We Witness the End, and More

Evidence plus Thinking Equals Insight

“Bright Morning” by Myra Alibrando

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Recorded and broadcast years ago, enjoy this 99-second broadcast of “Life is Profound”

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We See It

All of us have witnessed death of plants and insects. Most of us have witnessed the death of trees and pets. Many of us have witnessed the death of friends and loved ones. Some of us will agonize over the death of a child. Very few married people die at the same time.

In all of these cases, we see the end of life. It is over. Life is over. They are gone. It can gnaw at our faith.

It is an ugly, undeniable reality of life, and for the Christian with a theology where God is Santa Claus, we blame the devil and the curse. Actually, that is mostly true but unprecise.  

Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. 1 Thessalonians 4:13

When I became a widower in 2008, I grieved greatly. Even Jesus wept seeing Mary and Martha despair at their brother, Lazurus' passing. 

Life or Consequences?

Yes, death was introduced only after sin, as God promised and contrary to evolution claims. To Adam God said, If you take of the fruit (disobey), you shall surely die. 

“. . . but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.” Genesis 2:17

For all of creation, death was introduced because all of creation was made for man. Everything that lives . . . dies. Wow, that is a big curse from God.

“For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.” Romans 8:20-21

Curbing the Curse

Sin accelerated so fast in individuals that God shortened human life from 800-900 years to under one-hundred years. We still look at the world and see so much greed and perversion. Imagine the darkness if corruption could root and grow for centuries rather than decades.  

In order to fulfill His original plan of wonderful life on earth God had a problem. The vast majority generation after generation continued rejecting love, goodness, and God. God’s plan is to harvest the righteous exclusively for the reboot of life on earth after Judgement Day. 

Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, Hebrews 9:27

In King James it says the same verse this way:

And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: 

The Judge is the Creator of Pleasure

God is certainly the one who has arranged death and appointed it as universal for us all, just as God is the one who has arranged life and brought you and I into existence to live on this earth that He has made with so many pleasures and marvels.

Nature has harsh realities and the Bible shows us the harsh realities of inescapable consequences. I see a perfect tapestry woven between God's creation and the Word of God, both beauty and horror. 

God has endowed us with the miracle of sight, hearing, taste, and touch. Pleasure is God's invention. 

We appreciate it so much, we ache in compassion for those who are blind, deprived of all of the wonderful sights of colors, sights, stars, trees, smiles, and animals. Or the deaf unable to hear laughter, music, voice emphasis, or someone whispering they are loved. Did not God give us both the ability of pleasure and objects of our pleasure? 

You have made known to me the path of life; You will fill me with joy in Your presence, with eternal pleasures at Your right hand. Psalm 16:11

So Many Gifts, for What Purpose?

I have therefore deduced, years ago, that God in heaven is not so spiteful to give us the miracle of living and to grow an appetite for the pleasures of food, sights, sounds, relationships, purpose, hope, learning, and even nobility . . . just to kill us.

Why give us the pleasure of stars, the philosophical quest seeking truth, curious about why we were made, and how to be kind knowing with absolute certainty that it ends for every living thing? 

Life or Death, No Third Option

This is why my trust has multiplied. This same Creator God who sees sin and perversion as horrors that must not spread, has provided death as a limit, not only to what an evil person can do but also limits what a good person must suffer. After that, the judgment.

I see the sense of permitting us all to choose what kind of heart we will obey and if living should be forever. 

Evidence Even I Can See

In fact, none of us are righteous or deserving. This same God has opened another door by forgiveness at great expense to only Himself, bypassing natural consequences or rightful punishment, in the person of Jesus. This is intentional and loving and when I look at nature, I see the power and character of God there; beauty and horror … life and death … but also resurrection and judgement.

I thank Him for the chance to live and enjoy all that He has made. I see so much pleasure, love, and potential as a glimmer of God’s original plan and as a foretaste of greater things ahead in a world without sin or suffering. This kind of life was God’s plan from the beginning and despite us, we are still invited. He is surely worthy of more than our praise.

Have a wonderful week, with your eyes wide open.

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