Posted on by sufficientgrace4u

Death is Hard, But Peace Awaits

Funerals are hard.  Saying good bye is hard.  Facing memories of those we love who we can no longer see is hard.  Seeing a lifeless body where so much joy and spirit used to be is painful.  Being confronted with our own mortality can be crushing. 

It can be hard and painful and crushing when we focus on just this world.  A life in this world has ended.  BUT we were not made just for this world.  We were made for so much more.  The book of Wisdom tells us:

The souls of the just are in the hand of God, and no torment shall touch them.

They seemed, in the view of the foolish, to be dead; and their passing away was thought an affliction and their going forth from us, utter destruction.

But they are in peace.

Wisdom 3:1-3

We on earth can forget and view them as dead.  We can feel the utter destruction of their passing, but when we turn to God, when we remember His promises, when we have the faith and Hope in Him, we know…  our dearly departed is in peace.  Not at peace… in peace.  Because they still are. 

Our life on earth is temporary.  It may be the only thing we know for certain and the only thing we can all agree on. The torment, the affliction, the destruction is temporary.  The peace of God is forever, for the just, for those who put their trust in God, for those who turn to God, for those who keep God central in their life, despite the torment, affliction and destruction around them.  Everything around us is temporary… except God, except the love of God, a love that we can share with others.

Lord,

I long to live in your peace.  I hand over my pain, my struggles, my torment and afflictions.  You sent your Son to rescue us, to defeat death and to bring us to everlasting peace.  I trust in you. Help me to do your will in this life.  Help me to bring your peace to others.

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Made and Loved by God

Tonight’s passage is wonderful (and easy to understand):

For you love all things that are and loathe nothing that you have made; for you would not fashion what you hate.  How could a thing remain, unless you willed it; or be preserved, had it not been called forth by you?  But you spare all things, because they are yours, O Ruler and Lover of souls, for your imperishable spirit is in all things!

Wisdom 11:24-12:1

God loves us.  He made us.  He created us.  By His will, we exist.  We are His. It is just that simple.

As I read this scripture over, it almost makes me say “well, duh — of course He loves us.”  I can feel my soul breathe a deep sigh of relief, because this passage makes it so simple and clear.  We all have a tag on our soul that says Made by God.  (Who needs a Made in the USA tag — we all bear the Made in Heaven stamp!)

And just when I think it cannot get any better, the very last clause blows me away: “for your imperishable spirit is in all things.”

I watch my son, the one little part of God’s creation that I had a hand in making and I can see part of me in him (some good and some not so good).  God made us.  And just like part of me is in my son, part of God is in each of us.  And that is all good!  God’s imperishable spirit is in all of us!  We need to let that part shine!

God,

I love you!  I am not worthy of your love, but I am so grateful to have it.  Let your Spirit  fill me and shine through me!

 

Posted on by sufficientgrace4u

No false gods

I will have no false gods.  As long as I can remember, I have known that this was one of God’s commandments.  It was an easy one, I believed.  There is only one God.  I don’t believe in any other gods.  I don’t believe any other gods exist.  Check.  One commandment followed.  I thought…

Foolish by nature were all who were in ignorance of God, and who from the good things seen did not succeed in knowing the one who is, and from studying the works did not discern the artisan; Instead either fire, or wind, or the swift air, or the circuit of the stars, or the mighty water, or the luminaries of heaven, the governors of the world, they considered gods.  Now if out of joy in their beauty they thought them gods, let them know how far more excellent is the Lord than these; for the original source of beauty fashioned them.  Or if they were struck by their might and energy, let them realize from these things how much more powerful is the one who made them.  For from the greatness and the beauty of created things their original author, by analogy, is seen.  But yet, for these the blame is less; For they have gone astray perhaps, though they seek God and wish to find him.  For they search busily among his works, but are distracted by what they see, because the things seen are fair.  But again, not even these are pardonable. For if they so far succeeded in knowledge that they could speculate about the world, how did they not more quickly find its Lord?

Wisdom 13:1-9

I do not call them gods, but I have put things before God.  The so called good things in life: food, money, power, jobs, family, friends.  Is it wrong to enjoy life?  “Foolish by nature were all who were in ignorance of God, and who from the good things seen did not succeed in knowing the one who is, and from studying the works did not discern the artisan.”  The failing in enjoying the good things is not recognizing God in all of them.  The joy that we feel in beautiful things — incomparable to the beauty of their creator and the joy He can bring.  Humans are better than anything we can create.  Similarly, God, our creator, is far greater than what He has created.  Every powerful force that we see on earth, whether natural or man made, is nothing when compared to God who created and fashioned all power.  Because I cannot fathom this beauty and strength, this power and joy, I sometimes let it fall to the back of my mind and instead focus on the lesser things in front of me.

I don’t think of it as worshipping a false god — because I still allow myself to think of this as I did as a child — worshipping is something you do in church,  and I only worship God in church.  And therein lies my problem.  I limit my worshipping to church.  I only worship God in church.  But my focus and energies on these lesser things outside of church is putting these things in front of God.  God gives us so much evidence of his goodness, his power, his strength, his majesty, his beauty and the joy that only He can provide us.  How do we not more quickly find the Lord?

Lord, forgive me.   Sometimes I need the smack in the face to see what is right in front of me. You have made so many wondrous things.  I am distracted by the beauty that surrounds me.  I am mystified by your strength and power.  I am in awe.  My mind wants to know and see what it cannot even begin to understand.  Forgive me, God.  I am lazy.  I settle for what I can see rather than searching for what I do not understand.  Help me.  I want to keep your commandments.  I want to put You above all things.  Help me to keep that focus so that I might do your will.