To be... or not to be?
As I sit to write this, there are several thousand things running through my head. It's been an interesting week, having gotten a call on Monday morning telling me that my dad's mom, "Ba-chan," as we called her, had suffered a heart attack and was taken to La Palma Intercommunity Hospital.
After almost a week of watching her degenerate from complications from pneumonia and heart failure, we finally said goodbye to her Thursday afternoon. It's weird having someone close pass away; especially if it's not something that you've experienced before... Just a reminder of the brevity of life.
The Rev. Billy Graham was once asked the question, "if you could meet yourself at the beginning of your career, what would be the one thing you would tell your younger self about your life?" His answer? "The shortness of it." James, in his epistle, reminds us of this when he writes, "For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away." (James 4:14, NKJV)
But what is life all about? That's what's been on my mind tonight, after having a long sit down discussion with the Buddhist "priest" that performed tonight's service. Honestly, it was rather disheartening and sad, if you ask me. You see, according to him, Buddhists believe that there is no God; no Creator - and thus, no beginning or end. The present is just that - the present.
So, what is there to look forward to in this life? "Nothing," came the bleak reply. "To reach enlightenment, we must inwardly come to the realization that we are nothing." Really? Is that what we're hoping for? What is life all about?
I must agree with Rev. Masado when he said that we must realize that we are nothing. But to stop there would only be half truth. Paul sums it up best in his letter to the Romans when he writes:
So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God's law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! (Romans 7:21-25)
What do you think? What is the meaning of life? What gives you meaning? I thank and praise God that He has rescued me from the wretchedness that is me. My heart breaks for those who search so hard to find "enlightenment," only to have it stop there...
...but more on that later...
In the meantime, please pray:
1.) For our family as we deal with the passing of Ba-chan
2.) For our finances as we hadn't budgeted for this trip and are fearing that the last week that we spent with my family will be taken out of our paychecks.
3.) For the members of our family who do not know Christ. That we would take advantage of the opportunities we have to share the Gospel with those who need to hear it. (1 Peter 3:15-16)
Thanks. :-)
God bless,
Darryl
After almost a week of watching her degenerate from complications from pneumonia and heart failure, we finally said goodbye to her Thursday afternoon. It's weird having someone close pass away; especially if it's not something that you've experienced before... Just a reminder of the brevity of life.
The Rev. Billy Graham was once asked the question, "if you could meet yourself at the beginning of your career, what would be the one thing you would tell your younger self about your life?" His answer? "The shortness of it." James, in his epistle, reminds us of this when he writes, "For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away." (James 4:14, NKJV)
But what is life all about? That's what's been on my mind tonight, after having a long sit down discussion with the Buddhist "priest" that performed tonight's service. Honestly, it was rather disheartening and sad, if you ask me. You see, according to him, Buddhists believe that there is no God; no Creator - and thus, no beginning or end. The present is just that - the present.
So, what is there to look forward to in this life? "Nothing," came the bleak reply. "To reach enlightenment, we must inwardly come to the realization that we are nothing." Really? Is that what we're hoping for? What is life all about?
I must agree with Rev. Masado when he said that we must realize that we are nothing. But to stop there would only be half truth. Paul sums it up best in his letter to the Romans when he writes:
So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God's law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! (Romans 7:21-25)
What do you think? What is the meaning of life? What gives you meaning? I thank and praise God that He has rescued me from the wretchedness that is me. My heart breaks for those who search so hard to find "enlightenment," only to have it stop there...
...but more on that later...
In the meantime, please pray:
1.) For our family as we deal with the passing of Ba-chan
2.) For our finances as we hadn't budgeted for this trip and are fearing that the last week that we spent with my family will be taken out of our paychecks.
3.) For the members of our family who do not know Christ. That we would take advantage of the opportunities we have to share the Gospel with those who need to hear it. (1 Peter 3:15-16)
Thanks. :-)
God bless,
Darryl
posted by Darryl at
00:19
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