Letters From Grandpa #572

• LETTERS FROM GRANDPA
• 572

Dearest grandchild,

Today’s letter will be about 1 Thessalonians 5:19 “Quench not the Spirit”. The NIV translates this verse as “Do not put out the Spirit’s fire”. To illustrate the importance of this verse we will consider how Ada Blackjack Johnson survived several winters in the Arctic on Wrangel Island.

Ada was born 40 miles east of Nome, Alaska in 1898. She was educated in a Methodist school where she learned how to read, write, cook, and sew. At 16 she married Jack Blackjack and bore him three children. Sadly, only one survived beyond infancy. Her husband treated her with cruelty and abandoned her and her infant son who was sick with tuberculosis. Ada carried her son 40 miles to Nome and put him in an orphanage where he could receive medical attention. She then sought employment so that she might be able to take care of him herself.

In 1921 the famed explorer Vilhjalmur Stefansson came to Nome looking for an English speaking native to join an expedition to Wrangel Island. The salary was an incredible $50 per month and Ada jumped at the chance to earn enough money to take care of her son.

Wrangel Island is a large remote island north of Siberia. It was claimed by Canada, Russia, the U.K. and the U.S.A. The Canadian plan was to have an expedition live on the island for two years to solidify their claim of ownership. On September 9, 1921 the expedition set sail. There were only 5 people in the group. Ada was the only woman. A cat named “Vic” was taken along for good luck.

Faced with starvation and sub-zero temperatures, three of the men set out in January 1923 with sled dogs in search of help. They were never heard from again. This left Lorne Knight, Ada, and the cat alone in that frigid wasteland without food. Knight died of scurvy on June 23, 1923. Ada left him in his sleeping bag and piled wooden boxes around him to protect his body from animals. Then she and the cat moved into a storage tent. Maintaining a fire was essential to her survival!

Although, at the start of the trip, Ada had been completely inexperienced in hunting, trapping, and other survival skills, she somehow survived in the frozen unforgiving wilderness. She reinforced the walls of the storage tent with driftwood, built a sleeping platform, and made a stove out of empty kerosene cans and was careful to never let the fire go out! She and built an observation deck on top of the tent to watch for polar bears. She also built skin boats, for hunting seals. She hunted birds, trapped foxes, collected eggs, and sewed warm clothes all the while suffering from the symptoms of scurvy. She even sewed her son a pair of moccasins to give to him upon her return to Nome. Her journal paints an incredible story of her pains, struggles, and successes as the lone survivor of the expedition. It can be read in its entirety online in the Dartmouth Digital Collections Library. Finally Ada was rescued August 20, 1923. Without fire, of course, she would have had no chance for survival!

As you know, a neglected fire burns out! When the tabernacle was constructed the first fire on that altar came from God Himself: “Moses and Aaron then went into the tent of meeting. When they came out, they blessed the people; and the glory of the Lord appeared to all the people. Fire came out from the presence of the Lord and consumed the burnt offering and the fat portions on the altar. And when all the people saw it, they shouted for joy and fell facedown.” (Lev. 9:23-24)

To insure God’s blessings on His people that fire was never to go out! “The burnt offering is to remain on the altar hearth throughout the night, till morning, and the fire must be kept burning on the altar.” (Lev. 6:9) “The fire on the altar must be kept burning; it must not go out.” (Lev. 6:12) “The fire must be kept burning on the altar continuously; it must not go out.” (Lev. 6:13) This was not an easy assignment! Each time the tabernacle was moved provision had to be made to preserve that original fire. Even when it rained or Israel was at war, someone had to be responsible for keeping that fire burning.

If Ada Blackjack Johnson had let the fire go out it is easy to understand how it would cause her death. Neglecting our relationship with God is like quenching the Spirit’s fire!

The story is told of a pastor who was encouraging one of his flock to come back to church. The man insisted he could worship God all by himself and didn’t need the church. Since they were sitting by a fireplace the pastor took a poker and separated a burning coal from the fire. In only a few minutes it lost it’s glow! It is almost impossible to maintain a fire with only one log! Just as two or three logs help one another to maintain a fire, even so two or three believers invite the presence of Jesus. Jesus said: “Where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them.” (Matthew 18:20)

Scholars believe 1 Thessalonians was the first inspired letter written by the Apostle Paul. After only three Sabbath days persecution drove Paul away from Thessalonica (Acts 17:1-10). Sadly, these new converts were suffering persecution (1 Thess. 2:14). Like a loving parent is concerned about their own children, Paul could stand it no longer and sent Timothy from Athens to see how they were surviving their trials and tribulations (1 Thess. 3:1-5). As he closed the letter he prayerfully encouraged them “Do not put out the Spirit’s fire”. (1 Thess. 5:19)

New parents are shocked to discover that 2,500 babies under 1 year old die each year of SIDS (Sudden infant death syndrome – also know as crib death) Just as parents must guard against this mysterious malady, Christians must make special efforts not to quench the Spirit. Paul encouraged, comforted, and urged the Thessalonians just as a father deals with his own children (1 Thess. 1:11-12) He prayed for them night and day (1 Thess. 3:10). Working together as a family they were to “warn those who are idle, encourage the timid, help the weak, be patient with everyone.” (1 Thess. 5:14)

It is not wise to neglect your home, your school work, your car, or your health. It is most irrational, of course, to neglect your salvation. “Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip. For if the word spoken by angels was stedfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompense of reward; How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him;” (Hebrews 2:1-3 kjv)

Please don’t put out the Spirit’s fire!

I love you,

Grandpa Boyce