Never Never Land

Keep your lives from the love of money and be content with what you have, because the Lord has said, "Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you." — Hebrews 13:5 The well known fictional character, Peter Pan, is over 110 years old. He first appeared in a 1902 novel titled "The Little White Bird." Peter Pan enjoyed a rich history in the theater, starting in 1904 when it first appeared in a London play. Two years later it played on Broadway, and in 1954 it became a musical and it continues in popularity even to this day. New versions of the movie were released in 2003 and 2015. The book version opens with these words, "All children grow up—except one. Maybe that one is you." Peter Pan taps into the child in all of us, and what an adventure it would be to fly through the air! One of the songs in the musical version speaks of the destination of Peter Pan's home in Never Never Land and has some interesting lyrics: I have a place where dreams are born, And time is never planned. It's not on any chart, You must find it with your heart, Never Never Land. It might be miles beyond the moon, Or right there where you stand. Just keep an open mind, And then suddenly you'll find, Never Never Land. This could be a description of heaven in a metaphorical sense, but no one who reads this fictional work really knows where it is—because it's an illusion. God's word, however, help us to find the real "Never Never Land" from a short verse from the book of Hebrews, and He does so in a very interesting way, but we have to dig a little. First, the verse, "Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you," is a quote of assurance from God in the Old Testament to the people of Israel. (Deuteronomy 31:6,8). The first word, "Never" actually is made up of two words in the original language and they are simply, "not, not." Now I bet when you first learned English you were told never to use a double negative in a sentence, but that doesn't seem to bother God. Perhaps that's why the translator makes the two into one. But that's not all. The last part of the verse is literally just as dramatic as the first part, because again the word "never" is also made up of the same two words, "not, not." So here we have four words, all meaning "not," that are translated into two words, "Never, never." Do you think that God is trying to tell us something? I believe He wants us to know that we can be content with what we have and in whatever circumstances we find ourselves because God has promised to always be right there with us. He will never, never leave us, even if He has to use what we would call bad English to tell us so. That's good enough for me. I'll give Him an "A+." How about you? Maranatha! Please send me your comments. God bless.