Alive part 3
Live for a little while... pay taxes... try to do more "good" than "evil" so your afterlife will be pleasant and not torment. Guys... I just don't buy it. There has to be more to it than that. And we KNOW that there is! Jesus came that we might have life, and have it ABUNDANTLY. He didn't come to warn us to behave or else. He came to free us from the bondage of sin and death! And as far as the "afterlife" goes... what part of eternal don't we understand? What part of everlasting? Now listen, I'm not claiming to know what happens after these mortal bodies die. I don't know. The best I can figure is, "We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord" (2 Corinthians 5:8). But I guess my point is: instead of worrying about "getting to heaven" why don't we start EXPERIENCING heaven on earth? That's what Deuteronomy 11:21 promises, after all: "That your days be multiplied, and the days of your children, in the land which the LORD sware unto your fathers to give them, as the days of heaven upon the earth." And that's what Jesus taught His disciples to pray: "Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven" (Matthew 6:10). And listen, I know there are layers and layers to these verses. I can see where "absent from the body" is us operating outside of the senses, or appearance realm. And I can see where "in earth, as it is in heaven" speaks of the mind of Christ (new heaven) affecting the body (new earth). But again, my point for today is that we ought to live while we're alive. We ought to enjoy the gift that we've been given, and not worry so much about what's going to happen later on. Because, "Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed" (1 Corinthians 15:51). Whatever's going to happen is going to happen. And there's not a whole lot we can do about it. So why worry about it? "Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?" (Matthew 6:27). And isn't it interesting that we often hear "stature" preached as height? When really it is number 2244 in Strong's Greek Concordance and it means, "maturity (in years or size): - age, stature." By worrying about how mature you are can you become more mature? Or by knowing that you are complete--perfect, mature--in Him, and by Him revealing Himself to you, and in you, and through you, and as you can you, in a sense, "become" more mature? This whole life--BEING ALIVE--is about rest. That's the land that was promised back in Deuteronomy. The Promised Land. Rest. Jesus finished the work, and we get to enjoy the fruit of His labor. He died (both for us and as us) so we could die the second death. And then He rose again (both for us and as us) so we could walk in newness of LIFE. So that we could stop TRYING to live... or trying to make sure we have "somewhere to go" when we die... and we could start to rest in His loving arms. Partake of His divine nature. Live HIS abundant, everlasting, eternal, Resurrection Life by letting HIM live HIS life in, and through, and as us. Experience life by experiencing His love. Stop trying to earn what can't be earned. Stop trying to be someone you're not and get something you haven't got. Just LIVE. Receive and release the gift that was freely given. And in that way experience and enjoy it. Love others and LIVE!