Every day somebody tells me something that just isn’t true. In spite of my best efforts, I probably say things that turn out to be untrue as well. Here is the bad news…… So do you.

So how do the things that we say……. that are not true…….. break down?

Some of them, hopefully very few, are outright lies.

Some of them are disagreements.

Some of them are honest mistakes.

I sometimes get called a liar in these circumstances…..and that is upsetting…….. because I try really hard to be truthful……even when the truth is painful.

What, then, is the difference between lies, disagreements, and mistakes…….and how do we handle them? This is especially relevant in our current, highly toxic, political conversation.

First, the lie. The lie has three characteristics all of which MUST be met and you must be absolutely sure. First, it is untrue. Second, the person who says it knows it is untrue. Third, the person who says it is intentionally trying to mislead you. Lies are out there, but, with the possible exceptions of advertisements, the practice of law, and politics they are not common.

Second, the disagreement. The issue of truth here is bit slippery. One or both parties may be right. One or both parties may be wrong. Neither party knows that they are wrong……if they are wrong. There is no intention to deceive.

Finally, the mistake. There is a factual untruth. The person who says it does not know that it is untrue. They believe it……. perhaps passionately. They often try very hard to convince you; but, because they believe it, there really is no intention to deceive.

How do we handle this mess?

The first step in solving any problem……..is to accurately identify the problem. When somebody tells you something that is possibly untrue, you have to accurately characterize it. You have to ask three questions:

Are you absolutely sure that it is untrue?
If it is untrue, are you absolutely sure that the other person knows it is untrue?
What is the other person’s motivation? Are they intentionally trying to deceive you?
These are difficult questions and they deserve serious consideration……..because labeling somebody a liar is serious business………and it happens far too often in today’s politics.

If all three conditions are met, then you are dealing with a lie and with a liar. You need to protect yourself and others from the liar. This must be done gently and with love and that is not easy. If there is any doubt about the three conditions, then you are probably not dealing with a lie….. but with a disagreement.

If only the first condition is met, then you are dealing with a mistake. You can ignore it or try to educate/correct the other person. This often doesn’t work so don’t get upset…….move on.

If none of the conditions are met……..and I have to emphasize the part that says ABSOLUTELY SURE……then you are dealing with a disagreement. You can discuss it. You can try to sell your argument. You need to listen to the other person’s argument. You will probably not resolve the disagreement. In that case you should drop it. Disagreements are the most common of the three…….and they often get labelled as lies, particularly in politics. The key point about disagreement is what you CANNOT do.

You cannot, get angry.
You cannot call names (liar, racist, hater, homophobe, misogynist, baby killer).
You cannot allow the disagreement to damage relationships.
In a word…….you cannot allow yourself to become a “hater” over a disagreement.

In short, you and I must learn to disagree with one another in a loving way. The first step may be to turn off your TV and computer. Because, in spite of what the politicians and the talking heads tell you, most of the things we are fighting about are disagreements, not lies.

I’m not naive……there are liars out there…… in both political parties. But, there are few of them…….and don’t kid yourself, they are evenly distributed on the left and right.

So….. let’s disagree…… passionately. But let’s do it with kindness and love. Our democracy demands it.

“If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

Jesus, NIV

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

Paul, NIV

As part of my morning prayer and meditation, I set aside a few minutes, sit quietly, and listen….. just in case God has something to say to me. I don’t hear a physical voice, but, sometimes an idea comes to me. Sometimes an entire post comes to me……………straight out of the blue. Sometimes, however, there is nothing. I invite God to speak…..and there is nothing. I wonder what in the world I will say this week. I wonder what God is up to. Where did he go? I worry that I will mess up and let everybody down……. that I will come up with something that comes from some source other than God.

Then it occurred to me. This probably happens to all of us. Some situation comes up in our life……..we need some guidance……..we turn to God……..and nothing happens.

Does this mean that God doesn’t hear…….that he doesn’t care……or worse….. that he doesn’t exist? I hear this a lot. Somebody is in crisis…..they pray…… they don’t get the response that they expected…….and they reject God.

I don’t know what God is up to…….when he is silent.

But I do know this.

God loves me. Not with a generic “one size fits all” kind of love…..but with a parental love that is specific to me. He is fully aware of my strengths…….and of my failures……my sin.

And he loves me……..still.

When was a child, my dad left the house and went to work…..seven days a week………10 to 12 hours a day. I missed his presence…….often I resented his absence…… sometimes I still do……swim meets that he didn’t attend…….the boy scout functions that he rarely attended. I miss the conversations that we didn’t have. But, I never doubted that he was hard at work taking care of me.

So……… what does it mean……. when God is silent?

It means that……just like my dad……he is hard at work taking care of me…… taking care of you…….even in his silence……even though I can’t see or hear him.

When he opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about a half an hour.

John, NIV

God didn’t speak to the prophets of the Old Testament for 400 years………then he sent us Jesus.

God is sometimes silent……..just before he does something big.

This calls for confidence in God’s love. It calls for trust that he cares and will make things right…….on his terms and in his good time. It calls for patience.

I know someone. She is smart, organized, she works hard and she treats you well……….. as long as she gets what she wants……. exactly what she wants….. on exactly the terms that she dictates. When she doesn’t get what she wants, she goes on the attack and she hurts everybody within reach……. ultimately, including herself. She doesn’t have a lot of friends…….. because sooner or later they all encounter her rage. They wander off in search of a friendship that is just a little easier………and safer.
Ultimately, her drive to get what she wants costs her…….. It costs her the most valuable thing in life……… relationships. When I think of her, it seems such a shame.

BTW, she doesn’t follow my posts…….ever……..so if you think that she is you……….she’s not.

Then I look around. She is an exaggerated example of something pretty common. I know a fair number of people who treat God much the same way. We start out in life with the best of intentions…….. everything is going well. Then one day something happens……… and we don’t get what we want. Our spouse leaves us……… Someone important to us dies……. We get sick….. Lose our job. Maybe we pray hard about it…….maybe not. Then, we don’t get what we want…….at exactly the time that we want……..on exactly the terms that we dictated. We end up in the same place. We wind up using the same phrasebook that she does: we say ” it’s not fair!” or “I can’t accept a God who would allow_________to happen!” In a word…… We get mad at God because we didn’t get what we wanted.. exactly what we wanted…….on exactly the terms that we dictated.

This would be completely appropriate, if we were the boss and God was our “personal assistant”. But, that…..of course……is not the case. God is the creator of the universe…….. our creator. And we are children. When we get mad and lash out at God, it is exactly the same as when our 2 year old throws a tantrum and dumps his strained carrots on the floor.

So………this post is about disappointment………and how we handle it. What do we do when the things that are happening in our life don’t line up with our “master plan”. What do we do when we want Cocoa Puffs and we get strained carrots.

We can throw a fit……….and the carrots……….or we can trust that our father, mother, and God love us and are operating with our long range well being in mind………even when God’s long range plan isn’t clear to us……even when it messes up our short range plans. And let’s face it……all of our plans are “short range”.

I have seen many triumphs and more than my share of disasters. My “master plan” went into the recycling bin a long time ago. It’s very easy to take credit for the triumphs and get mad about the disasters. But, if you accept the fact that God loves you and will take care of you over the long haul, then you develope an attitude of thankfulness……….and hopefulness……not just for your triumphs…….but also for your disasters.

And that is a very good place to be.

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

God, NIV

“I can’t get no……. satisfaction”

Mick Jagger

When I was a kid I made things with my hands….boxes, bags fishing lures…….all kinds of things. Then, when I was in high school, I discovered that I was smart. I figured that the best way to use my smarts was medical school. So I began studying…….hard, sometimes 18-20 hours a day…………….and I stopped making things. This led to a nearly 40 year career in medicine. I really enjoyed my job, made plenty of money, and got to help a lot of people. I used to say “I have the best job in the world”. In fact, I probably did. Then I retired…….. and now I’m making furniture. My work ranges from high end craft furniture to pieces that approach art.

It is really satisfying…….much more satisfying than my practice of medicine. It is so much more satisfying that I have come to the conclusion that a this is what I was meant to be from the start. This is what I was made for. Looking back, my “real career”, medicine, was great……. but this is even better. From where I stand now, I can see that medicine, while it was rewarding…….was a distraction……..a detour en route to my real destination.

Then it hit me………… this is what heaven will be like. Forget the cloud, the halo, and the harp. In paradise you will be exactly where you were meant to be. You will be doing exactly what you were meant to do. You will be with the people you were meant to be with. You will experience the reality that you were designed for. You will know a degree of satisfaction unlike anything that you have ever dreamed of…….unlike anything that any human being has ever known.

Your life today could be a disaster…….. or it could be a huge success. Still, if you honestly search your heart, you know that your life is not all that it could be. That emptiness, that vague sense that something is missing is speaking to you.

You were created. You were specifically designed for something……….and that something is paradise. That is where you were meant to be. This violent broken world is not what God had in mind for you when he designed you. The dissatisfaction that you feel in your heart is the result of being in the wrong place, doing the wrong thing. You may be very successful…..or not…….but, at your core, you know that this is not quite right. You know that there is something more.

This is your heart pointing you toward home………toward the peace, satisfaction, and joy that comes from being in the place that you were designed for……. the place that you were created for.

For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. Now the one who has fashioned us for this very purpose is God, who has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.

Paul, NIV

But, as it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him”

Paul, NIV

It seems like a lot of problems have been cropping up in my life lately. They range from big to small……..from annoying aggravations to full blown disasters. I’m sure that you are dealing with problems too. The challenge is to ride out the storms without losing your joy and peace……..and that can be hard.

So how do we deal with problems?

What do we do when our best laid plans go off the tracks?

One of the rules that I try to live by is this:

Don’t worry about things that you cannot change…….focus on the part of the problem that you can fix. This is easier said than done……but it is good counsel.

When an annoying problem surfaces (speeding ticket) …….when a full blown disaster crashes down on your world (illness, job loss, the death of a loved one) the first step is to sort the problem into two categories……..the part of the problem that you can fix……and the part of the problem that is beyond your control.

The first category is the easy one. Do whatever you can to fix the fixable…….. and this includes getting help. Oddly, diving into the fixable will help take your focus away from the part of the problem that you cannot fix.

The second category is problematic. It can be hard or easy. For the secular humanist there are two approaches: #1 ignore the problem and #2 worry pointlessly………”we’re all gonna die!”. Unfortunately, neither of these approaches will fix anything. Ignoring the unfixable at least buys you a little peace…..as long as you can keep it up. Pointless worry just makes you and those around you miserable. This is the hard approach. For the easy approach, for the Christian, things are different. You pray, turn the unfixable over to God, and then get back to work on the fixable. People will wonder how you can find peace and joy in the face of tragedy. They may even think that you are heartless……..or just hard. But here’s the thing, the Christian approach works. It works by helping you to live and love your way through the crisis. But, also, when I look back over the years, it is surprising how many times God has taken care of the “unfixable”. I suspect that I will someday learn that he has also fixed many of the things that I thought he had missed.

So…….there it is…….the secret to living a life of joy and love in the midst of tragedy.

Fix what you can……..turn the rest over to God in prayer……then get back to work on the fixable.

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Paul, NIV

Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

David, NIV

A recent post dealt with “How does God feel?” That post was a bit of a reach. As I said then, I don’t presume to speak for God………I was just making my best guess.

Today I’m going even further out on a limb.

First of all, let me clarify some “ground rules”.

Satan is real……..just look around…….. if you don’t believe he is real, you just aren’t paying attention.

Satan is not a metaphor, a hazy concept, an idea, a guy in a red suit. He is a living creature with a goal and the tools to pursue it.

Satan wants power and control……over you.

Satan looks out for Satan………and nobody else.

God will defeat Satan…..in the end…..and Satan knows it.

Because he knows that he will ultimately lose, Satan wants to do as much damage as he can before the end. He is not a “good sport”.

Satan was created by God. He was an angel. I think that he and God were once close. He rebelled against the power structure in God’s world and was “ejected from the park”. He now roams the Earth trying to set up his own kingdom. Unlike God’s kingdom which is based on love….. Satan’s kingdom is based on domination. He still visits and talks to God……..but, his access is limited and his power is limited…….by God. He will ultimately be destroyed.

So……..what does it feel like to strive to build a kingdom?

Satan is proud.
Satan is ambitious.
Satan is hopeful.
Satan has big plans.
Satan is organized……..he has a team that he manages closely.
Satan is powerful and he has extensive resources.
Satan loves his power and his resources and he uses them skillfully.
He builds his kingdom by separating us from God.

What does it feel like to strive to build a kingdom based on domination when you know that you will ultimately fail,?

Satan is frustrated.
Satan is angry.
Satan has an inferiority complex.
Satan wants to share his pain….because misery loves company.
Satan is vengeful……he can’t hurt his real enemy……. God……. so he attacks you and me.
He finds joy in our failures.

To sum it up……. Satan is a combination of ambition and angry frustration……..and he takes his anger out on us.

How should we deal with him?

Focus on the primary power structure…….. God.
Know that in the end ……….God wins.
Do not ignore Satan……..but know that he is a second tier operator…… ultimately, a bit player.
Know that he will try to pry his way into your world….. every day.
Know that you get to choose which team to join……..the winner who operates on love………or the loser who operates on domination.

“Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”

Jesus, NIV

Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.

Peter, NIV

Sounds like a pretty simple idea.

We all agree that truth is a good thing. We teach our kids to “tell the truth”. We say that we want more of it. We see others doing and saying things that don’t seem true fairly frequently and this offends us…….at least intellectually.

But, how much of our effort goes into seeking the truth internally. In other words, how much time do we spend dispassionately analysing the things that we say, believe, and do in order to determine if they align with the truth?

The truth, it turns out, is a bit more complicated than we like to admit.

One of our greatest failings is that we tend to filter the truths that we encounter. We pay attention to the truths that support our beliefs and we ignore the truths that keep us from getting what we want.

Here is wisdom………it is entirely possible…..even common….. to say a dozen things all of which are factually correct and in the process to be untruthful…….. to lie. It turns out, that in any area of controversy, there is truth on both sides. As an example: a woman should be able to control her body without government interference…. and……abortion kills her child. If you only deal with the truth on one side of an issue and ignore the truth on the other side, then you are being dishonest. And we all do this……every day. How many conservatives do you know who only watch Fox? How many liberals do you know who only watch CNN? Do YOU watch both? Or do you just listen to the talking heads who tell you what you already believe?

There is even a term for this……”the echo chamber effect”.

If the truths that you focus on uniformly support what you believe……what you want. If the truths that you believe never lead you to change. If the truths that you believe never drive you to do something outside of your comfort zone, something that you wouldn’t ordinarily do……..then you are either a saint or you are ignoring the truths that you don’t like.

The great immutable truths are in our hearts from birth. We all recognize these same basic truths…… because they were intentionally put there……..by our Creator. We can run from them. We can beat them down. We can try to bury them. But, they are there…….. If we care to look. If we are honest with ourselves.

There is a connection between God and truth because God is the source of truth. There is a connection between truth and joy because the closer that we get to truth, the more joy we feel. In a word…….the closer that we come to God and his truth, the more joy we feel.

So…..what is true?

God is love……..he loves me…..and I love him.
I love my children and my grandchildren.
God is truth.
Loving others brings us joy.
To cause others pain is bad.
To help the downtrodden is good.
There is something bigger than me.
There is something waiting for me……after I die.
There is good in my heart……. but there is evil as well.

There is good in the world and there is evil…… hatred, lust, jealousy, murder, and, yes, dishonesty to name a few. Each of us has both good and evil inside of us. Most of the ideas that we support contain both good and bad…… and it’s a lot more fun to attack the bad in the other guy than it is to ferret out the bad inside of us.

But…… honesty demands that we look at both the truths that we like and at the truths that bother us….. the truths that restrict us and our appetites.

Democrats must look at the harm that abortion does.

Republicans must look at the harm that gun violence does.

Or we could just keep attacking each other……..an ongoing exersize in dishonesty……..each of us ignoring the inconvenient truths that tell us that we are at least partly wrong…..and, all of the while, believing that we occupy the moral high ground.

“If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

Jesus, NIV

“But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.”

Jesus, NIV

A disclaimer: I am not a trained pastor. What follows is my personal belief in and understanding of my creator.

I was raised as a Methodist. God was stern, Jesus was distant, and the Holy Spirit was vaporous. The Trinity was something in a book or on the walls of a building. I believed…. but my relationship with God was not anything like a friendship. God was fixed and pretty much 2 dimensional. He was somewhere over there. It never occurred to me that God might have feelings. It would have never occurred to me to explore God’s emotions.

But that is what I’m going to try to do this week.

Examine the closest, best relationships in your life…..your spouse, your children, your closest friends. Then remember that we were created in God’s image. I believe that the finest points of the best relationships in our lives are a pale reflection of God’s relationship to us. So if you want to look into the heart of God…..start by looking at the best relationships in your life.

What are the characteristics of those relationships?

Love
A desire for closeness
We hope that they will find peace and joy……. happiness
We try to share with them the skills that will lead to happiness
We hope that they will choose well
Joy when they succeed…….when they grow
Sadness when they choose badly……when they fail
Sadness when bad things enter their lives
Anger when someone evil harms them

All of these things are gifts to the other person. None of them are self serving. In our modern me-centric culture, it seems counter-intuitive. But, I have often said that the surest path to lasting joy is to give of yourself to another person. This is one of the greatest truths of life…….and it is a reflection of the core teachings of Christianity…… Love God……Love your neighbor. These 2 teachings lead us to joy. And joy is the surest sign of the presence of God.

I believe that this truth is close to the heart of God.

So……to return to the beginning. How does God feel?

Just like a husband….. Just like a wife…….Just like a parent.

God is happy when we succeed and sad when we fail.
He shares in our joy and in our pain.

The trick is that he knows the path to real lasting success……the path to real lasting joy. And it comes from selflessly giving of ourselves to others. This is not the “survival of the fittest”…..claw your way to the top……get more stuff mantra of our culture.

How else do you explain a God……a friend……who would choose to suffer crucifixion solely for our benefit……. solely for my benefit?

God gained nothing from the cross……except for relationship, except for love, and the joy that comes from giving of himself to another.

So………..how does God feel?

Love………I am convinced that a deep abiding love for us…..for me…..is at God’s core.

Joy…….the joy that comes from loving us…….the joy that comes from loving me.

Hope…….that we will choose wisely and grow closer to him…….that we will value our relationship with him as much as he does.

And maybe some sadness too………when we choose badly…….when we turn away from him.

This is the God that I know……my friend. This is the God that I look forward to spending eternity with.

“I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.”

Jesus, NIV

“I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”

Jesus, NIV

There is a holiday coming. It’s a pretty big deal. Everybody gives and gets presents. A retailer recently told me that over half of her sales occur in the last 6 weeks of the year.

There are hundreds of movies about this holiday. My favorite is “The Christmas Gift” with John Denver. Almost all of these movies will ask the same 2 questions…….”Do you believe in Santa Claus?” and “will you find love?”

Sadly almost none will ask the question, “Do you believe in Jesus Christ?”

Odd…….for a holiday called Christmas.

Ironic ………when you consider that Jesus is the source of both the greatest gift and the greatest love that humanity has ever encountered.

I still get a little thrill when I hear one of the old Christmas songs like “The First Noel”. What makes me sad is that my children and grandchildren will never know that. For them, Christmas is just a day when you get lots of presents………no more. By new years, the thrill is gone and it’s back to business as usual.

I think that this is a symptom of the shift in our culture from Christianity to secular humanism. This shift has been encouraged by a small group of committed atheists and their lawyers……..by Hollywood and the media elites……..by our colleges and universities. The disagreements between Christians and the LGBTQ community haven’t helped.

Ultimately, though, each of us is individually responsible. Each of us will be individually judged……..for the things that we do……….for the things that we don’t do……..and likely for the things that we tolerate.

Ultimately, it all comes down to my priorities……..and yours.
Which comes first……..what I want……..or what God wants?

Secular humanism tells me that what I want is all that there is.

God has expectations that often lead me in a different direction. God often expects me to act beyond my immediate appetites.

The only valid argument for choosing “what I want”……..is that God doesn’t exist. And yet if you honestly search your heart…….if you accept the reality that there are things beyond what current science can explain……….you can sense his presence.

You know in your heart the validity of his law……..Love God & Love your Neighbor.

On the other hand you should be sceptical of a moral framework that always tells you that whatever you want………..is right.

This choice of priorities is the most important decision that you will ever make. It is a choice with eternal consequences. In a way, it is a choice between Santa Claus with his bag full of toys………..and God with his law of love.

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.

Paul, NIV

“No one here gets out alive”

Jim Morrison

I can’t say that Morrison led an exemplary life…….but he did find an occasional kernel of truth. The simple fact is this……..from the moment of our birth, we are all dying…….the little girl running on the playground………and the old man in the wheelchair. It has been said that there are 2 great moments in life…….birth and death.

So……how do we handle death……how should we handle death?

I have friends and acquaintances who have died.
I’m 66 years old and I have coronary artery disease. I have friends with cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer’s, etc. It seems like every month somebody I know dies or is given a fatal diagnosis.

But here’s the thing.

We are all facing death, the only difference among us is how close it is……….and do we have a hint as to how it will unfold. We can see this current physical world clearly. But, death…….and what happens after death is not so clear. And that can be scary.

When we are young, we see a long road ahead, life is good, death is distant, and we pretty much ignore it. When we are old, it is much more immediate………much harder to ignore. And, I suppose, that is what prompted this post.

So……. how do we deal with death…….how should we deal with it? I think it depends on whether or not you accept the idea…….I would say the promise……..of a life after our death.

There are options for those who don’t accept the afterlife:

Ignore death……..denial
Eat drink and be merry…… hedonism
Severely restrict ourselves……ascetism
Live life based solely on measurable physical things…..science
Ignore the “rules”….because “you aren’t the boss of me”….crime
Spend your life telling others what to do……elitism
Climb the ladder to get ahead of others……so that you can be the richest, most powerful dying person on the planet.

There is really only one option for those who believe in the promise of an afterlife.

Seek the creator, the guy who created paradise…….. because by finding him, you can learn about your future……you can find out what is expected of you…….you can learn to make choices in this world that will best serve you and others in the long run……..eternity. This is a huge deal, since eternity is a whole lot bigger than our 70 or 80 years here.

What it comes down to is our decision about what is most important…….. maximizing our brief 70 to 80 years in this life……..or maximizing our eternity.

So…….to get back to where I started…..how we face death depends on whether we accept the existence of a creator who loves us and who has created a place for us after our death. If you accept the promise of paradise, death is the transition from this brief restricted, in many ways broken, world to a much bigger better world. If you do not accept the existence of a creator……..if you believe that this is all a giant biochemical accident………then death is the end.

Death is either a hopeful…….even joyous thing or the source of the most profound dispair in our lives.

And here is the amazing thing………the choice between joy and dispair………is entirely up to you.

Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

David, NIV