When I first visited Parramatta NSW and observed all the historical buildings and monuments, I noticed I was having some difficulty truly celebrating our past. I couldn't help thinking about what I'd heard about atrocities perpetrated against aborigines. I questioned what right the British had to come here.
I commented to my brother, "It seems that we Australians, unlike Americans, have a wounded social conscience."
Americans are so patriotic about their history. But many of us Australians feel a little ashamed of ours.
It's almost like we have questioned, Do we really have the right to celebrate our history, and the way our nation came to be founded?
I desperately needed to find an answer to that question, so I set myself to fast certain days and seek God.
One afternoon I knelt down to pray when suddenly I began to see a vision. In the vision, it was as if I was taken back to the period before the European colonization of the continent of Australia - more than 200 years ago.
I saw an indigenous man walking through the scrub - in the vision it's almost like I was that man - I saw as he saw, thought as he thought and felt as he felt. He was minding his own business, not expecting anything to happen that hadn't already happened. He stepped through a clearing in the scrub, onto the beach on the east coast of Australia, looking out to sea.
As I (he) looked over the sea toward the horizon, I was surprised to begin to see bright beams of light radiating from over the horizon of the sea, which arrested my attention. I wondered what the source of this bright light could ever be.
It's like I was standing in the place of how an Aboriginal Australian would be feeling more than 200 years ago, if he'd wandered towards the beach one day only to then find himself in this situation.
The light became brighter and brighter. It became obvious that whatever was the source of this beautiful light, it was coming closer and closer towards us and would soon appear over the horizon. I felt a mixture of fear and excitement - anticipation.
Then over the horizon appeared the most glorious city. This was the source of the light. The city kept moving towards me, above me, and finally it came and rested on the land. The city was so large that it occupied the entire continent of Australia, with only centimetres of land to spare outside its walls.
As I observed the buildings inside the walls of the city, I noticed they had windows - some of which were white and some black. But it didn't matter that some of them were black - it wasn't bad, just different.
I knew straightaway what the vision meant. God was up to something good at that moment in our history.
It was His plan that the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ - the glorious Gospel - should come and shine upon those who lived in this land; and upon those who were being brought to this land; and from this land to other lands; and that all men who subsequently come to live in this country would have the opportunity to live together in harmony in His city and Kingdom.
Truly God has been good to Australia - God has been good to all men!
That's something which all people in this country can celebrate.
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