scattered

I don’t think Jesus ever looked at life and death the way we do. He understands our viewpoint, but it was never his.

Jesus started the church with his own death, and kicked it as a fledgling from its Jerusalem nest with death of one of the saints. Acts 7:59-8:1 tells us: 

“While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, ‘Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.’ Then he fell on his knees and cried out, ‘Lord, do not hold this sin against them.’ When he had said this, he fell asleep.

“And Saul approved of their killing him.

“On that day a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria.”

We fear death perhaps more than anything else. We fight to prolong our lives; we see the death of others as a grim tragedy. And it is, but only for those who die without Jesus. Someone once said that, for the Christian, death is a punctuation mark but it isn’t a period. It’s a comma. It’s not the end, it’s a pause before continuing on.

Jesus conquered death, he tamed it, so that for those of us who know Jesus, death is a transition to something much better. And throughout the ages he has used the deaths of his people as another way to further the work of his kingdom. 

That’s another wonderful benefit of our salvation: our greatest enemy now serves Jesus just like we do, and it has no power to hurt us. Hallelujah! What a Savior!

To my readers,

I want to let you know that I'm taking a break from writing this blog. This summer I intend to focus on evaluating where and how I can best engage in ministry; maybe this blog will continue to be part of that and I'll start it again in the fall. Possibly some other opportunities will seem more appropriate.

Over the period that I've shared these thoughts a lot has changed in my life, in the church, and in the blogspace. The factors that led me to start have either changed or been addressed, and many other talented writers have come online with contributions at least as good as mine. 

For that small handful of you who have been with me from the beginning, well over a thousand posts ago, thanks for your commitment. For all of you who've taken some time to read (the most precious gift a writer can receive), you also have my appreciation. I never took your readership for granted.