"To Him be glory forever": death

Wednesday, October 3, 2018

Better Than The Alternative?

A good friend and I are hatching a plan to run the Boston marathon in 2020. I'll confess that it is his idea, and a bit more sane of an idea than the last running adventure we did together. That one was my idea, to run four marathons in four days, which we did back in December, 2016. In both cases it wasn’t stated but I believe that the underlying assumption was that we aren’t getting any younger, and so it is high time to take a chance and do something different.

Take a chance. On one hand, what is the chance, or the risk? Between us we have over 85 years of experience running, over 250,000 lifetime miles, and over 120 marathons. We should be able to do Boston in our sleep, although if asleep we'd miss all the excitement! The chance is the qualifying standards.

The Boston marathon has had qualifying standards for maybe 40 years. When I was training for my first marathon, in 1982, my number one goal was to reach the Boston standard for my age group. It took me two more years to make that standard, and another few years to find my groove as a marathoner. I didn't have aspirations to run Boston but if I ever did, qualifying would not be a problem.

Skip ahead to 2018 and with the 2020 Boston marathon just over the horizon it turns out that qualifying is becoming part of the equation in getting there. My friend ran a marathon last weekend and as he told me about it he lamented the seemingly increasing loss of speed with every passing year. Solace was found in the fact that while his recent marathon was one of the slowest he's ever run it did make the Boston standard. Barely. Even better, it falls within the window for qualifying in 2020, and at that time he will be in an age-group with a slower standard, meaning that right now he is in not by seconds, but by nearly 15 minutes.

And my problem is that I'm coming off an injury, just about the worst one I've ever had, and where it is much too soon to tell if my body will handle the marathon distance, let alone be able to produce a Boston qualifying time.

But hey, I'm still running. That's better than the alternative, right?

That would seem to be the conventional wisdom. That virtually anything that goes on and still allows a person to draw breath is better than death. Conventional, but not biblical, wisdom.

Paul talks about these alternatives a bit in 2 Corinthians 5. Verse 8 says:

"Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord."

Just two choices for the Christian. Life in this body, or life in the very presence of the Lord. And when we look at what the Bible has to say about the glories of heaven, they are nothing less than spectacular. Isaiah in the throne room of God. Ezekiel and the glory of the Lord. And John, in Revelation, with his own vision of God's throne.

The very last part of the Belgic Confession says it this way:

"The Son of God will profess their names before God his Father and the holy and elect angels; all tears will be wiped from their eyes; and their cause—at present condemned as heretical and evil by many judges and civil officers—will be acknowledged as the cause of the Son of God.

And as a gracious reward the Lord will make them possess a glory such as the human heart could never imagine.

So we look forward to that great day with longing in order to enjoy fully
the promises of God in Christ Jesus, our Lord."

Life here better than the very presence of God? In even the most glorious of human circumstances there is no comparison. None at all.

Not that I am seeking an end to my human life as I hurry off to the direct presence of my faithful Savior and Lord. He has certainly given me plenty to do at the present! But understanding the future glory promised to all who have faith in Jesus gives me a clearer view of what the alternative to human life really is. It lets me live today with changes that I may not be crazy about,(and of which a slower running speed is relatively mundane!) knowing that one day, on God's timing, he will bringing me to what Paul, so simply and beautifully calls, home. Amen.

Tuesday, July 25, 2017

Life is short. God is good.

We are on vacation, arriving last night in Rochester, MN, where we used to live. We have family here and many friends, and two of those friends from our former church very generously invited us to stay in their home and use it as our base for our visit.

When we arrived last night we were saddened to learn that their neighbor, whom we also know from our former church, was found dead in his home last week. Paul was in his late 50's, roughly our age, and without significant known health issues, and his death was completely unexpected by all who knew him.

For Robin and I this news came on top of the sudden death last week of a leader in our denomination, a man who was a good friend of our congregation and had visited us three times in the past 16 months, most recently in January. Tony was in his early 60's a two-time member of the US Olympic team, and looking as healthy as ever when I saw him last month. Like our friend Paul, Tony had no known major health issues.

For reasons I don’t have answers for, the news of these two deaths brought to mind the passing of our granddaughter, Raelyn, in 2015. Just past her second birthday, Rae died following an accident at home.

The thought that brings these three particular deaths together for me is a phrase that is so very familiar: Life is short. Be its span two years or 62 years, human life is short. Rare is the person who does not desire their life to extend a bit longer. Even among people dealing with painful and/or prolonged illness, the desire for healing and a even just a bit more life is often present.

"Life is short" rarely stands alone. Just saying it is a springboard to something else. Life is short, therefore… If you 'google' "Life is short" you'll will see an amazing number and variety of things that people are encouraged to consider once they come to the conclusion that life is indeed short. These range everywhere from the well-meaning to the inane.

I'm going to suggest a different thought to follow "Life is short," which is that "God is good."

The truth is that whatever happens in this life, including its unexpected and seemingly premature end, God is good.

As Christians, we grieve, but we do not grieve without having hope that is grounded in the promises of God to always hold His children. Of the many places in the Bible that speaks to our eternal hope in God, the closing words of Romans 8 are among my favorite;

"For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord."

Nothing, not even death, separates God from the children He loves.

Rae, Paul and Tony may have desired a life that was a little bit longer. Their families certainly grieve their passing and they may have a place in their hearts that will always hold sorrow for what never came to be.

But I believe that Rae, Paul and Tony are in the presence of Jesus, who gave His life for theirs. Right now they delight in the visible glory of their Savior and Lord.

Human life, even to 100 years, is short when compared to eternity. And by faith in Jesus, a Christian lives in the goodness of God today, and it is a goodness that has no end.