How to live forever

This morning our oldest son dropped off our grand daughter on his way to work. My wife takes her to school and later picks her up. We were fixing breakfast and just chatted with him for a few moments. He mentioned that he was tired today, so I gave him some herbs to give him a boost in energy. His mom jokingly said, “The herbs dad gives us will help us stay healthy for many years,” then she added, “He’s really trying to help us live forever.”

I thought about that and realized once again that I am married to a very wise woman. Yes, I do deal with the physical side of life (herbs and such), but I also deal more heavily with the spiritual side of life.

I love the old song we no longer hear, but has a great message. The words say, “I’m going to live forever, I’m going to die no never…. Jesus died on a cross for me and I’m going to live forever.”

Where do you put your emphasis in life? I know people who spend thousands of dollars on exercise club memberships, exercise equipment, etc. They spend hours and hours working out, some have special life coaches or counselors they spend time with each week. They look good and feel good physically, but spiritually they are lacking. They struggle to make it through life and all that it throws at them, yet (for some), they don’t find what they are looking for.

I will be the first to admit that some of the things with which people struggle go beyond just a lack of spirituality. I know that there are some genuine physical problems (illnesses, imbalances, etc.), that account for some emotional problems. I realize that there are some situations over which you have no control that bring stress and difficulties into your life, both physically, emotionally and spiritually. It’s hard to hold on to the thought offered in Romans 8:28 where Paul writes: “All things work together for good for those who love the Lord.” I am preparing a class on the book of Jonah right now, and one of the lessons I discovered is that God can sometimes allow bad things to happen to get out attention.

There are two things we need to remember about life: (1) there is a great physician who can help us in all aspects of our life. 1 Peter 5:7, “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you”. (NIV)

(2) Our life does not truly consist of just the physical. Luke 12:4 tells us, “I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do”. (ESV)

Yes, the physical is important, that’s why I study and practice Herbal medicine, but that’s not all there is to life. I want to live forever, so I practice at the spiritual side of my life too. You only have one chance to get it right, so how are you doing?

THE ORIGINAL TWITTER

Most of the younger generation believes that the idea Tweeting came into being with them, those of us who have been around awhile know differently. Tweeting is the idea of conveying a message with very few letters or words. Our generation has been doing that for years and years.

It seems that we naturally have a thing for writing encrypted (sometimes shortened) messages in the things we write. When I was in grade school, my friends and I would make up "secret codes" and spend hours writing (on paper) private messages to each other.

As we matured we outgrew simple codes and became more sophisticated in the method and message… we discovered "Vanity License Plates" or "Personalized License Plates" for our cars, trucks and motorcycles. These vary in the United States from state to state, but normally state a message using 5 – 7.5 letters. Other countries follow the same practice, in the United Kingdom they are called, "prestige plate, private number plate, cherished plate or personalized registration". These license plates sometimes carry special messages designed by the purchaser, sometimes easy and sometimes difficult to decipher.

My wife and I keep an eye out for these plates and try to discover or understand the message they contain. For example we saw a bright lime green car this week on which the plated said, "I NO RIT" or "I know, right!" We supposed it was referring to the uniqueness of the color of the car. Then there was, "MY1VET," "IMAJEDI," "DOES185," "PDOFF," "H20 WELL, and on of my favorites "AFORDY7," seen on a 1947 Ford.

I think you can get the idea that we are a pretty clever bunch of beings, but did you realize that God beat us too it in this area. Way back in Exodus 3:13-14 we read, "But Moses replied, "When I go to the Israelites and say to them, 'The God of your ancestors sent me to you,' they will ask me, 'What is his name?' So what can I tell them? God said, "I am who I am. You must tell them: 'The one who is called I AM has sent me to you.'"

There has been much speculation regarding the meaning of this message. What does, "I AM" mean, is it a name or a description? I believe it is a description trying to convey the power of the creator of the universe. I like how Matthew Henry's commentary puts it. He says the message of "I AM" is: "1. That he is self-existent: he has his being of himself. 2. That he is eternal and unchangeable, and always the same, yesterday, to-day, and forever." I like that description of the message, it may not be exactly what God had in mind when he gave us the three letter message, but then if we live according to his instructions in the rest of His Book, we can find out in person someday, can't we?

BRINGER OF THE LIGHT

Have you ever met one of those people who as they say, "lights up the room when they come in"? I hope you have, because I have and it gives hope to life.

Where I work I have a friend named Anthony, he is one of those people. It may not be a coincidence, but I find it interesting that he works in the Lighting/ Electrical department. He helps bring light into people's lives physically, but also spiritually. Anthony is a lover of God and is not afraid to share his relationship with the father with others. He is one of those folks I look for when I'm at work, because he makes work seem… well, less like work, he brings a little light into my life, a little hope when I see God working in him.

Of course the example for us all is Jesus Christ, our God; our Brother; our friend and our support. I love the description that the Apostle John gives of Jesus in the book of John. In John 1:1-5 we read, "In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. He existed in the beginning with God. God created everything through Him, and nothing was created except through Him. The Word gave life to everything that was created, and His life brought light to everyone. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it." (NLT)

There is our example, the true bringer of the light! We sometimes sing a hymn that says, "Oh to be like thee, blessed redeemer," but I wonder if we really understand the full impact of those words, of what he was and what he did. John goes on and says, "The One who is the true light, who gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.  He came into the very world He created, but the world didn't recognize Him. He came to His own people, and even they rejected Him." (John 1: 9-11)

You see what this says is that if you try to live as a Christian and bring light to others; don't expect them to always thank you. They rejected Jesus, they will often reject you.

I don't know about you, but I pray that I can be a little more like Anthony to those around me, but even more I pray that I can let the light of Christ be seen in me. There is no such thing as a secret Christian, you either are or you aren’t. Jesus himself said in Matthew 5:14, "You are the light of the world… like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden."

When is the last time someone was glad to see you coming? Could it be you need to let the light of Jesus be seen more in your life?