ENDURE!

About half an hour’s drive from Ipoh, in Malaysia, stands Kellie’s Castle.

William Kellie Smith was born near Dallas—not our fair city in Texas, but its namesake in Morayshire, Scotland. This enterprising young man made his way to what was then called Malaya in the late 1800s. He found his fortune in rubber and tin-mining and purchased 900 acres south of Ipoh, making his home there with his Scottish bride, Agnes. It was when they were blessed with a son, Anthony, in 1915, that Kellie engaged in a most outlandish undertaking. He decided to build a castle.

Fascinated by Indian culture, Kellie had all its bricks and tiles, and even its laborers, imported from South India. Tragedy was not long in coming. Spanish flu struck, killing many of these workers. Kellie even had a Hindu temple built close by, to appease the gods who were wreaking havoc on his plans. (Among the pantheon of idols on the roof of that temple is a rather incongruous one of a mustachioed, obviously European man in brown jodhpurs, a green jacket, and a topi!)

Among the fascinating ideas for the castle were tunnels running from the building under the nearby river, one of which, to the aforementioned temple, was discovered only recently. Plans for an indoor tennis court were drawn, as well as a rooftop courtyard for parties. Most curious of all was the shaft for an elevator—the first in all of Malaya. That led to another tragedy—this one sadly final. On a trip to Lisbon, Portugal, in 1926, ostensibly to buy an elevator for this mansion, Kellie contracted pneumonia and died. His bereaved wife quit the whole project, sold the estate, and moved back to bonnie Scotland.

The “castle”—half done—meanwhile, was taken over by the jungle, until Malaysia’s Department of Tourism refurbished that symbol of colonialist dreams and unfinished glories.

Kellie’s Castle is called by some “Kellie’s Folly.” It is not entirely fair to blame the non-completion of this edifice upon any fault of Mr. Smith. Nevertheless, that half-executed vision and unachieved fantasy does remind one of the result of a lack of endurance. A goal unaccomplished. A finish line unreached. A grand task undone. Could happen to anyone.

The Bible frequently warns believers of that same ruinous finish, that fall by the wayside, tripped up, entangled, and enmeshed in the things of the world.

… let us also lay aside
every encumbrance and the sin
which so easily entangles us,
and let us run with endurance
the race that is set before us …
Hebrews 12:1

Eyes clearly set on the goal, minds focused upon our Model, feet running with Him.

… fixing our eyes on Jesus,
the author and perfecter of faith,
who for the joy set before Him
endured the cross, …
and has sat down at
the right hand of the throne of God.
Hebrews 12:2

No question, these days on earth are hard.

But you, be sober in all things,
endure hardship,
2 Timothy 4:5

We are to endure, persevering for eternal rewards.

If we endure,
we will also reign with Him
2 Timothy 2:12

And let us also never forget that this endurance is not some cooked-up fortitude, some self-manufactured tenacity. It is a reliance on the Lord who provides us with what we need.

… God is faithful,
who will not allow you to be tempted
beyond what you are able,
but with the temptation
will provide the way of escape also,
so that you will be able to endure it.
1 Corinthians 10:13

He enables. We endure.