Tag: God-given purpose

Do You Feel Hopeless?

At some point in your life the future might have seemed full of possibilities. You had dreams and they seemed reachable. But as time ran on life got in the way. You had troubles. Things didn’t pan out. It became obvious that your vision of the future was not going to happen. Perhaps you can add to this your concerns about the world in general. The promise of unending human progress seems fenced in by unfixable problems.

It is hard to live when all you have is the routine, and the problems of life seem entrenched. Without hope it seems that life is not worth living. Too many people reach this point and then act on it. In fact, very few people live their dreams. There is only so much room to be famous athletes, entertainers, or great leaders. That doesn’t mean that only those people get to have hope. In fact, these roles aren’t as great as might think them. If this is your dream, then in some respects you are shooting too high and in others too low.

In it sinfully natural to want to set your own agenda for life. In the end, your personal agenda won’t count for much. God has a plan for each of us. This plan may not be recognized by other people. Currently, it may not be recognized by you. Rather it is recognized by God. It may not change the world as a whole, but it will definitely change a part of it. It may not be rewarded in this life with money and ease, but it will be rewarded on the Day.

God-given hope starts with something that we did not have the right to hope for. It is a whole tapestry of things that are the true meaning of life. It starts with the right to call the Creator of the all things, “Father”. Normal people are far too sinful to be this presumptuous. This relationship allows us to navigate any set of problems. It is true that aging and illness moves us closer to death, but even that isn’t negative. God’s grace to us moves into having a God-given role in life. We can count on having a purpose even when all health has failed us. We only have to be faithful in what prepares for us. We do not have to compete with the world. These things make some space for hope that life will remain purposeful and do-able, but the big payout is yet to come.

The gifts of God are heavily back-loaded. This life is important, but it is nothing compared to what comes after it. Without Jesus this would not be hopeful. God’s Law requires sinners to forever banished. When God forsakes a person all good things are gone and so is hope. Jesus get us past this Law. Because Jesus fulfills the requirements of the Law, and we can be connected to Jesus through faith and baptism, we have a promise of eternal life.

The Apostle Paul, who went through some serious stuff in life, says this:

16 So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. 17 For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, 18 as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

2 Corinthians 4:16-18 (ESV)

Energizing hope comes from being able to see what is “unseen”. That means that God has had enough time to marinate you in His love and promises so that you have a clear grasp of what is coming to you when you leave this life connected to Christ. This blog is for sharing with you what God has shared about this through the Bible. It is exciting. Because of God’s Word and his action throughout history and in my life, I have hope. That hope will carry me through anything that may happen from today until my death. I can do anything because it all is temporary. I know that my life purpose will change, but it will always be something. After that the true living will commence.

Would I ever consider taking my own life. Nope. Not even to cut the corner and get to Heaven. I have things to do here for God. Do I get discouraged. Not really. It is short-term discouragement at best. In the end I know that I win.

Is this hope a form of self-delusion? When you consider that the whole construction of the universe down to the tiniest detail of life is clearly designed by a vast intelligence, no. When you consider the prophecies pointing to Jesus from deep in time, and the eye-witnesses of Jesus willing to suffer for their testimony, and the giant emergence of Christianity in an environment of persecution, there is plenty of evidence that this hope stands on fact.

I have also had plenty of experience of God teaching me and changing me, encouraging me through prayer and people, working through me in ways that I cannot take the credit, that tells me my hope is well placed.

Is this hope just for me and not for you? God loves the whole world. God wants all people to be saved and come the knowledge of the truth. God wants you. I have hope that He can reach you no matter of how far away you have been and no matter how hopeless you currently are. If you have lost hope, take a look at what the Bible has promised to people in general and to you specifically. Read through the other articles in this blog and get the lay of the land. It is a very hopeful message.

Dying Well: The Stewardship of Our Health and Time in Our Final Years

The post discusses the inevitability of death and its acceptance as part of God’s mission. It emphasizes the importance of maintaining a connection with Jesus for eternal life, the stewardship of one’s body, and living a life dedicated to God’s work. Balance is crucial, as is navigating decisions around health and end-of-life care thoughtfully.

It is tough to accept that dying is something we have to do. I would go so far as to call it part of my God-given mission. God has kept me on this planet for a long list of things that He wants to do through me. Eventually it will be enough, and the remainder of God’s mission will be carried on by other people. All I have to do at that point is to let this sin damaged body go to the grave.

If I have my sins forgiven by God, then my destiny at death is eternal life with Him starting in Heaven. That is a great thing for me. I can have that only by being connected to Jesus.

The connection to Jesus is something only God can do. Jesus made it the way to eternal life by fulfilling God’s Law and paying the spiritual punishment of my sin by being forsaken by God on the cross. The connection to this is done by God too. Only He can get through to a person and make the connection usually through baptism. Once connected (saved) priority one is remaining connected. Keep feeding the faith by Word and Sacrament, surround yourself with other supportive believers, be a person who knows God through prayer, always have your radar on opportunities to do the work of the Kingdom of God. That is what you can do. God will keep you from falling.

When you finally physically grind down to the point where you can die, it will be an emotional balance between wanting to do more, but knowing you’re done, and being eager for what comes next. Dying well, means looking forward:

16 So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. 17 For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, 18 as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

2 Corinthians 4:16-18 (ESV)

How should we manage “grinding down”/”wasting away”? There is the stewardship of our bodies to consider. On the one hand, I want to get out of here. This life on Earth doesn’t compare favorably to Heaven. On the other, the work of the Kingdom of God is a good thing in a place that really needs it and I want to be of service. With this tension in mind, I believe we do our best to a point.

To be considered good stewards of the body, we definitely don’t cut corners to hasten our death: no suicide, no medical non-compliance, no clearly bad habits, no unnecessarily risky behavior. There could be situations where we risk martyrdom, but we don’t go looking for it.

We are not asked to extraordinary things that prolong our lives into an artificially extended period where we will be of little use. I knew one man whose lungs were severely damaged by COVID. It was determined that he could never get off of a vent, so he stopped it, and died. I support that decision. That isn’t suicide.

Sometimes the decision isn’t so black and white. Family discussions and family prayer are necessary then. People tend to error on the side of doing too much, because they are not ready to grieve. You are not doing the person a favor, if they are in Christ.

Now I am going to really meddle. What about diet and exercise? If you have a clear medical diagnosis, like diabetes, where you need to be strict about diet. I would consider that to be not just a personal but also a spiritual obligation. We can all follow theories about how best to eat or care for our bodies, but the fact is that many extreme regimens often prove to be wrong in the end. I think the best stewardship of the body at any point in our lives is moderation in everything. If you follow conscience on this, you are doing well.

You may say that God determines the day of our death, and there is nothing we can do to change it; but the Bible says God knows the day of our death. Its date is not pre-determined, it is contingent. God just knows everything. With this in play it is possible to miss out on some of what God plans for us.

0 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Ephesians 2:10 (ESV)

Living, aging, and dying well is to complete that which God has prepared beforehand for us. He doesn’t give us a printout so that we can be prepared or look ahead. We can only be formed for service and ready to do it until the end.