Once we ate the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good an evil, that knowledge brought with it suffering. For many years I have thought that the phrase “the wages of sin is death” to be punishment for wrongdoing. I now view it as the opposite. He decided to limit the number of years of suffering that we were to experience by taking us through the transition of death into eternal life, thus securing our future.
As you can see, eternity gained through the transition of death is God’s rescue of a fallen world. Whether we like it or not, eternity has been granted to all. But eternity is only the introduction into salvation. How or where we spend that eternity is what God has given us with free will.
Now you may ask, is there truly a heaven or hell? I believe both exist. Just as I want to be with the one I love, so I perceive heaven as eternity spent in the presence of God. Alternatively, hell then would be an eternal existence without God’s presence. This type of pain is one that I cannot conceive of and burns deeper for me than fire and brimstone.
Once given the freedom of choice God places into our own hands the destination of our eternal life. Those who choose to spend it without Him, He cries over. (see Revelation for quote).
Monday, November 06, 2006
Sunday, November 05, 2006
On the purpose of man:
Man was created to enjoy God’s creation, one another and to bear witness to God and all that He created. What a purpose! Did you ever think that our purpose or job is to enjoy what we have been given and to give recognition, thanks and praise to the Creator and sustainer for what He has done? Man, therefore, being made in the “image of God,” was given an immortal element. “He was endowed with life, reason, wisdom, and all the good things of God, so that we may recognize the transcendent and have the desire for God’s immortality. For man was created to enjoy God’s goodness.” [1]
In my role as a hospice chaplain, I have experienced the greatest pleasures in sharing the day and the moment with patients who are dying. Most patients who are dying value each moment, because each one might be their last. As an example, just a few weeks ago I sat with one my patients on her patio on a brisk, sunny fall day as we enjoyed the coolness of the air, the brightness of the sunshine illuminating the many colors of the leaves as they were falling from the trees. For me, that moment was like listening to Louie Armstrong’s “It’s a wonderful world.” We were in the moment. What transpired in the morning was gone. The close of day was not guaranteed for either of us. We spoke of what a magnificent God we have and how privileged we were in enjoying that moment.
God in His infinite wisdom provided us with forgiveness so that we do not live in the past. He secured our future so we need not worry about what is at the end. It is only through these two conditions that we can possibly live in the moment. The ability to live in this moment, the precious present, is our gift from God and our responsibility to God. Is it any wonder that He deserves the glory?
[1] Christology of the Later Fathers, Westminster John Know Press, reissue 2006, Ch 5 Par. 4,5
In my role as a hospice chaplain, I have experienced the greatest pleasures in sharing the day and the moment with patients who are dying. Most patients who are dying value each moment, because each one might be their last. As an example, just a few weeks ago I sat with one my patients on her patio on a brisk, sunny fall day as we enjoyed the coolness of the air, the brightness of the sunshine illuminating the many colors of the leaves as they were falling from the trees. For me, that moment was like listening to Louie Armstrong’s “It’s a wonderful world.” We were in the moment. What transpired in the morning was gone. The close of day was not guaranteed for either of us. We spoke of what a magnificent God we have and how privileged we were in enjoying that moment.
God in His infinite wisdom provided us with forgiveness so that we do not live in the past. He secured our future so we need not worry about what is at the end. It is only through these two conditions that we can possibly live in the moment. The ability to live in this moment, the precious present, is our gift from God and our responsibility to God. Is it any wonder that He deserves the glory?
[1] Christology of the Later Fathers, Westminster John Know Press, reissue 2006, Ch 5 Par. 4,5
Can evil exist if all is good?
Gregory of Nyssa, in the 4th century, stated that “evil is the absence of good”, just as darkness is the absence of light. Where there is light, darkness cannot exist. Where there is goodness, evil cannot exist, for evil is the absence of good. Or put another way, all that it takes for evil to exist is for good men to do nothing.
“Just as darkness follows the removal of light and disappears in its presence, so, as long as goodness is present in a nature, evil is something nonexistent.”[1] Gregory further explains that even on the brightest of days, if we choose to close our eyes to light, we will see the darkness of our own eyelids. Gregory draws the conclusion that evil cannot exist in God’s light.
“Now the opposite of life is death; of power, weakness; of blessing, cursing; of candor, shame; and of every good thing, it’s contrary.”[2] “For nothing evil lies outside the will as if it existed by itself; but it gets its name from the absence of the good….If a man in broad daylight of his own free will closes his eyes, the sun is not responsible for his failure to see.” [3] We are unable to blame God for the exercise of our own free will, unless we agree to give up our free will and become puppets to his manipulation. The most precious blessings given to man are the gifts of liberty and free will.
[1] Christology of the Later Fathers, Westminster John Know Press, reissue 2006, p. 278
[2] Ibid, p. 281
[3] Ibid, p. 282
“Just as darkness follows the removal of light and disappears in its presence, so, as long as goodness is present in a nature, evil is something nonexistent.”[1] Gregory further explains that even on the brightest of days, if we choose to close our eyes to light, we will see the darkness of our own eyelids. Gregory draws the conclusion that evil cannot exist in God’s light.
“Now the opposite of life is death; of power, weakness; of blessing, cursing; of candor, shame; and of every good thing, it’s contrary.”[2] “For nothing evil lies outside the will as if it existed by itself; but it gets its name from the absence of the good….If a man in broad daylight of his own free will closes his eyes, the sun is not responsible for his failure to see.” [3] We are unable to blame God for the exercise of our own free will, unless we agree to give up our free will and become puppets to his manipulation. The most precious blessings given to man are the gifts of liberty and free will.
[1] Christology of the Later Fathers, Westminster John Know Press, reissue 2006, p. 278
[2] Ibid, p. 281
[3] Ibid, p. 282
Eternal, Immortal, but Divine?
We say that “the Divine became man, so that man may become Divine”. For me this statement is not totally accurate because I believe to be Divine, is more than life eternal or immortality. We are given life eternal whether we believe in the Divine or not. If we chose not to believe in the Divine, then our eternity becomes the “hell” that we live in by the mere existence of life eternal, outside the presence of God. In the same manner I believe “heaven” to be eternal life in the presence of God. For if God is light and love than our own wills lead us to darkness and self obsession.
Because Christ, being God, took on human flesh to live amongst us, He died so that we might experience eternal life and goodness. So that mankind can be restored to the original image of God that we were made in.
Because Christ, being God, took on human flesh to live amongst us, He died so that we might experience eternal life and goodness. So that mankind can be restored to the original image of God that we were made in.
Time is not Linear
Twenty four hours in every day, 60 minutes in every hour, 60 seconds in every minute, but are all seconds, minutes, hours equal. I contend it is dependent on your age at the time. Now, I am sure that none of this makes sense right now, but think about it. Ask a child how old he is and he is likely not to respond four or five, but rather five and a quarter or six and a half. Time moves so slow when we are young and growing and developing that we need to divide it into halves and quarters. However as we get older we can’t remember whether we are 51 or 52. Some of us still think we’re 39, and others of us will not even admit our age to others or ourselves.
I would submit that the longer we live, the faster time moves for us and the more precious time becomes. As we hear in lyrics, “once we find what we want there never seems to be enough time to do it.” When I was 23 I ask my grandfather, who was celebrating his 75th birthday, “ Does time seem to go faster the older we get?” to which he responded, “Wait until you’re 75!” His comment hit me like a ton of bricks.
How many times have we heard the expression, “Time stood still” or “I have all the time in the world” or “it was as if time had stopped”?
I would submit that the longer we live, the faster time moves for us and the more precious time becomes. As we hear in lyrics, “once we find what we want there never seems to be enough time to do it.” When I was 23 I ask my grandfather, who was celebrating his 75th birthday, “ Does time seem to go faster the older we get?” to which he responded, “Wait until you’re 75!” His comment hit me like a ton of bricks.
How many times have we heard the expression, “Time stood still” or “I have all the time in the world” or “it was as if time had stopped”?
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