The RIGHT "RIGHT STUFF"

The new and the former generation of astronauts - all of them with "the right stuff" - it began with Mercury, then Gemini and then Apollo program and it continues to this day. Astronauts fly routinely - if you can call it that - into space these days, but when initial trials commenced to launch a man into orbit, beyond the atmosphere of the planet, it was anything but routine. It began with a Russian cosmonaut named Yuri Gagarin who fired from a Soviet launch pad into space well over a year before I was born: 
"On April 12, 1961, aboard the spacecraft Vostok 1, Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin becomes the first human being to travel into space. During the flight, the 27-year-old test pilot and industrial technician also became the first man to orbit the planet, a feat accomplished by his space capsule in 89 minutes."

America was not about to be outdone by the Soviet Union and so 'the space race' commenced! But before an American made space capsule could find itself in the celestial domain, a certain kind of man had to be found, and made into something that never existed before: an astronaut, a 'star trekker', a man with 'the right stuff'. 
That was the title of one of the best selling books in the mid 20th century by Tom Wolfe that was the basis of the 1983 film of the same name:

THE RIGHT STUFF - The Movie

According to Tom Wolfe who poses the question, 

"What is it about a man that makes him want to sit on top of a thundering piece of machinery that will hurtle him beyond the clouds and into the vacuum of space, defying the odds, death itself - and believing that success was the only option even while facing their potential mortality - and then do it all over again the next day, and the day after that, and the day after that!?"

These were no ordinary pilots, these were test pilots, harnessing the most advanced but untried hardware in the world and felt a euphoric thrill in the challenge and the exuberance of flight at incredible speeds. This was so dangerous that 1 out of every 4 test pilots would die in such tests; but these men would take up the challenge on a regular basis, displaying the courage, the tenacity, the cool disposition to steer this roaring metal monster of phenomenal power while staring death in the face. Out of dozens of military men tested to enter the ranks of the astronauts, only one would be selected - because they alone had 'the right stuff'. They alone would explode off the surface of the planet in a gigantic 300' tall tube that would actually travel faster (24,791 mph) than a speeding bullet (1,800 mph) into the heavenlies! That took a special kind of bravery! It took having the right stuff.

The quest to explore space would cost dearly - from start to finish, from Mercury to today, America has spent nearly half a trillion dollars on this endeavor!

In another world, the world of religion - of spiritual quests for truth, for enlightenment, for a connection to GOD and the pursuit of redemption, there are many figures of spiritual leaders - and who among them displayed 'the right stuff'? What would be the necessary qualifications to meet the spiritual needs of man? And the cost, what would that be?

The person would need to have an undiluted, comprehensive and absolute understanding of, and personal possession of the truth - in other words, so that the rest of us would know for certain that this person was the real deal, their walk would have to line up with their talk. And both would have to consist of the most supreme morality and pureness of soul beyond any other's. Such that GOD Himself could look upon this person and say, "There is one that I am wholly satisfied with!" That's integrity, or what I like to call inward truth, that marks a person of character. Remember, your reputation is only how others perceive you, but your character is who you really are when no one is watching! Except GOD.

This person then would have to be flawless in nature; someone who could advocate for us before a just and holy GOD. They would need to have immeasurable compassion and love for us thoroughly flawed human beings so that, despite our abhorrent condition, they would love us enough to be willing to take GOD's just punishment for our sins. They'd be able to encompass the entirety of our abominations, transgressions, iniquity and sins of the entire human race and suffer the judgment that would be eternal (The duration of judgment for sin would necessarily be eternal because GOD is eternal as is His holiness and the Law that reflect that holiness. So the punishment would be predicated not on the duration of sinful thoughts, attitudes, behavior, actions that occurred over a person's lifetime (60, 70, 80 years or more), but on Deity's Court of Law. For an example, if you commit a crime in America, you might suffer the legal measure of punishment required differently than if you were to commit the same exact crime in Europe, and more so, if you committed it in China or even an Islamic nation - different legal and moral standards would be upheld by these nations; some would be more severe than others. Yet no nation would come near the level of severity of the judgment of the Holy GOD!). His standard of justice is so high, due to His supreme holiness that punishment must be eternal.

This person then would require an eternal nature themselves to absorb the full cup of wrath that must be emptied by GOD Who would tolerate nothing less than full payment of treasonous sin blatantly committed before the holy government of GOD's throne. Yet this person would need so much more than this. GOD is not only One Who seeks absolute justice, but One Who wishes to extend the purest mercy and the most influential grace and sublime peace. In order to convey these things to ungodly sinners, this person would not only necessarily qualify as a suitable sin bearer, but also one through whom GOD could demonstrate effectively these unimaginably wondrous gifts. Essentially this person would have to themselves embody these graces so that they could then be 'deposited' into the sinner's life - what the Bible refers to as "imputation".

Watch this 5-minute presentation: Propaganda- G.O.S.P.E.L.[Official Video]

Buddha didn't have the right stuff; Mohammad didn't. Nor did Joseph Smith, Ellen G. White, Krishna or whoever else you can think of. There is only One, Who matched this impossible criteria. The Person of the LORD Jesus Christ - and His nature of love and compassion was powerful enough, it enable the quality of bravery incontestable by any other - that He willingly went to the Cross of Calvary and there suffer the full measure of the wrath of GOD against - not just the members of humanity that dwelled on planet Earth at the time of His visitation, but the entirety of sin from every single human being, from the very first that drew his first breath (Adam) to the very last who will breath out his last breath. The kind of bravery that would stand up to one and all on behalf of the Father and declare the truth, even though He was vehemently hated for it. Yet He Who is KING of Kings and LORD of Lords took upon Himself the life of - not just a lowly servant, but the lowliest of all servants, by dying for our sins.

Because He so willingly demonstrated such all-encompassing love, such all-consuming passion to save us, such self-sacrificial obedience to the Father for our own benefit, that the Father raised Him up to the highest pinnacle of power and authority so that for all eternity, He will be worshiped, adored, exalted, and esteemed by the innumerable multitudes of heaven's saints. and angelic hosts for all eternity!

Of course, I'm speaking of Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Mary, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham (MATT 1:1), the Messiah of Israel (ACTS 2:36), and LORD of the church (REV 1:12-13). He is not content to possess the right stuff for Himself - His intent was, and is, to share this with those of us who follow Him (LUKE 24:49; JOHN 20:22; ACTS 2:4).

Thus to all who come to the LORD, He shares His eternal life with us (MARK 10:30; JOHN 3:15; 6:54; 10:28; 17:3,8; ROM 5:21; 6:23; TITUS 1:2), His Spirit of Truth and Grace (JOHN 1:14,17) - the very Spirit that enables us to be powerful witnesses (ACTS 1:8; 3:15; 4:33; note: in the book of ACTS alone the word "witness [martus in the Greek] appears twenty one times!) that will stand for righteousness at any cost, even sacrificing our own lives (ACTS 21:13) - all the apostles (excluding the disqualified Judas Iscariot, and the youngest of all the apostles, John, brother of James) willingly died horrific deaths rather than deny the truth of the resurrection and declared from their own crosses that Jesus is LORD! Through the centuries, the blood bath that gushed from the church stained Europe with the martyr's hope of the resurrection.

See FOXE'S BOOK of MARTYRS Online. Buy your own hard copy of this humbling and encouraging book here.

Find Volume I and II of JESUS FREAKS by DC Talk and Voice of the Martyrs, a continuation of the testimony of the faithful martyrs of Christ throughout history and into contemporary times.

Just as this fallen world hated the LORD Jesus Christ, likewise it always has, and always will hate His bride (JOHN 15:18), the body of Christ and we are called upon by GOD to stand fast in the faith (1 COR 16:13; PHIL 1:27; 4:1; 2 THESS 2:15), to declare without compromise, the TRUTH of GOD's Word (ROM 3:25-26; 1 JOHN 1:3) which is under enemy fire (EPH 6:11; 1 THESS 2:18; REV 2:13). Yet we don't resort to our own resolve or resources. We already have the right stuff, we are already granted all we need to live life in godliness (2 PET 1:3), we already have the same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead (ROM 8:11) and gave such boldness to GOD's righteous saints (ACTS 4:9-13) that they suffered the most fiendish contraptions of cruel torture, while preaching the gospel to their tormentors, seeking the salvation of these blind and baneful souls (refer to the online source of Foxe's Book of Martyrs provided above).

As we look on the world scene, where Christianity is disparaged with wanton destruction to greater degrees, with the seeming promise of it's increasing intensity, let us not shrink back from the call of GOD to stand for righteousness and the truth of the Gospel. We have the right stuff to see this mission fulfilled and display heaven-sent bravery that will overwhelm the full capacity of evil that would seek our utter ruin.  

CURRENT SITUATION of the CHURCH INTERNATIONALLY

There is every reason to believe that for every ounce of temporary suffering we endure for the LORD's sake, that we will inherit ten thousand tons of blessing and reward in eternity; the Word of GOD tells us so (2 COR 4:17). Not at a cost of half a trillion dollars in an endeavor to reach the mere neighboring pock-marked and pale celestial body next to the Earth, but by the precious price of Christ's own blood (1 PET 1:18-20), we shall venture into that domain that far exceeds the vast limits of this universe, into the domain of GOD (PHIL 3:20-21), and there enjoy eternal fellowship with our Abba Father, the LORD Jesus Christ (1 JOHN 1:3), and the Holy Spirit (PHIL 2:1), along with all the saints and angels. On that day, evil will be abolished, sin and transgression forgotten and all rebellious souls and spirits consigned to perdition (1 COR 6:3; REV 20:10-15). Corruption will be vanquished (1 COR 15:42,50), and victory will be reserved for those who side with Christ.

Saints, we who got the right stuff, let's do what we know is right, and remain faithful to the truth of JESUS CHRIST and His Gospel, unto the end! 

VICTORY In CHRIST - AVRAS!

for more on this see the following article:

ARE YOU PERSECUTION PROOF?