So this morning I was reading once again the end of Romans 8 and, once again, gained a new insight. But this time it was a bit different. Today I'd dipped into it because I was dealing with a small early morning freak out about my "Big C" coming back. (The chances are not high that it will, but there have been one or two things lately that got me concerned.)
Anyway, this morning the passage comforted me in a way I'd not anticipated. Remember where Paul says: 'Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: "For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered." No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.'? Well, today I looked more carefully at the middle part, where Paul quotes an OT passage about our being "sheep to be slaughtered" (or as the Contemporary Version has it, "butchered").
What could possibly be comforting about that? Well, I was reminded of another place where Jesus himself said, "He who saves his life will lose it, but he who loses his life for my sake will gain it." What struck me as I thought about it was how "mollycoddled" (as one theologian put it) we are these days. Hundreds of years ago, people (specifically, my European ancestors) felt they'd won the lottery of life if they made it past 30. Half the children died in infancy. Therefore, as the same theologian put it, when it came to dying, good Christians were "packed up and ready to go." When it arrived, they weren't taken off guard. They'd already handed over their lives to Christ, figuring "I'm on this planet for as long as He wants me to be for His sake, i.e., for His purposes. It's not about me."
This insight is profoundly counter-cultural since nowadays we all hang onto every second of life with our fingernails, not wanting to miss a thing, not wanting in the slightest way to miss out on getting "fulfilled." But ironically, we lose out. It's when we say, "Hey, if God wants me to die young, that's cool, 'cause then I'll be finished with this mess and be in heaven forever and ever. Besides, if He knows that that's what going to best advance His kingdom on earth, well that's what it's all about anyhow"--that we really start to live.
That, as I say, is this morning's insight. Rather than having a sense that I'd absorbed it and made it part of who I am, it was more like, "Wow, have I ever been off base. This is going to take a while." But I did derive some comfort from it nonetheless.
Anyway, this morning the passage comforted me in a way I'd not anticipated. Remember where Paul says: 'Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: "For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered." No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.'? Well, today I looked more carefully at the middle part, where Paul quotes an OT passage about our being "sheep to be slaughtered" (or as the Contemporary Version has it, "butchered").
What could possibly be comforting about that? Well, I was reminded of another place where Jesus himself said, "He who saves his life will lose it, but he who loses his life for my sake will gain it." What struck me as I thought about it was how "mollycoddled" (as one theologian put it) we are these days. Hundreds of years ago, people (specifically, my European ancestors) felt they'd won the lottery of life if they made it past 30. Half the children died in infancy. Therefore, as the same theologian put it, when it came to dying, good Christians were "packed up and ready to go." When it arrived, they weren't taken off guard. They'd already handed over their lives to Christ, figuring "I'm on this planet for as long as He wants me to be for His sake, i.e., for His purposes. It's not about me."
This insight is profoundly counter-cultural since nowadays we all hang onto every second of life with our fingernails, not wanting to miss a thing, not wanting in the slightest way to miss out on getting "fulfilled." But ironically, we lose out. It's when we say, "Hey, if God wants me to die young, that's cool, 'cause then I'll be finished with this mess and be in heaven forever and ever. Besides, if He knows that that's what going to best advance His kingdom on earth, well that's what it's all about anyhow"--that we really start to live.
That, as I say, is this morning's insight. Rather than having a sense that I'd absorbed it and made it part of who I am, it was more like, "Wow, have I ever been off base. This is going to take a while." But I did derive some comfort from it nonetheless.
posted by Ted | 6:57 AM
2 Comments:
Your post sounds like it fits in quite well with the sermon at church today. Todd Philips (Frontline pastor, Lon's on vaca) was preaching from Philipians, when Paul was imprisoned and telling the church to speak the Word boldly and unashamedly . Life application: If God won't "take it" from you (get Paul outta prison), then ask Him to use it for His glory (encouraged other Christians to continue spreading the Gospel.)
Not saying you're not doing that, just sharing yet another "positive" spin on what many could perceive to be strictly a "negative". I think it's called "The Power of Eternal Perspective". Mclean's Page Good stuff!
I ran across another "positive from a negative" in a book the other day. Someone was saying that having to deal with the harsh New England climate helped the Puritans grow deeper in Christ. (They didn't have the option of booking a Caribbean cruise.) God willing, maybe the climate here will help us do the same!
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