Dr. Bruce Manners' dad (right) and his marked-up copy of Steps to Christ [Photo Courtesy of Adventist Record]
Australia | Bruce Manners

A couple weeks back, I rediscovered my father’s copy of Steps to Christ, given to him when he was drafted into the Army during World War II. I read a chapter a day as part of my devotional time, trying to get a feel for what he discovered as he read it.

I was helped by the fact that he had underlined various sentences and passages. For instance, “The warfare against self is the greatest battle that was ever fought” (p. 43). Also, “All His promises, His warnings, are but the breathing of unutterable love” (p. 35).

My father was a fourth-generation fisherman. The family had turned to fishing after becoming convicted of the Sabbath and found it difficult to take Sabbaths off. A pioneering Adventist pastor, Stephen McCullagh, visited Kadina, South Australia, in 1896 and reported, “A Mr Manners here purchased Thoughts on Daniel and the Revelation in 1891, but did not commence to read it till 1894, and after studying the question in connection with the Bible, soon found out the error of Sunday by not finding its observance enjoined in the Bible.”[1]

My father quit school and became a fisherman at the age of 12. With World War II, as the oldest son, he was called up into the Army. His two brothers were considered primary producers and continued working as part of the war effort.

He served as a non-combatant but never talked about the war, except for two things. Before going to Papua New Guinea, he was based at Sorrento, Victoria, on Port Phillip Bay. With his experience with boats, he was often put in charge of landing barges.

He told of one very foggy day when he was ordered to take one of the barges to Port Melbourne. He was a bit proud of the fact that despite the heavy fog not lifting—and the cynicism of the crew with him—he arrived exactly where he was meant to be.

That was believable because I had experienced it—sailing in fog or the blackness of night while fishing with him.

I worked with him for five years in the 1960s, and at sea on some cold days, he would put on his old Army coat.

“See these holes,” he would say, pointing to a couple. “I got these when I single-handedly pushed the enemy off Shaggy Ridge.”

“They look more like moth holes to me,” I’d respond—with due respect, of course.

The well-worn, marked-up pages [Photo Courtesy of Adventist Record]

The well-worn, marked-up pages [Photo Courtesy of Adventist Record]

In his Steps to Christ, he’d circled every word of this sentence: “You confess your sins and give yourself to God. You will to serve Him.” The passage continues, underlined, “God will fulfil His word to you. If you believe the promise,—believe that you are forgiven and cleansed,—God supplies the fact” (p. 51).

Anzac Day is a reminder of those who served their country in times of war. This year, I’ll be thinking of my dad, who, while serving, was also thinking about the spiritual battles within. Importantly, despite the battles around him, he recognised God’s love was real. “Let us group together the blessed assurances of His love, that we may look upon them continually” (p. 118).

[1] Of Pioneers and Progress: 1886-1986: Seventh-day Adventists in South Australia, South Australian Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, 1986, p. 148.

This article was originally published on the website of Adventist Record

 

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