The Lord, the Giver of Life

There is nothing I can do right now, nothing I can do if you reject the Lord. If you die in such a state you will not regret it for a day, a week, a month or a year. You will regret it for all time and there will be no second chances. The Bible is very clear about that. After death there are no more chances. People reject the Bible solely for the reason that they don't like its claims. They don't like the stories in the Bible, they think God is too mean. They say they can't believe in a God like that. Well, that is their choice. What kind of God, then, can they believe in? One of their own invention? Or one that someone has told them about. Or no God. Or many gods. They can't trust in a God they can't see? Although the evidence of God's existence and the creation are all around us day in and day out, hour after hour, day after day, week after week year after year, decade after decade. God's faithfulness. I memorized these words when I was confirmed in the Episcopal Church as a pre-teen. I did believe this but I was not converted until many years later. However, I am thankful that I memorized these words. Snippets of this declaration creep into my consciousness. Today, it was "The Lord, the giver of life." Nicene Creed We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is seen and unseen. We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten not made, one in being with the Father. Through him all things were made. For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven; by the power of the Holy Spirit he was born of the Virgin Mary, and became man. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate, he suffered, died, and was buried. On the third day he rose again in fulfillment of the Scriptures; he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end. We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son. With the Father and the Son he is worshipped and glorified. He has spoken through the prophets. We believe in one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church. We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen. Everything in this world is temporary. Life in this body is temporary. But life in Christ is eternal, and only in Christ. To have Christ is to have everything. Not to have Christ is to have nothing. To have Christ is to have life, not to have Christ is to already be dead, because Christ is life and love and all the world was made by him, as were you and me and every living thing on earth. Everything else is nothing in comparison, nothing to hold onto, nothing to trust, nothing to hold you. "For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before al things, and in Him all things consist" (Colossians 1:16-17).