Last night, Eric and I were watching the movie "the Namesake" on our couch, having just enjoyed a wonderful dinner and some Cadbury creme eggs for dessert. It had been a somewhat rough day for both of us, for various reasons, and we were intentionally celebrating with thankfulness the goodness of our lives: good food, a good home, good friends and family, and each other. During a rather sad scene in the movie where a woman gets heart-wrenching news about her husband's death over the telephone, our own phone rang. It was my mom, calling to tell us that a 25-year-old family friend had committed suicide yesterday afternoon.
In the midst of our attempts to choose life, it felt like death was winning.
But I was reminded this morning of what Jesus said to us in John 10: "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." To the full can also be rendered "abudantly" or "a rich and satisfying life." The final goal of everything Jesus did was to give us life -- and not just a wimpy, poor existence like the struggling daffodils in my snowy flower beds, but a powerfilled, content, joyful kind of life that is bursting at the seams. Life in abundance.
The terribly sad thing about living on this earth in its current state is that we are confronted with death on a daily basis. But there is hope because there is life all around us, as well. The question is, which one are we going to let color our thoughts and attitudes and rule our lives?
With the help of God, I pray it is life.
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For those of you in the habit of praying, please remember our friends Mike and LuAnna Schone and their daughter Christina as they mourn the loss of their son and brother Ben. Please pray, also, for Ben's young friends, as many of them are dealing with something like this for the first time in their lives. Pray that their pain is not wasted, but will lead to life.
Wednesday, April 08, 2009
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wow. that was no coincidence. thank you for sharing these words today.
ReplyDelete"For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 8:38 & 39
ReplyDeleteWhat a love! In death and in life, in victory and in defeat, His love for us is never diminished.
One of our pastors recently put it like this.
In Christ, we bring no baggage, nothing I can ever do will make You love me less, and we bring no badges, nothing I can ever do will make You love me more.