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Within the Australian society we have a great many heroes. It seems to be a fact of human society that we look for those people
who we can hold high and admire and seek to emulate.
Recently as this nation has celebrated its centenary of Federation there has been a reflection on our national past and in particularly on those
individuals who made great contributions to the formation and establishment of this nation.
We have also recently remembered our fallen soldiers on ANZAC day, the men and women of Australia who gave
their lives in order that we may enjoy the freedom which this country offers.
Last year at the Sydney Olympics new and younger heroes emerged as these elite athletes performed to the highest standards
in their events.
In the Bible there are heroes too. In fact there are a seemingly endless number of people who are counted as heroes of the faith and many of them are listed in the book of
Hebrews chapter 11. The writer to the Hebrews lists person after person as those who, by faith, stepped out in response to God's call on their lives. All of the people mentioned in this chapter
of Hebrews are worthy of hero status in their own right, because of their faith and trust in God through seemingly impossible circumstances.
This long line of faithful men and women does not end with
those listed in the scriptures. Indeed, the line of those counted worthy heroes of the faith has continued through history to our own day.
As I have been prompted to reflect on the great work
done by missionaries of the UAM in the past I am struck by the fact that their service was marked by the same thing that made the names mentioned in Hebrews great, they lived by faith.
In the great
army of people who have served in UAM in over 100 years of history, living by faith in the power of God to keep them, there have been those who will be especially remembered for the great love and kindness
they showed as they spent their lives in the service of the great Jehovah among the Aboriginal people of Australia.
Prominent among them would be the missionaries who worked in the children's homes at
Bomaderry, NSW and Colebrook at Quorn, SA. These missionaries were predominantly single ladies who gave their lives in service to aboriginal children, loving them, caring for them in health and in
sickness and telling them of the saving love of Jesus.
These dear servants of God surely are 'great Australian heroes'.
Christopher Jones
President |
