What's seen... and what's not seen

"So we do not lose heart.  Even though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day.  For this slight momentary affliction is preparing us for an eternal weight of glory beyond all measure, because we we look not at what can be seen, but at what cannot be seen; for what can be seen is temporary, but what cannot be seen is eternal."

 (2 Corinthians 4:16-18)

Nana is dying.  Literally.  Hospice workers say it will be any day now.  She has a form of ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease).  She's had it for a while... but only in the last 4+ weeks has it really taken its toll on her.  As her pastor, I've been by to see her at home many times in these 4+ weeks.  Each time she's been more and more weak.  Her body is wasting away.  it's hard to see, knowing what a vibrant woman of faith she has been.

In his 2nd letter to the church in Corinth, Paul could very well have been talking about Nana.  If you'd only had the chance to meet her these past 2 months or so, you'd probably call it a tragedy.  But if you've known her longer, like I have, you've come to know the love & hope in her heart.  You'd have seen the deep & abiding faith she has.  You'd know the condition her body is right now in now way reflects the eternal condition of her soul.  A soul which will soon be spending eternity with the Author & Creator of all Life.  Thanks be to God for that truth.  AMEN.

As long as it's called 'Today'...

"But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called 'today,' so that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin."

(Hebrews 3:13)

I just received word that one of our church members died of a massive heart attack last night.  He called his wife, a nurse, who was on her way to work, to say that he was experiencing chest pains.  "If something happens to me tonight, know that I love you and the girls," he said to her.  By the time she turned around & made it home (just minutes later), he was unresponsive.

Every day is a gift.  We know that in our heads.  But do we live as though it's a true reality?  The author of Hebrews calls us to "exhort one another every day."  Encourage one another.  Love one another.  think about others more than yourself.  Daily.  Why?  Because none of us knows if there will be a tomorrow for us.  Too often we live like we expect tomorrow to be there, but nothing is guaranteed.  So say what you need to say, the author continues, "as long as it is called 'today.'

What do you NEED to do today?  Who do you need to encourage?  Who might need to know they're loved?  Don't let anger, resentment, pride, or any other sin take root.  Not while it's still called 'today.'  Life is too short.  Life is too precious.

PRAYER:  Thank you, Lord, for Dennis... and the love he showered upon his family... including his love for you!  AMEN.

UNBOUND!

"(Simon Peter) saw the linen wrappings lying (in the tomb), and the cloth that had been on Jesus' head, not lying with the linen wrappings, but rolled up in a place by itself."

(John 20:6-7)

I read again today the familiar Easter story of Peter running to the empty tomb & seeing Jesus' grave clothes lying empty.  John makes a point of saying that Jesus' head wrap was neatly rolled up on the side.  My first thought was, "Wow... his mom must have taught him to make his bed every morning when he awoke!" (like my mom did!).  But then I noticed the OTHER wrappings weren't rolled up, they were just lying in a pile.  Why the difference?  Was Jesus in a hurry & couldn't finish folding?  Were the body cloths too much to roll up?  Or did it just look pretty cool lying there - like the skin from a lizard after molting (guess what kind of pet I had as a kid?!)?

Then I noticed a note in my Bible: "Compare 11:44."  John 11 is the story of Lazarus - the one whom Jesus raised from the dead.  In verse 44, when Lazarus walks out of the tomb, Jesus tells the crowd to "unbind him."  He was still wrapped up... still 'mummified'.  But in John 20, Jesus didn't need anyone to unbind him.  He was already unbound!  He took care of it himself.  What's the point?  Was Jesus the original escape artist (before David Blaine & Houdini!)?  Or maybe this was the author's way of telling us that NOTHING can hold Jesus.  not a tomb... not graveclothes... not death.  He has conquered all!

For us as followers of Jesus, that means we share in that freedom.  We may not "conquer all" in this life.  Let's face it, life is hard.  Troubles come.  Evil hits.  But we will not be left on our own... we'll never be abandoned.  The One who conquers will see us through!  And even when this earthly life comes to an end, we will escape the bonds of our bodies & live eternal in God's glorious kingdom.

And it has absolutely nothing to do with making our beds!  lol

What a comforting thought.  AMEN!

Make Our Days Count

[from Monday, April 27, 2010]

"So teach us to count our days that we may gain a wise heart."

(Psalm 90:12)

Today I'm participating in the funeral (memorial!) service of Presley Tagaloa.  He died at the age of 23 from complications resulting from his ongoing battle with leukemia.  Presley had been serving with the Army Reserves in Kuwait & Iraq.  He was strong, powerful & consistent... until leukemia attacked his body.

Twenty-three years. That's much, much, much too young to die.  And yet it happens quite often.  Young people die long before they've had a chance to live the life God gave them.  Some die related to the choices they've made in life.  Others, like Presley, get dealt cards they had nothing to do with choosing.

"Life is short," the saying goes.  How true.  Even for those of us who make it beyond 23, in the grand scheme of things, human life is short.  Psalm 90 understands this.  The author writes: "So teach us to count our days that we may gain a wise heart."  I believe this is calling us to be aware of each day we're alive.  Appreciate everything.  Make our days count.  God can fill every moment with meaning, if we'll be intentional about it... and about looking to Him for guidance.

Thank you, Lord, for Presley... and for this day that you have granted me.
AMEN.

His dying breath

"Now when the centurion, who stood facing (Jesus), saw that in this way he breathed his last, he said, 'Truly this man was God's Son.'"

(Mark 15:39)

I've had the privilege of being present when a few people have died.  It's an awe-inducing experience.  Not in the "Academy-Award-winning-death-performance" kind of way... nor in the Hollywood "shoot-em-up-dramatic-death" kind of way.  It's simply amazing to be there at the moment a human being breathes his/her last.  To know that the silver cord of life is being cut is quite humbling.

At the end of Jesus' life, one person in particular is deeply moved.  A Roman solider.  A centurion.  He responded by saying the now famous line, "Truly this man was God's Son."  I'd always assumed the magnitude of the entire crucifixion experience weighted heavily on his heart and he finally glimpsed the divine truth.  That still may be what actually happened... but today I noticed something Mark wrote, that I hadn't noticed before.  He note that t was when the centurion saw how Jesus "breathed his last" that gave him the revelation.  Verse 37 says of that particular moment, "Then Jesus gave a loud cry and breathed his last."  Was it the loud cry itself that did it?  Was it whatever words Jesus may have cried out?  Was it the way in which Jesus held his composure through that final moment?  We don't know.  But something about that final breath became a witness to that Roman soldier.

John Wesley (the founder of Methodism) once remarked that one of the distinguishing marks of a Methodist is that "we die well."  Again, I don't think he was referring to a motion-picture type of ending... but rather a peaceful calm in the face of death.  How one LIVES his/her life goes a long way toward how one embraces the end, I think.

As Christians, we talk about "living as one prepared to die."  Preservation of life (at least our lives) is not the ultimate goal... but rather living this life tot he fullest - in the way God intended.  That brings a peace and contentment that speaks volumes... even when you can't speak any more.  AMEN.