Saturday, September 29, 2012

To Die for the Glory of God

Life! It is such a precious thing. There are so many aspects of life, there are so many questions about life, and there are so many stepping stones. First there is birth. then the first day of school, the last day of school, the first job, the first date, the engagement, marriage, the first child, the first grandchild, retirement, and death. To life, just as anything else, there is a beginning, a middle, and an end. I understand we are only three quarters of the way through the year, and I just as much as anyone else wants to enjoy the rest of it while I can, but this year has been quite an interesting year. So many of those stepping stones have been pointed out to me whether one way or another. I have seen birth, I have seen marriage, I have seen engagement, I have seen the first grandchild, and sadly I have seen death too. As I think about the year I have already had, death is the one that has stood out to me the most. Of course it is a part of life, 10 out of every 10 people will die, I have heard of slow deaths, sudden deaths, accidental deaths, and purposful deaths. No matter how it happens, it can always be a painful situation for many, and it has given me a great opportunity to think.

There is a verse in James 4:14 that says:

"Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away."

As the verse describes here, life is but a vapour. Of course we can plan ahead, Of course we can think about the future, but we as well don't have any guarantees.

As I have been thinking about this, I have thought about death in my life, what does it mean? I think there are several things I can say about it.

There is another verse in 1 Corinthians 10:31 that says:

"Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do ALL to the glory of God."

I realize I may have discussed this before, but does this mean everything?
Absolutely! I believe if we are making dinner for our family, we should do it for the glory of God, if we are carrying a tired kid on our back in hot sweaty weather, we should do it for the glory of God, if we are putting Contact lenses in a bin to be shipped out all over the country, we should do it for the glory of God, if we are opening, and cutting up clams, as disgusting it may be, we should do it for the glory of God. But what about death? Can we die for the glory of God?

I believe we can! I think back a few months on the blog post called "To Die Well by Joshua Eddy, I think what he was talking about signifies what I mean by dying for the glory of God.

As I read his blog post I could picture myself thinking the same thing. I have always dreamt of being a hero. of throwing someone out of the way of a car, of tackling a murderer before he unleashed his fury, of catching someone before they fall on the tracks of a Subway. Of course those are all possibilities, but what if we were to die for our faith? There are people every day all over the world being persecuted for Christ. Could that be me?

I don't think I will ever know how I will die until it actually happens, but however it is, I hope I do for God's glory.

I, as a Christian, know what will happen to me when I die, I know I will go to Heaven and eternal life will be great! But until then, I'm not scared, I'm not worried.We shouldn't live every day worried that it could be our last, We should live every day is if it would be.

When we all get to Heaven what a day of rejoicing that will be! I can't wait to get there! I can't wait to walk the streets of gold,  I can't wait to see Jesus face.  I can't wait to see all the loved ones who have gone on before me, I know it's going to be a great day!

A few months ago, I was asked the question, if I were to die, and my funeral was held, and they started passing the microphone around for people to share what they thought about me, what would they say. In my mind, that was a difficult question. Of course we won't know exactly what people think of us, but my return question was if this person was asking what WOULD they say about me, or what would I WANT them to say about me. The hard part about that, was they weren't the same things.

This has been a recent challenge for me. I want to use the time I have for God's glory as well. I want to make in impact in other people's lives, and if I have lived and died for the glory of God, that's not a wasted life for me.

The truth of the matter is, we could die any day, any second, any time, and in my life, I want God to be glorified. I know God can do some great things. Whether he uses me in my life to lead someone to the Lord, or whether someone is lead to the Lord through my death. Whether I am a hero and save someone's life, or whether I only do things that God will notice, I want to make it an ulitmate goal in my life to not only live well, but to die for the glory of God.



I understand this may be a long shot, I know I may die at the ripe old age of 93, but I think it's something worth thinking about. I don't think you can ever be too prepared.