There was something about a fire hydrant that made it real! Let me explain …
I was visiting the site of our future Creation Museum to observe all the activity that was going on - I counted 15 pieces of heavy machinery (scrapers, graders, etc.) working at one time. I also noticed the water lines and fire hydrants placed at strategic places.
As I stood looking at the graded car parking lots and the massive hole where the museum will stand, one of the fire hydrants caught my eye. There was something about the hydrants that made me realize, 'Wow, this is actually happening!'
It was quite an emotional moment for me as I pondered the massive undertaking right before me. You see, this project made me reflect on where we've come in the AiG ministry.
In particular, I immediately thought of an event seven years ago about an ordinary but very special model of Noah's Ark. That ark, to me, vividly represents a legacy that has led to this exciting 'growth step' in a ministry the Lord called my wife and me to 30 years ago. I decided right there that our next staff devotion at AiG would center on explaining this Ark and what it represents. This is what I shared with the staff:
First, I said that I praised the Lord for a father and mother who stood solidly on the inerrant Word of God, despite the opposition from liberal pastors and other Christian leaders. It was this upbringing that resulted in obtaining an inheritance more valuable than silver or gold -a spiritual inheritance -a love for the Creator and Savior and His infallible Word.
I told the staff that in 1995, and just a few weeks before our American tourist group (which my wife and I lead to Australia each year) was to have a meal at my parents' place in Brisbane, my father passed away. My mother still hosted all of us. When we arrived, in what was obviously a very emotional moment for her, she proudly presented me with a model of Noah's Ark that my father had made a few weeks prior.
My father wanted to have this model floating in the swimming pool - with US and Australian flags on it - as a way to greet our tour group. And there it was in the pool.
When I first looked at the Ark, my mind immediately recalled the time my father received his daily devotional book from his church. When he read the devotion on Genesis 6, and found that the Christian organization responsible for the devotional claimed Noah's Flood was just a local event, my father became upset. He immediately sat down and wrote a letter to those responsible for the devotional and showed them from the Scriptures that Noah's Flood was a global event. He then went to the deacons at church and challenged them to stand up for the Scriptures and to rebuke (gently) those who wrote this devotional.
That was just a glimpse of my upbringing, I told our staff. There's no doubt in my mind that the legacy my father (and mother) gave me, together with the Lord's calling on my life, is the reason I could stand there and observe the Creation Museum take shape. What an inheritance - to be trained to uphold the authority of God's Word, defend the Christian faith and share my testimony of salvation with millions. As my wife Mally and I often say, 'The Lord called us to America as missionaries, to share our inheritance with as many people as possible.' Please pray for this 'legacy' as it is worked out in the Creation Museum - a project dedicated to reaching millions with the Creation/Gospel message. http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/2002/11/16/an-ark-inheritance