Truly Alive!
The ancient second Christian generation writer Saint Iremeus said: "The glory of God is a human being fully alive!” Our own Westminster Shorter Catechism says:Question: What is the chief end of man?
Answer: To glorify God and enjoy him forever.
This is hardly the depressing negative Christian faith that some Christian liberals and secular folk say is the heart and essence of an orthodox Christianity. In fact, these two statements from the ancient Church and the Reformed tradition suggest something quite different. They suggest that a Christian is someone who enjoys and lives this life to its fullest. That is quite a contrast to the death orientation of much of the Church. Questions like "Where are you going to spend eternity" and "Do you KNOW you will go to heaven when you die?" dominate the evangelical wing of the faith. Those are important questions, but they do seem to imply that the purpose of life is to die and go to heaven. There are versions of this in all forms of Christianity. Most Americans seem not to believe in the traditional concepts of heaven and hell, therefore trying to scare them with these concepts or entice them to heaven may be a futile effort in a society that is only nominally Christian. However, I don't think it is biblical to say that the only goal is preparation for death. I think that we do live eternally, but I see Christianity as preparation for life, with that life being eternal in this world and the next.
The emphasis on Christianity as a death cult puts all the emphasis on the cross. Biblical and confessional faith does say that the cross of Christ is of central importance to the forgiveness of sins, and to the grace of eternal life. But it is also who Jesus was, and the resurrection, that give the cross its power, otherwise Jesus is just another poor person crucified by the Roman government as a rebel. The death emphasis seems to have really come into Christianity in the second thousand years of our existence, when the Black Death and other scourges spread so rapidly over Europe and killed up to one third of the population. Then there was very little comfort to be offered in this world, with so many dying, and it was natural to look to the promise of the world to come as our hope in the face of such devastation. That is the assurance and hope of the Gospel. However, it is not all there is to it, for even then the life, death, and resurrection of Christ inspired many Christians to take great risks to help the sick and dying. Even in the face of devastating suffering and death, the resurrection of Jesus not only motivated folk as to where they would spend eternity, but to serve and even risk helping others, because they were alive to life and mission in this world.
It is not a big distinction, but an important one. Instead of standing and staring into heaven and waiting to die and get out of this suffering life, real Christianity relieves us from sin, guilt, and self obsession and opens us to life and service. It makes us appreciate life in its fullness with the promise of an eternal life as well. The world then is the staging area, the place where we are truly alive. A death oriented religion sees this world as only evil and dark and the only hope is to leave it. An alive Christian will open his or her day with "This is the day that the Lord has made, we will rejoice and be glad in it"! Alive faith is thankful for this one time gift of life we have, and the chance to see God in everything today. Fear based faith clings and tries to protect what we have and get to heaven. An alive faith is open handed and hearted realizing how precious and brief life is. Life is a gift of God. We can use it selfishly and fearfully, or we can live it openly and joyfully and look for ways to share that joy.
Am I not minimizing suffering? Is there not a time, when great suffering comes, to surrender life, even willingly knowing that there are things worse than death? Does not war and evil dominate our world? Yes they do, and yes there is a time when all Christians will surrender life willingly to God. I would argue though that some of the most alive and caring people I have ever known, who appreciate life the most, are those who have known great suffering. Some are embittered, but those with hope in Christ can let God transform their suffering into hope and even service. It is God's way to bring life from death! That is the central meaning our resurrected Lord gives us, and with him in eternity, and in a completely restored and renewed world when Christ returns.
It is not so much a disagreement I have with the promise of life eternal, but a different focus. One point of view sees this life as essentially useless except for the central question of where we are going to spend eternity. The other sees life as a gift of God to be appreciated, rejoiced in and used this day in God's service, with the promise of endless life. There is much suffering in our world, but Christians must not give up the hope that in the end life wins!
May God grant us to be truly and fully alive!
Yours in Christ's Eternal Love,
Jim Stahr
The ancient second Christian generation writer Saint Iremeus said: "The glory of God is a human being fully alive!” Our own Westminster Shorter Catechism says:Question: What is the chief end of man?
Answer: To glorify God and enjoy him forever.
This is hardly the depressing negative Christian faith that some Christian liberals and secular folk say is the heart and essence of an orthodox Christianity. In fact, these two statements from the ancient Church and the Reformed tradition suggest something quite different. They suggest that a Christian is someone who enjoys and lives this life to its fullest. That is quite a contrast to the death orientation of much of the Church. Questions like "Where are you going to spend eternity" and "Do you KNOW you will go to heaven when you die?" dominate the evangelical wing of the faith. Those are important questions, but they do seem to imply that the purpose of life is to die and go to heaven. There are versions of this in all forms of Christianity. Most Americans seem not to believe in the traditional concepts of heaven and hell, therefore trying to scare them with these concepts or entice them to heaven may be a futile effort in a society that is only nominally Christian. However, I don't think it is biblical to say that the only goal is preparation for death. I think that we do live eternally, but I see Christianity as preparation for life, with that life being eternal in this world and the next.
The emphasis on Christianity as a death cult puts all the emphasis on the cross. Biblical and confessional faith does say that the cross of Christ is of central importance to the forgiveness of sins, and to the grace of eternal life. But it is also who Jesus was, and the resurrection, that give the cross its power, otherwise Jesus is just another poor person crucified by the Roman government as a rebel. The death emphasis seems to have really come into Christianity in the second thousand years of our existence, when the Black Death and other scourges spread so rapidly over Europe and killed up to one third of the population. Then there was very little comfort to be offered in this world, with so many dying, and it was natural to look to the promise of the world to come as our hope in the face of such devastation. That is the assurance and hope of the Gospel. However, it is not all there is to it, for even then the life, death, and resurrection of Christ inspired many Christians to take great risks to help the sick and dying. Even in the face of devastating suffering and death, the resurrection of Jesus not only motivated folk as to where they would spend eternity, but to serve and even risk helping others, because they were alive to life and mission in this world.
It is not a big distinction, but an important one. Instead of standing and staring into heaven and waiting to die and get out of this suffering life, real Christianity relieves us from sin, guilt, and self obsession and opens us to life and service. It makes us appreciate life in its fullness with the promise of an eternal life as well. The world then is the staging area, the place where we are truly alive. A death oriented religion sees this world as only evil and dark and the only hope is to leave it. An alive Christian will open his or her day with "This is the day that the Lord has made, we will rejoice and be glad in it"! Alive faith is thankful for this one time gift of life we have, and the chance to see God in everything today. Fear based faith clings and tries to protect what we have and get to heaven. An alive faith is open handed and hearted realizing how precious and brief life is. Life is a gift of God. We can use it selfishly and fearfully, or we can live it openly and joyfully and look for ways to share that joy.
Am I not minimizing suffering? Is there not a time, when great suffering comes, to surrender life, even willingly knowing that there are things worse than death? Does not war and evil dominate our world? Yes they do, and yes there is a time when all Christians will surrender life willingly to God. I would argue though that some of the most alive and caring people I have ever known, who appreciate life the most, are those who have known great suffering. Some are embittered, but those with hope in Christ can let God transform their suffering into hope and even service. It is God's way to bring life from death! That is the central meaning our resurrected Lord gives us, and with him in eternity, and in a completely restored and renewed world when Christ returns.
It is not so much a disagreement I have with the promise of life eternal, but a different focus. One point of view sees this life as essentially useless except for the central question of where we are going to spend eternity. The other sees life as a gift of God to be appreciated, rejoiced in and used this day in God's service, with the promise of endless life. There is much suffering in our world, but Christians must not give up the hope that in the end life wins!
May God grant us to be truly and fully alive!
Yours in Christ's Eternal Love,
Jim Stahr
posted by Theoblogger at
3:20 PM
