Come Walkers, Come: The Seventy Who Carried the Light

I want to share a beautiful story about the church bell in Lindley and the message it seemed to carry across the hills and valleys.

The Afrikaans poet, Jan F.E. Cilliers, captured the sound of a bell summoning people to service with the words: "Come sinners, come!" But this Sunday, the Lindley church bell seemed to sing a different tune: "Come walkers, come!"

Immediately following the morning service, a fundraising walk commenced, from the town to the Bible school atop the hill, to raise funds for Bible distribution.

Two elements within the service had captured my attention. Flanking the pulpit were two torches, their symbolism rich and deep. They spoke of receiving the Light and accepting the responsibility to become light-bearers in the world. Inevitably, they also called to mind the Olympic torch journeying to Paris-another flame carrying a message of unity and peace across nations.

After the service, seventy walkers set off. This was no race, but upon conquering the steep climb to the Bible school, each participant received a medal. Seventy medals for seventy walkers! At first glance, they gleamed like gold, but closer inspection revealed they were crafted from wood. In the centre of each round medal, set against a green ribbon, a small cross was cut out.

The contrast was striking. In Paris, elite athletes strive for years for the chance to declare, "Yes, I did it!" But this walk in Lindley, harmonising with the morning's message, taught a different truth: that everyone who completes the race of faith in Christ shares in the "medal with the wooden cross." Here, the ultimate declaration is not "I did it," but "Yes, He did it! Jesus did it for me."

The gathering of exactly seventy walkers prompted deeper reflection. The two torches by the pulpit echoed the biblical principle that the testimony of two is true. Jesus, the Light of the World (John 8), entrusts that light to us, declaring, "You are the light of the world" (Matthew 5). On that winter morning, seventy people literally carried that light up a hill.

In Scripture, the number seventy resonates with profound symbolism. It represents completeness and the fullness of humanity, as seen in the seventy nations descended from Noah in Genesis 10. God called seventy elders of Israel to ascend Mount Sinai with Moses to witness His glory (Exodus 24). Later, Jesus Himself sent seventy disciples ahead of Him to preach and heal, spreading the news of God's kingdom (Luke 10).

Was it mere coincidence that seventy people ascended the hill in Lindley? I believe it was a divine gathering. Each person was uniquely chosen to carry a testimony-a living light-up that mountain, acting as a modern embodiment of those sent to prepare the way.

Father, we thank You for the encouragement of Your Word that urges us to run the race with perseverance. Thank You for the profound truth that when we run with our eyes fixed on Jesus, we each receive a victor's crown. We thank You that You have a purposeful design for each life and that You call us to be Your light. May we recognise Your hand even in life's small details, and as bearers of Your light, may we journey toward the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God.

Amen.