As Dying, And Behold, We Live
In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit! Glory to Jesus Christ! Glory forever!
St. Paul, in the course of describing the trials and tribulations he encountered during his ministry, wrote - "as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold, we live; as punished, and not killed..." (2 Corinthians 6:9). This Apostle recounted here his many beatings, his shipwrecks, his imprisonments - all which he endured for the sake of the Gospel.
How many retired Christian workers feel this way? - tired, worn-out, perhaps in poor health, and when the church or mission work ends, so do the "attaboys" and the financial support. The Apostle Paul was worse off than merely lacking support and encouragement from friends and fellow-believers: he was locked up in a Roman prison when he was writing these words - "Rejoice in the Lord always! Again I will say, Rejoice! Let your moderation be known to all men. The Lord is at hand" (Philippians 4:4-5). He could have written - "Here I am, sitting in this stinking prison in Rome, my friends have left me, and I'm getting really hungry!" Instead, he wrote - "Rejoice in the Lord always! Again I will say, Rejoice!"
It is sometimes easy to feel forsaken by fellow-believers, family, and friends - "He who withholds kindness from a friend forsakes the fear of the Almighty. My brothers are treacherous as a torrent-bed, as torrential streams that pass away, which are dark with ice, and where the snow hides itself. When they melt, they disappear; when it is hot, they vanish from their place" (Job 6:14-17 ESV). Fair-weather friends are like the snow that melts when things get hot: Pfft! - and they're gone. Near the end of his life, St. Paul wrote - "Demas has forsaken me, having loved this present world, and went to Thessalonica; Crescens to Galatia, and Titus to Dalmatia" (2 Timothy 4:10).
St. Paul probably sensed that the end was near: many Christians had already been martyred in the great Colesium of Rome, fed to the lions - "At my first defense, no one came to help me, but all left me. May it not be held against them. But the Lord stood by me, and strengthened me, that through me the message might be fully proclaimed, and that all the Gentiles might hear; and I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion. And the Lord will deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me for his heavenly kingdom; to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen" (verses 16-18). Paul kept on glorifying God!
In Christianity, we have the firm hope in enjoying God's presence and communion with Him after this life. But in Old Testament times, this hope was faint or even non-existent: "For there is hope for a tree, If it is cut down, that it will sprout again, That the tender branch of it will not cease. Though its root grows old in the earth, And its stock dies in the ground; Yet through the scent of water it will bud, And put forth boughs like a plant. But man dies, and is laid low. Yes, man gives up the spirit, and where is he?" (Job 14:7-10).
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Job's so-called "comforters" were scant comfort to him: basically, they told him - "You must have done something wrong that you're hiding from us, or else all this evil wouldn't have befallen you!" The most comfort they gave him was when they first arrived after hearing of his misfortunes and sat with him for several days saying nothing. But when they opened their mouths, accusations came pouring forth. "Then Job answered, 'I have heard many such things. Miserable comforters are you all!'" (Job 16:1-2).
Then Job says - "My friends scorn me; my eye pours out tears to God, that he would argue the case of a man with God, as a son of man does with his neighbor. For when a few years have come I shall go the way from which I shall not return" (verses 2-22). In other words, "I wish someone would defend me and argue my case with God, but it appears I'm going to fade into oblivion and nobody cares."
Have you ever felt that way? If both Job and St. Paul felt that way, as even Jesus Christ did when He called out - "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?" - then you're not alone in this feeling of loneliness and abandonment. But we now have the Son of Man to argue our case with God! "Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death, and upon those in the tombs bestowing life!" This is an ancient Christian hymn that's still valid today! "Christ is ascended! The Holy Spirit is descended! The Comforter has come!"
I'm Not Dead Yet! I'm still alive and kicking! Can you say with me - "I'm Not Dead Yet!"? I may be getting older and some parts might need more frequent maintenance, but I've still got a lot of life left in me, so let's keep on trucking! This isn't just a Pollyanna-ish, happy-clappy, easy-believe-ism, it is ultimate reality.
In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit! Christ is among us! He is and ever shall be!
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The Apostle Paul wrote - "For you, brothers, were called to freedom. Only don't use your freedom as an excuse to gratify the flesh, but serve one another through love" (Galatians 5:13). Two main ideas are expressed here: Freedom and Serving. Let's take a look at them: