On the Way to Wonder

 ²⁴ Very truly, I tell you, anyone who hears my word

 and believes him who sent me has eternal life,

 and does not come under judgment

 but has passed from death to life. (John 5:24)

Very truly, I tell you, whoever keeps my word

will never see death.’ (John 8:51)

²⁵ Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life.

Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live,

²⁶ and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. (John 11:25)

         Today is Halloween when many people will decorate with images related to death: graves, ghosts, witches, scarecrows, spider webs and more.  Children and youth will dress in costumes and collect goodies and party.  An anthropological way to think about reality is to suggest three spheres of reality, the physical world, the spirit world, and God.  Once my son and I were walking in tide pools on the Kenyan reefs.  I saw a water eel hiding in a hole and I quickly jumped out of the pool to the reef where I saw a sea turtle caught in a net as I stood beside my son.  The eel lived in a watery reality.  The turtle could survive in water and air.  We human cannot survive under water.  There were three levels of reality sharing the same universe.

         During the Protestant Reformation, Protestant Christians agreed that once we die, we are with God in eternal life if we are believers.  Hades or hell is a place for those who do not want to be part of the kingdom of heaven and exist under the kingship of God.  Purgatory, a holding place for souls until indulgences or prayers said for sins, was rejected.

         One of the famous stories in the Gospel of John involves the death of Lazarus, the brother of Mary and Martha, Jesus’ friends.  Lazarus became ill and died.  Jesus knew but did not rush to heal him but waited until he had been dead four days and then traveled to the grieving sisters.  Jesus told the sisters that he was the resurrection.  He then called Lazarus from the grave.  He had raised others who were thought dead but this miracle occurred right before his crucifixion and resurrection.  We quibble about just exactly how this will all happen but the one thing we don’t argue about is that there is eternal life in Jesus Christ.  Some day God will work it all out and I do not need to be afraid of evil spirits nor worry about what my eternity will be like.  I do not need to hide behind a mask.  I am safe in his love.  Thank you Lord.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, October 31st, 2023 at 6:29 am and is filed under Spiritual Vitamins. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.