Major Robinson and his wife Isobel are moving back to the UK to take up an appointment at the Sheringham Corps.
Ian and Isobel are well-known all over the Army world as pastors, missionaries, and an incredible music and song-writing team. While they were stationed in Singapore, Ian and Isobel wrote a series of email "epistles" to the rest of the world entitled "Survivor Island". Those letters were always filled with poignancy, hope, and a love for the people for whom they worked so diligently to bring the love of Christ.
We are delighted Ian has agreed to write these articles for us and we hope you enjoy his journey as we publish it!
A worried-looking Major Ian Robinson
Life is a Journey – Part One
Some of you may remember Malcolm and Connie High. They were Corps Officers at Ayr during my teenage years and I recently had contact with Malcolm because of our move to Sheringham. That’s his home town and our new appointment. As I reminisced about those distant days I began to recall just what a rotten and troublesome teenage Salvationist I was! Yet, more than forty years on, I am now a Major and soon-to-be Corps Officer at Sheringham. How did that happen? That’s the story of my life journey and there is a certain irony to it. In fact that’s a good way to explain it; I-R-O-N-Y!
Insensitive. It began with my insensitivity to my parents, Corps leaders, and most of all to God’s Holy Spirit. I must have sat through countless sermons, hours of Bible study at Corps Cadet Class, umpteen altar calls and yet all I thought about was me! I just wanted to live life my way; Romans 2:8 describes it perfectly – “Other people are selfish and reject what is right in order to follow what is wrong” (Good News Bible).
Rebellious. My insensitivity quickly led to rebellion against my parents, my leaders and God. I was trapped in a spiral of ever-increasing sinfulness. The Bible says that rebellion is as bad as witchcraft, and arrogance as sinful as idolatry (1 Samuel 15:23). My sin and arrogance were dragging me away from God, as well as the godly influence of The Salvation Army, and closer to Hell.
Open. I thank God for spiritual people who never gave up praying and encouraging me. It was the incredible witness of Isobel’s changed life that led me to read God’s word again. Suddenly all those old Corps Cadet classes with Malcolm and Connie came flooding back and began to make sense. Finally, I opened my heart to Christ and my journey took an amazing u-turn.
New life. With new life came a new direction. I couldn’t keep going down the old road – God was showing me a different way. I had grand ideas of how to find a new church, but Isobel’s pragmatism cut through all that and led us to the Santa Ana Corps of The Salvation Army where good officers and new friends helped me to grow into my new life. I learned again how to study the Word, pray and to worship. What a difference it was to know Christ and not just to know about Him!
Yielded. Now that God had my attention, He began working other miracles in me as I yielded myself completely to his will. Not easy but necessary. Paul says, “Offer yourselves as a living sacrifice to God, dedicated to His service and pleasing to Him” (Romans 12:1). Having committed to follow Him wherever He led, I began to go along with His wonderful plan for my life.
An even greater irony is that all the effort I poured into rebelling against God is now being used to serve Him! Paul says, “At one time you surrendered yourselves entirely as slaves to impurity and wickedness for wicked purposes. In the same way you must now surrender yourselves entirely as slaves of righteousness for holy purposes” (Romans 6:19).
Surrendering to Him has taken me on a journey I could never have imagined, as well as to places and to people I will never forget.
More about that next time.
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