Choose Life

So. The stockings have come down. The family gatherings have come and gone. The feasting has ceased--at least till the next holiday. And our souls find rest in the contemplation of pleasant memories we have stored up. Unless we are one of them.

"Them who?" you ask. The "thems" who will look back at this time with pain in their hearts. Those who sit at the table, hearts aching as their eyes rest on the empty chair. Those who find this holiday season defined more by losses than gains. It is times like these that we need to remember the truth--that until the end of time, every season of loss will be followed by a season of gain (Genesis 8:22). It is a time to hang on to God, to His promises, to His Word.

I read once, I don't remember where and Google won't cooperate, that politeness is the fabric of society that holds it together. In other words, those rules and customs deemed "the proper way to act," when learned and ingrained to such an extent that they are automatic, turn into pillars of strength when life throws us curve balls; instead of total outward devastation, there is no stumbling in our behavior. Those deep-rooted traditions kick in and carry us through the chaos and tumult. That's exactly what God's Word does for His people.

Some people say life is so hard it is hell on earth. Though I feel for their pain, I am sorry, but I must burst their bubble: however horrible their experiences here on earth, it is nothing to what is to come. The pain experienced on earth is but a foretaste of that to be experienced in a very real hell. In Revelation 14:10-11, it is written that when the enemy of God is revealed, the wrath of God shall be poured out "without mixture". If in the future God's wrath will be poured out without mixture, logic dictates that currently the wrath of God does contain mixture. At this time in God's continuum, there is evil as well as good. There is coming a time when that will not be so, but, for now, the evil we experience is , thankfully, tempered by good. Jesus said, "your Father who is in Heaven ... maketh His sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust" (Matthew 5:45). Life is not just delightful honeymoons and joyful romps through fields of flowers; it is also threaded with obstacle courses made up of challenges and pain. Thankfully, these are made less painful both to the believer and the unbeliever by seasons of good.

The thing is, when one is hurting, it is hard to remember this. Our natural tendency it to focus on the debilitating pain. That is when the "politeness" of the Christian--the rule of ethics embodied in Scripture--is a lifesaver. When our heart feels nothing, when it is numbed by pain and loss, Scripture carries us through. When all is black around us--Scripture gives us hope. When we are at a loss at what to do--Scripture shines a light on our path. Scripture. The Word of God--and the Word of God made flesh.

A visiting nun ministered to the ladies in ministry at our church one time in an unusual way. In a plain paper sack she placed cut out pictures from magazines and prayed that what we each chose from the bag (without looking), would be a word from God for us that day. Would you believe it? I cannot remember the picture I drew--but I sure remember my friend's. Hers was a meandering river. It looked so beautiful, so peaceful, but you couldn't see what was around the bend. The nun told her that as she looked to the Lord, to Whom nothing is a surprise, He would guide her in whatever lay beyond that bend in the river, that bend in her life. I believe that is God's Word to each of us, in whatever state we find ourselves.

It is so easy to be effusive in our love for God when things are going well, but when hardship comes ... what then? In John 6, Jesus brought up short the many who followed Him. He knew that most were following Him because He had multiplied the loaves and fishes. They wanted more of the good stuff, the blessings, the good times. But He told them that if they wanted to follow Him, they also had to participate in the hard things, the disciplines that define the true follower of Jesus. Eat His flesh? Drink His blood? It was too much for them and they left Him, one by one, until only the twelve were left. Jesus turned to them and queried, "Will you also go away?" Impetuous, quick to speak and act, Peter hit the nail on the head, answering, "Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life." What Jesus said might seem "hard," but He is Life. And the twelve remained. There are hard times in life and in the life of the believer--but Jesus will carry us through.

In the discouraging times of life, our enemy would fill our heads with lies: God doesn't love you. If He really loved you, He would not have allowed this to happen. Life is too hard. It is not worth living. Its pain is overwhelming. The only escape is death. When these lies come, our only salvation is to stick to Him who is closer than a brother, to Him who will never leave us nor forsake us because we are engraved on the palms of His hands (Isaiah 49:16).

A new year is before us. It is full of bends and question marks to which we have no answer. There will be good times--the pleasure of  gifts, births, weddings, fellowship with friends, family, church members,--and there will be bad times. Deaths. Financial loss. Painful separations. Hurtful words and actions from others. There will be a mixture of good and bad. But know this. When you hang on to Jesus, He will carry you through the bad, through that valley of the shadow of death, till you come out on the good side. And be assured, He will always, always, always, lead you out to a fruitful plain chock full of good things (Psalm 23:1-2). We are not living in a time of the wrath of God poured out without mixture. Just as bad times come, good times will come also.

Do no let the pain and loss of life lead you away from the Giver of Life. There will be a time soon to come when there will be no more sorrow or death (Revelation 21:4), but, in the meantime, we can rest in the fact that we are not alone (Matthew 28:20). Hang in there. Look to Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith, Who will not let you down. Any pain you encounter, no matter how deep, no matter how crippling, is just a bend in the river. Just past it is the richness of Jesus. His fellowship. His joy. His presence. His blessings. Him.

"...I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life ..." (Deuteronomy 30:19).