I'm leveling-up!

Six years ago, on June 28, we lost our beloved grandson to a dragon named cancer.   Braden is a constant companion in my heart. He battled the disease and in the end, he lost his life, but he never lost his hope; the certain confidence that he, as a believer in Jesus Messiah, would be transported into the presence of His Lord and Savior, there to enjoy life as HE designed it to be. 

Life is hard, then we die. We will all lose our lives in one final breath, but we need not die without hope.

I am profoundly grateful for the certitude we have in Christ and the healing death brings for those who have embraced Him through effective, saving faith; we are given direction about what this is in Romans 8.10-13...

“'The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart' [Deuteronomy 30.12] (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); 9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. 11 For the Scripture says, 'Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.' [Isaiah 28.16; 49.23] 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. 13 For 'everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.'” 

For these, death is not something to be feared; it is a gracious provision that carries us back into a face-to-face real-time relationship with God. 

Without death, we become eternal beings, like Lucifer and the legion of angels which were cast out of heaven because of their rebellion, separated forever from God.  Without death we would be chained to a relationship of enmity with God; no reverse, no repair--no redemption.  NO hope.

So then, death became the modality that God uses to foil Satan's attempt to co-opt God's crowning creative act, humankind. It is the definitive check-mate, demonstrating God's mastery; always steps ahead of evil, and the chaos of sin. Genesis 3 describes the event that initiated the rebellion of Adam and Eve to sin and its necessary consequence, physical death; it's also here that we learn that death is part of God's bigger plan for hope and the redemption of humankind.

The rest is history.  The Apostle pens this remarkable statement in 1 John 4.9,10...

"God showed how much he loved us

by sending his one and only Son 

into the world so that we might 

have eternal life through him. 

10 This is real love—not that we loved God, 

but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice 

to take away our sins."

Love is a four-letter word, spelled H-O-P-E; more importantly, death simply marks the first day of the rest of our lives, Paul reminds Christ-followers in 2 Corinthians 4.16-18...

"Therefore we do not lose heart. 

Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet 

inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 

17 For our light and momentary 

troubles are achieving for us an eternal 

glory that far outweighs them all. 

18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, 

but on what is unseen, 

since what is seen is temporary, 

but what is unseen is eternal."

We will rise. 

I'll never forget Braden's exclamation to us as we gathered in his room at the hospital the afternoon before he died. We'd just been told by his Doctor, very tenderly, that Braden would soon leave his body behind.  Braden's father, Matthew, sat down on the bed, looked into Braden's eyes, and asked him how he was doing, to which Braden smiled and said "Is that the worst-case scenario?  I'm leveling UP.  I am going to be fine dad.  I'm ready."  

He was.  

Are you?  

We don't get to be here long. 

What will you do with Jesus? 

Life is fast.

Liveitwell!

Questions?  Contact me at goodneighbaier@yahoo.com