Losing People

I've been thinking today about how many of us have lost people, since we became Christians and because we became Christians, but not only that. Losing people is a part of growing older, as loved ones predecease us. First, I lost my grandparents, then I lost my father, then I lost my sister to suicide, then I lost one brother to estrangement and another to what shall we call it, the political divide, and, finally, two best friends who were older than me, who passed away in 2020 and 2021 (that same year I lost my mother). Since all this has happened, I have felt at times "alone in the universe." (I got that idea from a musical called "Seussical: the Musical," which I am currently learning about from my wonderful colleague, the vocal music teacher at the school where I work as a tutor.) By the time you survive many such losses in life, it is natural to feel that way at times, and I also have paid particular attention to who it is in the world that I do have, with whom I am "knit together," and that would be the people who are part of the small fellowship of believers that form our small church called Word and Spirit Church, especially, my pastor and his wife, and a friend whose mother was my best friend since about 1980. Yes, that's a long time. Because of knowing God in a personal way does two things to one's perception of death. First, all this losing of people brings our own mortality a little bit closer, and it also brings the reality of God into focus. My guess is that we all face it somewhat differently because of our varied life experiences, even for believers. I don't know exactly how people who are not believers in Christ actually deal with their mortality, and it is not my intention to bring up something unpleasant in order to try to present the unpleasantness of death as a sort of club to bring down on anyone to force them to think about something unpleasant. I do know that some people feel like death is no big deal, though, and I do think that is a huge mistake. I believe a lot of people probably believe what I believed before I knew God. I believed that since I didn't know anything before I was born, I would not know anything after I died. Eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow you may die, something like that. Maybe most people believe that. People have all kinds of ideas about what happens after death that as believers, we cannot remain silent about. Everyone is free to believe what they want about what happens after death, but as one approaches the end of one's life, it seems like it might be a wise thing to consider. No one can really convince another person what to believe about anything, I have discovered, so I am not going to do that, at least not now. The reality is none of us knows when or how we might die, and we should be preparing for that eventuality, as it pertains to eternity. I don't want to encourage anyone to accept Jesus just to escape hell, but the gospel is based on repentance from sin and turning to God, because we are all sinners under the judgment of God whom we will all meet one day, and that is the reality we must deal with if we enter into eternity with our sins unforgiven. I really didn't start this out with the intention of preaching that, but there it is. What I wanted to say was our solitariness (there actually is such a word) can seem very difficult to deal with and we all develop various ways of dealing with it. I think it's interesting that in the late 19th to mid-20th century, teachers had to quit teaching if they got married. Obviously, that is no longer the case, but I think about that a lot too, because I work as a tutor now, and so most of the children I have known, especially in the last decade, have been school children. It's interesting, but I am aware that parenting and teaching go hand in hand, anyway you look at it. Teachers parent, and parents teach. Anyway, I just wanted to say, I hope everyone is not feeling "alone in the universe" today. Jesus said, "The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly" (John 10:10). The thief refers to Satan, the God of this age, the devil, the enemy of our soul, who destroys relationships and friendships and marriages, and churches and governments and countries and lives, but God, in Jesus Christ, provides life, and actually IS life. Without him there is no life. "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me," he said (John 14:6). Everything in life is a gift from God, and God does not twist anybody's arm to come to him, but he does cause things to happen in your life to get your attention. He certainly did in my life, and I'm very glad he did. I do have to stop for tonight though. I know I have rambled a little on this, but for anyone who is not a believer yet, I don’t want to lose you. I don’t want to lose you if you are a believer either, because losing people is hard, because God made you special and God placed us together in time, and that means something. So, goodnight. Be blessed. Signing off for now, Carolyn