death and dying

I have been thinking about the issues of death and dying and eternal life, not for any particular reason, just that I have noticed the way people respond to death and it does not quite make sense to me.

Often folk in the world will tell you that they do not believe in God, that there is nothing after this life, that when you are dead that is it. We are just the same as animals.

BUT (and this is a big BUT) people do not behave like that is what they believe.

In all societies there is a respect for the dead, there is ritual about burial or disposal of bodies. If the body were an empty shell like the box the computer came in then what is the problem? Why show respect for the dead?

There is also a taboo about suicide and euthanasia.
If someone commits suicide that is more tragic and traumatic than accidental premature death.
In the UK it is not allowed to assist another person to die, whatever the circumsances.
Why?
What is the problem with finishing life at the end of it's useful period?
If there is nothing left after death, and no eternal consequences, why not opt out when you want to?

There is also the fight for life.
Families will fight the medics to keep their loved ones alive past hope of life. The human body itself will fight ilness and cling on to life. Surely this fight shows that there is a soul and a spirit inside the "shell"?

All this adds up to show we are more than "just a body". The sense that there is "something more" is one of God's hints to mankind, one of those little nudges that alerts us to seek Him out.

And the reason why people would like to think there is nothing after death?
I would venture to say they would prefer there to be nothing, because if there is something that means there are consequences to the way we live now, and to realise there are consequences means we have to take action.
I think some people are like a little kid, sticking their fingers in their ears yelling "la, la, la, I can't hear you!" as if deafing out God will mean He is not there.

prophetic poetry

Some time ago we were talking at home about how God removes our sins from us “as far as the east is from the west”

This shows how vast God's love and forgivenes is 'cos there is no absolute east or west on the globe, so this is an infinite distance. I was thinking how amazing that is 'cos in the bible times they did not know the world was round. Poetically they could have just as easily said “as far as the north is from the south”, but that would have been a limited amount of forgiveness 'cos there is an absolute north and south. I believe the inspiration for the poetry was from God, which is why they said “east from west”.

This is another examples of how the Bible is scientifically correct in a way beyond the understanding of the time. In Isaiah and in the Psalms there is mention of “the paths of the seas”. This was before America was discovered and in a civilisation whose geography was limited to the Middle East, North Africa and parts of Asia and the Mediterranean. When men first began travelling across the Atlantic for trade they found there were “paths through the seas”- they found that by following the gulf stream they could days off the journey across the Atlantic. So... what made "nice poetry" is scientifically true, and even if they had some knowledge of currents in the seas, they still did not know there was a "path" across the Atlantic.

There are also some amazing descriptions in more than one part of the Bible of how Jesus was to and be crucified - centuries before the Romans came along and invented crucifixion.

That can only be God speaking through the prophets and poets. God who is eternal and was there and beginning of the world and will be there at it's end and is with everyone as they live it out along the way.

If the Bible was just poetry, or superstition, or “OK for simple civilisations” then we would not find revelations like this. The people who wrote the Bible did not have the technology or knowledge we have, so it could only be God who could inspire stuff like this. God who knows that the brain-boxes of our centuary need to be shown that He is God and he knows stuff that is far beyond our intellectual reach.

amazing message

On Christmas Eve we had planned to go for a night walk with a bunch of girls. Once it was planned, everyone gradually pulled out till there was just two of us, and when we got there it started to rain, and then...... basically I got scared of the dark and we turned back after 100 metres and sat in the car to drink hot chocolate instead!

Anyway... the amazing thing about it all was I put the ignition on to get the time and the radio came on- it was the midnight service on Radio 4.

If you know me you know I am not a big fan of the seasonal indulgence and tinsel trip. I also hate the mushy sentimental “baby-jesus-in-a-manger” stuff 'cos to me Jesus is God Almightly humbled to come to earth and die to sort out the mess we are in. We cannot patronise Him like that.

But before I go off on a sidetrack, the amazing thing was this service was really radical. I was gob-smacked. We listened until gone 12, and then listened all the way home, and then stopped in the car park at the end of the road to listen some more!

This is the reading from Titus 2 11-14

For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope—the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.

How good is that?

Salvation is not for me to have a nice blessed time on earth and eternity on a fluffy cloud in heaven.

We are called and saved in order to live lives that honour God. We are waiting for Jesus to return. We are His people who he chose.

I was impressed that this was being said at a Christmas service. I was impressed that the purpose/mission of our faith was being spoken about. That people were being challenged to do more than merely believe, but to let it change their lives.

Then the speaker chap (Rev Murphy O Connor, if that makes any difference to you) got preaching.

He talked about how the angels were not tinselly creatures but terrifying messangers of God.

He said how so often the message of God is not well received.

He said the message of Christmas was of good news for all people, but does the message of our faith get to all people?

He asked how we treat the immigrants and refugees in our country.

He asked what our attitude is to the homeless on our streets.

This is the last paragraph

“I would say that we have to return again to the first Christmas night and hear again the message the angel brought to the shepherds- 'news of great joy, a joy to be shared by the whole people,. Ultimately I think it's a question of wether we believe in the God of Christmas. the God of Christmas is not light years away, living in another dimension. For us, Christmas means that God became one of our kind and lived a human life; in a sense God moved in nearby and is called 'Emmanuel', a word that means 'God is with us'. God is with us! It is worth letting those words sink in. Not only did God come to be with us then; He has promised to be with us all days, until the end of time."