Faith

OK, so here we go. Headed toward a goal with no clear path to get there. I had an idea this morning as I lay awake in a half conscious state. I hope I can bring some sort of cognitive resolution to this picture of faith that stumbled across my neural-pathways. While not constantly thinking of death, I have always been somewhat pragmatic and, if I may, observant, as to the inevitability of death. It is not at all uncommon for one's physical life to eventually come to an end. So common is this that one is compelled to consider it unavoidable. Which, oddly enough, causes some people to try to avoid considering it.
Look with me, if you will, at an illustration which will offer, hopefully, a picture of one aspect of my understanding of life, and faith. An electrician friend has constructed a simple circuit to demonstrate how electricity can be used to produce light using an incandescent light bulb. You have no real knowledge of electron theory. How electrons flow across a conductor to equal out an imbalance of electrical potential. You have no idea what a coulomb is nor do you know the basic formula for figuring out how to make the light bulb come on. How the switch is wired. None of that. You are totally in the dark, (no pun intended), with the exception of your relationship with your friend and your trust in his knowledge on the subject. Well, your friend is sick the day of the big demonstration where your friend's work is to be revealed to many important people. He has asked you to go in his stead and, at the appropriate time, just flip the switch. A simple task to which you agree. As the moment approaches your anxiety level begins to rise. You sit through all the opening remarks sensing the quick elevation of anticipation as these leaders are considering, if this is all true, how this discovery will change life for them and their countrymen. An introduction of your friend follows with an added apology for his absence in light of his current sickness. Now a brief introduction of you as you are asked to please demonstrate this most wondrous of discoveries. Your heart is racing as your ignorance of how this all works is now occupying your whole being. You are only to flip the switch, that's it, but your lack of knowledge of how it works is now fostering doubt and concern. Your thoughts fall back to your friend, who you trust absolutely, and his expertise, which is unquestionable. So you walk up to the switch and flip it up. The light bulb comes on accompanied by a sudden, collective gasp from the observers. It worked! The light came on demonstrating your friends discovery.
We have precious little knowledge of heaven. None, actually, outside of what Jesus has offered us. But He is indeed a trustworthy source, and our relationship with Him should reassure us as we consider our physical mortality.

Romans 8: 38,39
Paul writes:"For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
Do you know Christ well enough to join Paul in this statement?

A Song To Sing

It appears the 54 year old man of the house is the first one up on this Christmas morning.5:50 am. Not all that early but last year we waited til 10 o'clock for our granddaughter to rise and shine. And I do mean shine. I was lying there in bed with thoughts careening from one guard rail to the other. All over the map as it were, but I settled on a re-occurring theme for the subject this morning. On my recent trip to Texas to visit my friend who had had major surgery I was alone in the car for several hours. If you were to analyze the trip from an emotional standpoint it would have to be considered one riddled with schizophrenia. Putting emotions in a can to be dealt with at a latter time is one of my specialties. Let's just say that, when alone, the can sometimes becomes a bit unruly. It was a little bazaar to be honest. I would be singing along with a song on the car stereo. I mean, singing loud, playing drums on the dashboard, using my girly voice from time to time as needed. Just really "letting 'er rip" as it were. Then a few words of the song, the can opener, would send me into a fit of grief and sorrow. Tears would accompany me for a shot time as well as a clinched jaw and the quick application of a Kleenex to the nose. After winning the battle over this physiological sneak attack I was right back at my rather impressive musical performance. Usually having to force the next few lines of lyrics out before the song could begin to be recognizable again. For whatever reason, this morning, along with other disjointed thoughts, that trip kept coming to mind. That seems to be a microcosm of my life. Without a song to sing, I believe life would be immeasurably more difficult. Without a focus of something positive and good, I'm not sure where I would turn. Of course for me, Jesus is my song. He is what gives me strength to move through times of grief without self destructing or becoming an emotional basket case as it were. I really don't deal with death all that well. God knows, and I mean, God literally knows, that I'm not happy about those he has taken from me. As selfish as that sounds it is quite accurate. And yet, it is His love and mercy which is at the center of my ability to deal with grief and move beyond it. He has conquered death and gives us hope. He has conquered life as well, and gives us Hope. Answers come slowly and imperfectly here in this troubled world, but ultimately, for me, as Andre Crouch so beautifully penned it, "Jesus is the Answer", So when the answer is beyond my reach I cling ever tighter to The Answer. I hope on this Christmas morning you have a song to sing. And if you don't I know the best songwriter ever who has written a song just for you. A song that starts out with "God so loved the world that He gave His only Son". This could be your song too. Maybe we could work out a harmony on it sometime. That would be great indeed!