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Gleanings From The Word

Tag: suffering

  • The Last Goodbye

    The Last Goodbye

    Blue sky superimposed with the text "The Last Goodbye"

    Over the past few weeks, I’ve written a bit about life in glory and  our journey to get there (The Journey and Better Than Eden). Those posts generated a fair amount of feedback.

    People are looking forward to their eternal time with the Lord. They don’t necessarily want to go immediately, but there is a deep-seated longing to be in glory and to meet Jesus face to face.

    That longing is hard-wired into us. Adam and Eve walked joyfully with God in the Garden. It wasn’t until sin entered the picture that they began to hide from HIm.

    And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. Genesis 3:8

    It was humanity’s choice to be apart from the Lord. He had warned them of the consequences, but they chose to listen to the whispers of the evil one instead. That choice has cost untold suffering and destruction for billions of people and even to the fabric of creation itself. Fortunately, God was not surprised by this foolish choice and did not give up on us. He knew before anything was created that He would need to send His Son to redeem us. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight , making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ. Ephesians 1:3-9 ESV

    The world He has designed for our eternal home will be free from the presence, practice, and penalty of sin. There will be no possibility of us ever falling and being separated from Him again. Perfection and security forever more.

    A dear friend reminded me of something besides sin that will be absent from glory. There will be no more goodbyes.

    When someone dies, there is grief. Those goodbyes are painful even if we know the departed one has graduated to glory. It is even more so when we don’t know, or are sure that they rejected Jesus. Our hearts break doubly at that passing.

    That’s what makes this passage such a delight to read.

    And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” Revelation 21:3-4 ESV

    There will come a time when we experience the last goodbye and say so long to death and sorrow. I can hardly wait.

    Be blessed

    Kevin

    Called to be a watchman for God

    The truth of the gospel

    Is it right belief or right living?

  • Ed and Ned talk about God, injustice and suffering.

    Ed and Ned talk about God, injustice and suffering.

    group of senior men having coffee at loacl restaurant

    A group of old farmers and retirees sat around the table at the local restaurant in their usual chairs. They were solving all the problems of the world as older men often do. And some of us not-so-old types, too!

    I sat with them next to two fellows I knew well. Let’s call them Ned and Ed. The conversation got past politics, and that took a while. 

    Ned and Ed pontificated about the latest agricultural developments and lamented agribusiness’s rise over farming. Being true farmers, they also complained about the price of gas and the weather. 

    As the morning wore on, the subject drifted to religion and faith.

    Old Ned said to Ed, “If there is a God, why isn’t He doing more about the poverty, suffering, and injustice in the world? Surely He could easily do more than He seems to be doing now.”

    Ed replied, “You know Ned, that’s an excellent question, but I’m afraid that one of these days, God will ask me the same thing.”

    If we are honest, that comment should cause us to say “ouch” at least a little.

    What do we do about all the suffering, poverty, and injustice? Those are huge problems, and we are unlikely to solve them all, but we can make a difference. How should we live as Christians?

    We need to walk in keeping with the Royal Law.

    If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well. James 2:8 ESV

    Complaining about the winter weather, injustice, and poverty will not make it go away, nor will waiting for “the government” to fix it.

    We cannot solve all the world’s problems, but if we committed to loving our neighbor as ourselves, we could make a difference one person at a time. Loving your neighbor is a huge step toward eliminating those problems.

    One moment at a time and one step at a time. Let’s love others as Christ loves us.

    Be blessed

    Hallelu Yah / Praise God 

    Kevin

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