education Act and its regulations and as well as a lesser section on business items. After resolving to sit the written examination, I studied about three hours per day by myself from July until I traveled to write the exam in early January. The exam was termed an open book examination, but I had already been warned by my forerunner that if I took the time to verify facts in the three hour examination, I was probably not going to pass. I discovered by the sheer volume to be answered in order to achieve at least a 60% passing grade that I didn’t even have time to look up. It was also a well known rumour that I suspect was fact that the Ministry of Education allowed a passing rate of 37% of those who wrote the supervisory officer examination. When I left the examination completely drained, I was sure that I had failed and that I would not attempt the examination ever again. I was shocked the next month when I received a phone call informing me of an unknown passing grade and an invitation to the oral examination. The oral component consisted of five or six Ministry Education Officers assaulting me with every question they could dream up for about an hour. Composure was as important as the actual answers, I am sure.

I was duly granted a Supervisory Officer Certificate and waited another two years in order to become a Superintendent of Education. I doubt I would have attempted the very challenging process without a forerunner…the one who went before and shed light on so many of the unknowns before me.

I have found another forerunner and how I value Him! The word “forerunner” is found only once in the whole of the Bible. It is found in Hebrews 6: 18-20.

18 that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us.
19 This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil,
20 where the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus, having become High Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.

By the assurance of two unchangeable things, the promise as well as the oath taken by God, and God does not ever deceive us, we can hold onto a very special hope. We who believe have that hope that is anchored so solidly that it cannot be pulled from our grasp. Indeed it is anchored by the very presence of God. The hope is the certainty that we will go to heaven. Why I am not afraid to enter into an eternity in the presence of God? My forerunner, Jesus Himself, has entered in and patiently awaits my arrival! I know that since he died for my sake and rose from the dead that so shall I.

One of my favourite hymns “Whispering Hope” written in 1868 by Septimus Winner sums up the glorious hope before us. The words of the hymn describe in a very poetic way the dark process of physical death followed by the glory of entering into eternity with our forerunner, Jesus. The refrain between the verses sums up the hope we have in our forerunner.

“Whispering hope, oh, how welcome thy voice,
Making my heart in its sorrow rejoice”

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