Life stinks.
Fair warning:
The first half of this post is not going to make you feel good. You need to commit to reading it all………or just change channels and load up a you tube video of puppies.
It’s been a rough couple of weeks in my family……no need to go into details.
It seems as though the rough patch is not limited to my family. It’s been a rough decade for us all………and I can prove it:
In spite of what the right says, we have poisoned the planet with greenhouse gases, plastic, and other waste. In spite of what the left tells us…….there is no cure.
We legally kill 3000 children every day.
Gun violence permeates our cities.
By the time Covid-19 is finished nearly a million Americans will have died from a disease that was probably created by man.
We are in a continual state of war.
Social Security, Medicare, and the entire federal government is teetering on the brink of insolvency.
Drugs and overdose related deaths are rampant.
Violent crime is at a multi-year high.
Clean water sources in the major food production regions of America are threatened.
Today, refugees are fleeing bad governments. Soon they will be fleeing water and food shortages. American will not be immune to this next wave of “climate and resource refugees”.
I could go on……… I’m sure you can add to the list.
The only conclusion that I can draw is that we have failed as a society, as a culture, and as a species. There is a line from the Matrix. An alien speaking to a human says, “you don’t inhabit this planet……you infest it.”
There is no reason to believe that things are going to get better.
If this depresses you, I’m not surprised. If this was the end of the story…….. I’d be depressed too.
But, I’m not depressed.
Why?
Because, my death…..your death……..even the death of this planet is not the end.
Based on the testimony of the apostles and hundreds of witnesses. Jesus was crucified. He was dead as a doornail. Then he came back to life. That can only mean one thing. It means he was not simply a man. He was God. That means that we must take what he said….what he taught……seriously.
He taught us to love him……..he taught us to love each other…….he taught us that for those who acknowledge him, that life continues after we die…………and it gets much better.
All of this because of the gift of his grace…….his unearned favor.
So I am not depressed. In fact, I’m joyful. I will enjoy the time I have left in this dying world, but even more so. I am looking forward to the life I will have after my death…….in a world where death does not exist……in a world where death has no meaning.
And more than anything else………I want you to be there too.
If you are interested in learning more, my church is beginning a series………it is pretty much First Church of Christ 101. Here is a link to the first talk in the series……..a talk about grace which is a cornerstone of Christianity. It will take about 30 minutes of your time…….a small investment.
https://firstchurch.me/media/925684-3895413-13549108/fc-worship-online-10-24-21
“Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.”
Jesus speaking to a criminal who acknowledged him, NIV
‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”
God, NIV
“What no eye has seen,
what no ear has heard,
and what no human mind has conceived”—
the things God has prepared for those who love him—
Paul, NIV
You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that
I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.
Jesus, NIV