St Columba & Iona Scotland

Foreign.

Night of the Dark Ages covered Europe and darkness covered the people. The lamp of truth still shone brightly in Scotland and Ireland. These two countries, on the brink of the known world, stood like a wall to resist the menace of advancing religious tyranny. Scotland in particular, like the Waldenses in northern Italy, found in her rugged mountains a fortress.

Iona is an isolated island that has become famous in Christian history. It became a central point to the Celtic church for many centuries, preserving true biblical faith, teaching, educating and sending out missionaries. The story of Iona starts with a man by the name of Columba, who was actually from Ireland and was born of royal descent. He lived in Ireland and worked there till the age of 32. And from the ages of 25 to 32, he is credited with raising up over 300 churches. Having a missionary spirit burning deep within him, he set sail from Derry in the year563 with 200 of his companions and came to Scotland. They landed here in Iona, just off the coast of the Isle of Mull, in this bay, which is today named Columbus Bay. Despite finding a windswept and barren island, they built houses, planted crops and founded a Christian school, which would later attain the highest reputation for the pursuit of biblical study and science. The students had a well rounded education, and in addition to their classes, they would spend time in physical labor, in gardening, in baking, in farming, and in prayer and singing. The students would frequently have to spend 18 years of study before they were ordained for the Gospel ministry. It was not a monastery and they were not monks. It was a great mission training institute. The Bible was central to Columba and the school here in Iona. Columba built a church on the Bible and the Bible alone, and is credited with copying 300 copies of the New Testament himself with his own hands. Imagine how many copies his students and fellow faculty produced over the many years the school was based here on this little island of Iona. They followed the commandments of the Bible, including keeping the fourth commandment. In fact, the church here in Iona kept the Sabbath for several centuries. In many ways, the believers here were preserving a faith that was handed down to them over the generations since the earliest believers, they did not see themselves as reformers or as breaking away from Rome, for the faith that they kept had been around much longer.

Columba laboured here for 34 years before passing to his rest on 9 June, which was a Sabbath day. Iona would for many centuries be a leading center of the Celtic church, sending missionaries out from the shores of Scotland, flowing to the continental church. Columbus, followers would hold this island for 641 years before they were driven out by the Benedictine monks. Iona stands to us today and gives us lessons in the missionary work that took place here. While today many people come for a time of peace, reflection and contemplation, a place where they can feel closer to God, we cannot deny the work that took place here. Maybe God is calling you to go and get trained like the missionaries who would come here to be trained and would go out for service. Maybe God is calling you to be trained for mission service. Maybe he's calling you to a life of full time ministry. Maybe God is calling you to change the whole course of your life. And if God is calling you, harden not your heart and follow the Lord's leading.

Sat.