Get ready to start a journey…a journey through the pages of the Bible and the pages of your life.
If we believe that people today are dealing with anxiety, feeling helpless and hopeless, if we believe the words of Isaiah, “justice is turned back, and righteousness stands far away; for truth has stumbled in the public squares,” (Isaiah 59:14), if we believe that the darkness needs the Light, then we should not be taken aback if someone asks us what Jesus saved us from.
Today, we live in a world that is plagued by disinformation, misinformation, and contemptible behavior. Do you agree? A person says a seemingly innocent phrase. Someone else views the phrase as offensive and derogatory, even racist. Social media blows up. The person responsible apologizes profusely and retracts the statement. They are “cancelled” and labeled a pariah. We live in interesting times. But really, nothing has changed.
It was a particularly hot day in Dallas, and I was driving around the city looking for an apartment. Having just graduated from seminary, Lori and I needed to move from the condo we had rented for four years. I had resumes scattered throughout the country but was getting no response, or rather I was getting a response — “No.” We thought we would be looking for a place to live and minister in another part of the country; but, for the time being, we were staying in Dallas. It was a discouraging stretch of my journey.
The human heart is caught in a contradiction. On one hand, God has placed eternity in our hearts, leaving us with a God-shaped hole. We suffer from an inward famine. We are starving for God. On the other hand, we want to be our own god, call our own shots, be in control of our lives. We are afraid to surrender.
The search for a life of confidence is on. Some move from relationship to relationship looking for a sense of peace in a person. Some try to find something to soothe their soul in a bottle, needle, or pill. The recipients of today’s passage must have been putting their trust in the “Almighty Dollar”—the other god. The writer tells them to steer clear of money worship and learn contentment.
What happens when we die? Do we enter the grave in a sort of soul sleep until Jesus returns? Do we live as spirits forever? Will we be able to recognize each other? Let’s consider these questions.