Why Death when there is life to live.

If God has planned out life for everyone why do we want to choose Death? Or in other words, when God has planned best for each one of us why do we want to bring it to end abruptly. Does it not disappoint the maker of our lives? Is it not just a mere escapism to end our life, and not having the courage to face the realities? Does not the potter have the rights towards his own clay? If that is true why we become so cynical towards life. The confusions and chaos around us makes us more miserable for this death to advance in our lives.

Life in this new age is getting tougher and tougher that we tend to live without any sense of purpose and meaning. The suicidal tendency increases in a faster pace in this post modern generation is all because, when we are aloof of God and his purposes. The fact about celebrities is that the only thing they can do in secret is committing suicide. This not only with the famous ones but also with the student community as a whole is facing such pathos. Very much happy and flamboyant on the outside but the inside cries out in loneliness and life seems to be very much shallow. Where did all the public show up go? Can the world or any ideology give hope at this juncture? Let’s look at a small and simple illustration that unpacks the message.

One day a man full of sorrow and with depressive mood went to a physiatrist and said all of his sorrows and depressive thoughts. So looking at the depressed man the doctor advised him that all you need is to be happy and cheerful... :) So my prescription for you will be you going to the circus that’s happening in the city, where the joker there will make you happy and glad. To the Doctor’s surprise he told I am that Joker who entertains others. Nothing is real within me. I feel like ending my life.

Is there any hope for such a person? Will God help me to live a life he intended me to live in this earth? Is there any one whom I can rely for joy, happiness and hope?
The words of Blaise Pascal are very true in this context. “There is a God-shaped vacuum in each one of our hearts”. When we try satisfying our lives with all other things not keeping God in center then our lives are shallow and nothing really grips us. Only God can fit into our vacuum hearts and give true meaning to our living. He adds the rainbow to our smile. Will you let him reign supreme and have control over your life? Christ’s red letter words in John 16:33 read like this “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” Mat 11:28 says "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest”. Does these words not console our broken estranged spirit?

Yeah! Are we anyways thankful as a church, as an individual for this present life that God has given us to live? Let’s pause and thank him for a moment that we are fearfully and wonderfully made in his image. And remember that the quality of life is not measured in its duration but in its donation. So let’s introspect ourselves and consider what we can do with our present lives.And also try to help people around us who are very much hurt and broken.

What is G-R-O-W-T-H

The world measures Growth in different levels. If there is profit the corporate world says we are progressing. If a crawling child starts speaking, the parents believe that the child is growing. As people of God what really measures our growth? Does our spirituality very much showing a stunted growth? If then, let’s consider this acronym seriously and let God speak to our hearts.

G - Get to know God personally.
Paul says in Phil 3:10 “I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection...” Is that our desire in this post modern era? Do we just know the Christianity of Christ? Or do we know the Christ of Christianity? Let’s take time to know him personally in our lives.

R - Responding to God in prayer.
Prayer is the language of the soul where we can talk to God in an intimate way. Just being silent in his presence is also prayer. But let’s ask ourselves do I pray?

O - Obedience to God’s word.
1 Sam 15:22 says “Obedience is better than sacrifice”. God delights when his people obey his commands. Noah obeyed by doing what the Lord said. Abraham obeyed God’s call and was a blessing to many nations. Do I take God’s word seriously?

W - Walking with God.
Enoch was one who walked with God. Bible says that he lived for 365 years altogether. In which bible records 300 years he walked with God. How is our walk with God? Are we enjoying God daily? Micah 6:8b says what does the Lord require of you? To walk humbly with your God.

T - Telling others about God.
The Samaritan woman was the first evangelist in the bible. After her personal encounter with the Lord Jesus near the well, she was not able to be silent. She went all across and spread the word about the person whom she met, one who told all about her. Are we leading a witnessing life in the place where we live? Psalm 96:3 says “Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among all peoples”.

H - Having fellowship with God’s people.
Heb 10:25 says Lets not give up meeting together as some are in the habit of doing. We are not living in isolated islands. We are called to live in communities and in such an environment it’s easy to share all our joys and sorrows. Let God bless richly our fellowships however small it may be, that we may grow strong and mature in him together.

Let us desire to thrive spiritually in the remaining days of our life.

PERSEVERANCE – A Requisite in Life.

Call to persevere:

God wants us to persevere as we live our lives in this world, so that we have the sense of purpose in our living. Perseverance develops character. And character is more important than our career in God’s economy. Scriptures from the beginning to the end tells us how people persevered both in Old as well as in the New Testament. Someone said like this from” Womb to tomb we cry”. That’s the power of suffering. Let’s rejoice in our salvation and in the blessed hope of our Lord’s coming that all our sorrows end one day. No more tears in Heaven.

What is perseverance?
Perseverance is commitment, hard work, patience, endurance.
Perseverance is being able to bear difficulties calmly and without complaint.
Perseverance is trying again and again.

You show perseverance when you...
Give up your TV time to spend hours studying
Try a new sport that is very difficult but you don't give up
Have a learning disability but keep studying even when discouraged
Come from a home where there is fighting and unhappiness but you still try your best
Have missed a week of class but you work hard to catch up
Are at the end of a difficult race but you cross the finish line
Save money and make sacrifices to buy something
Spend hours practicing on your music
Study and work hard to raise your grade
Try out for something you weren't successful at the first time

Proverbs and maxims:
Failure is the path of least persistence.
All things will come round to him who will but wait. (Longfellow)
Only those who have the patience to do simple things perfectly will acquire the skill to do difficult things easily.
Victory belongs to the most persevering. (Napoleon Bonaparte)
You may be disappointed if you fail, but you are doomed if you don't try. (Beverly Sills)


People who persevered despite handicaps and disabilities:
Beethoven (composer) - was deaf
Ray Charles (musician) - is blind
Thomas Edison (inventor) - had a learning problem
Albert Einstein (scientist) - had a learning disability
Terry Fox (runner) - is an amputee with cancer
Stevie Wonder (musician) - is blind
James Earl Jones (actor) - was a stutterer
Helen Keller (author) - was deaf and blind
Marlee Matlin (actress) - is deaf
Franklin D. Roosevelt (president) - was paralyzed from polio
Vincent Van Gogh (artist) - was mentally ill
Woodrow Wilson (president) - had a learning problem
Itzhak Perlman (concert violinist) - was paralyzed from the waist down
Stephen Hawking (physicist) - had Lou Gehrig's disease (of the nervous system)


Put perseverance into action:
When something doesn't work right, try again and again.
Don't lose your temper when something upsets you.
Always finish what you start.
Keep working at something that is difficult until you complete it.
Don't give up on difficult jobs or situations.
Focus on someone or something that ordinarily makes you lose your patience and try to understand it (and don't "lose it").
Work a little harder or a few minutes longer on a task that you do not like.

A bass guitarist of a band said like this:
Practice a lot. That’s what I did. 5 to 7 hours a day or at least 12 to 15 years. Then hopefully, things will fall into place. This is the spirit of a persevering person.

Let our Faith work, Love labor, and hope endure. Let us never ever give up. Let God alone help us to persevere in life.