Tag Archives: Life

Life

Epiphany
February 7, 2017

Scripture Reading: Deuteronomy 30:15-20

I call heaven and earth to witness against you today that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Choose life so that you and your descendants may live, loving the Lord your God, obeying him, and holding fast to him; for that means life to you and length of days, so that you may live in the land that the Lord swore to give to your ancestors, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. –Deuteronomy 30:19-20

“What is life?” is a complicated question in our world today. The word “life” used in the scripture above is defined from the Hebrew in Strong’s Concordance as consisting of earthly felicity combined (often) with spiritual blessedness*. Life as earthly happiness combined with spiritual blessedness probably would not be in most of our definitions. We likely would get clinical describing life as the presence of breathing or not. The breath of life is Biblical too**. When discussing end of life issues, we often talk about quality of life, which might get closure to felicity. Deuteronomy may be saying that earthly happiness is contingent on spiritual happiness. I call that being in sync with God. I think this scripture implies an eternal status with an earthly interlude.

All life is God’s. All life is sacred. All life is eternal. We are called to be respecters of life; we do not control it. My experience working as a social worker in a children’s hospital reshaped my thinking on life refocusing my purpose. Because the hospital was a trauma center, it was the last, best hope for critical situations. In one year, I worked with eight such situations involving children who died from child abuse or neglect. I did not keep count of the hundreds of abused or neglected children who cross our thresholds who were saved. Several of these were left to live out their lives with permanent disabilities. Prevention of child abuse and neglect become the focus of my life. While restoration is an imperative, total avoidance of the damage from child abuse or neglect is a far more credible course.

I never questioned that each of those children who died rest in spiritual blessedness in God’s arms for eternity. I have always questioned why we live in a society that cannot provide for the felicity of God’s children during their earthly interlude. Ending poverty, providing training for parents, the availability of quality physical and mental health care, and assuring quality education at all levels would be a great place to start.

Prayer: Jesus, you said let the little children come unto me***, help us to understand that loving little children is a quest for all of us. Amen.

*http://biblehub.com/hebrew/2416.htm
**For example, see Genesis 2:7
*** See at Matthew 19:14

All scriptures are quoted from the new Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

Death

Living in the Spirit
June 20, 2014

 Scripture Reading: Romans 6:1-11 

For whoever has died is freed from sin. But if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. The death he died, he died to sin, once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.  – Romans 6:7-11 

My definition of “sin” in modern nomenclature is being out of synch with God. More traditional descriptors are missing the mark or being separated from God. According to our scripture today, death frees us from sin. At that point, it is too late to worry about it. Whatever will result will result.  By becoming a part of Christ death, however, we also become a part of his resurrection. We enter into that state of being when we accept him as our Lord and Savior. But notice the next admonition but the life he lives, he lives to God. Death through Christ is not a door closing but a whole new life opening.

I don’t think I grasp what that meant until my bad knee got really bad. Being fairly immobile, I gained a lot of weight. My first goal, after getting that knee replaced, was to set about losing the excess weight. Nothing I tried worked. I was so out of shape that every exercise I tried resulted in negative outcomes. For some, eating less might result in weight loss by itself but, for me, it had to be combined with exercise. I was hopeless. My doctor referred me for physical therapy and that helped, but it was time limited and did not take me to the next level. I walked out of my last PT visit about as depressed as I have ever been. Got in my car and prayer without thinking, “God, what do I do now?” The immediate answer I got back surprised me. It was, “Realize you have a terminal illness—obesity, and live like it.” And that is exactly what I have worked at doing ever since. I have loss the excess weight, am in better shape than I have been in years, and my life is dedicated to wholeness—oneness—justice among all peoples.

Being out of synch with God is a terminal illness that leads only to misery and suffering and ennui. Dying with Christ lifts us out of that muck and lets us live again.

Prayer: Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights reserved.