Copyright 2013 PJ Stassen
All Rights Reserved
That’s the penalty we have to pay for our
acts of foolishness … someone else always suffers for them.
-
Alfred Sutro, 1863-1933.
During his heyday, It was said of General Jan Smuts that nothing could ruffle his feathers or unsettle him so brave was he. This was true, whether he was chasing the Tommies during the Anglo-Boer War (1899-1902) or being chased by them during the (last) guerrilla phase of the selfsame war. He was the only survivor of all the signatories to the Treaty of Versailles in 1919 to serve as a (British) Field-Marshall in Winston Churchill's war cabinet during WWII; he even lived to write the 'Preamble' to the Charter of the UN in San Francisco in 1945.
He was also an ardent (amateur) botanist. So thorough was his knowledge of South African wild flowers and grasses that, when during an outing to the mountains to collect specimens and an American woman and botany-enthusiast asked her leader of the excursion, a professor, what the name of a certain unfamiliar plant was, he remarked: "Ask the general ... he will know." The general gave her the name for the plant, and she asked: "How come I had to get this information from a general and not from a professor?" He replied: "My dear lady, I am only a general in my spare time."
So 'unruffled' was he that, when one of his advisers, a senior member of his cabinet, advised him, during the bloody and violent miners' strike on the Rand in 1922 (also known as the Rand Revolt or Rand Rebellion), not to enter into a certain strikers' hot-spot without proper police escort, he first appeared quite indifferent to the advice. The official then insisted on him to be careful and to "give some serious thought to what I've said!"
When later asked if he (Smuts) had given the advice some serious thought, the general replied: "Yes, I have given it some serious thought, and I am now more convinced than ever that I need six more bulls for my farm at Rooikop." He was living a charmed life.
But even the great General Smuts had to capitulate before Death ... he died on 11 September 1950 on his farm Doornkloof at Irene in Pretoria (South Africa). I am reminded of his words to L.E. Van Onselen, his young police bodyguard, during the war: "The only real adventure that remains for me to experience is to discover what lies beyond death." Hopefully he discovered the humble Carpenter from Nazareth waiting for him on the other side.
Thanks to this humble Carpenter, we can enter the rest of Jesus Christ unique in the history of mankind. By His sacrifice we can savour forgiveness and reconciliation with God; by His suffering we can look forward to many mansions in His Father's House; by His thirst we can have access to the cool Living Waters of Life. And this invitation for us to come to the Haven of Rest is open to all and sundry ... whether you are a general or a sweeper of floors; whether you are a king or a labourer in the field.
He was also an ardent (amateur) botanist. So thorough was his knowledge of South African wild flowers and grasses that, when during an outing to the mountains to collect specimens and an American woman and botany-enthusiast asked her leader of the excursion, a professor, what the name of a certain unfamiliar plant was, he remarked: "Ask the general ... he will know." The general gave her the name for the plant, and she asked: "How come I had to get this information from a general and not from a professor?" He replied: "My dear lady, I am only a general in my spare time."
So 'unruffled' was he that, when one of his advisers, a senior member of his cabinet, advised him, during the bloody and violent miners' strike on the Rand in 1922 (also known as the Rand Revolt or Rand Rebellion), not to enter into a certain strikers' hot-spot without proper police escort, he first appeared quite indifferent to the advice. The official then insisted on him to be careful and to "give some serious thought to what I've said!"
When later asked if he (Smuts) had given the advice some serious thought, the general replied: "Yes, I have given it some serious thought, and I am now more convinced than ever that I need six more bulls for my farm at Rooikop." He was living a charmed life.
But even the great General Smuts had to capitulate before Death ... he died on 11 September 1950 on his farm Doornkloof at Irene in Pretoria (South Africa). I am reminded of his words to L.E. Van Onselen, his young police bodyguard, during the war: "The only real adventure that remains for me to experience is to discover what lies beyond death." Hopefully he discovered the humble Carpenter from Nazareth waiting for him on the other side.
Thanks to this humble Carpenter, we can enter the rest of Jesus Christ unique in the history of mankind. By His sacrifice we can savour forgiveness and reconciliation with God; by His suffering we can look forward to many mansions in His Father's House; by His thirst we can have access to the cool Living Waters of Life. And this invitation for us to come to the Haven of Rest is open to all and sundry ... whether you are a general or a sweeper of floors; whether you are a king or a labourer in the field.
(Henry
l. Gilmour, 1836-1920/George D. Moore, 19th Century Arr. By Don
Petermann, b.1925)
My
soul in sad exile was out on life’s sea,
So
burdened with sin, and distrest*,
I
heard a sweet voice saying, “Make me your choice!”
And
I entered the Haven of Rest.
I
yielded myself to His tender embrace,
And
faith taking hold of the Word,
My
fetters fell off, and I anchored my soul ‒
The
‘Haven of Rest’ is my Lord.
The
song of my soul, since the Lord made me whole,
Has
been the old story so blest
Of
Jesus, who’ll save whosoever will have
A
home in the Haven of Rest!
O
come to the Savior He patiently waits
To
save by His power divine;
Come,
anchor your soul in the Haven of Rest,
And
say, “My Beloved is mine.”
CHORUS
I’ve
anchored my soul in the Haven of Rest,
I’ll
sail the wide seas no more;
The
tempest may sweep o’er the wild, stormy deep ‒
In
Jesus I’m safe evermore.
*distrest
(sic)
Bibliography
1. Andrews,
Allen (1969) Quotations For Speakers And Writers. Newnes Books. Hamlyn
Publishing Group Ltd. London.
2. Beukes, Piet. (1996) Smuts The Botanist. Human & Rousseau. Cape Town.
3. Peterson, John W. (1966) Great Hymns Of The Faith. ‘The Haven Of Rest’. Singspiration.
Zondervan Publishing House. Grand Rapids, Michigan.
4. Van Onselen, L.E. (1960) A Rhapsody In Blue. Howard Timmins. Cape Town.
Publishing Group Ltd. London.
2. Beukes, Piet. (1996) Smuts The Botanist. Human & Rousseau. Cape Town.
3. Peterson, John W. (1966) Great Hymns Of The Faith. ‘The Haven Of Rest’. Singspiration.
Zondervan Publishing House. Grand Rapids, Michigan.
4. Van Onselen, L.E. (1960) A Rhapsody In Blue. Howard Timmins. Cape Town.
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