For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? (Mt.16:26 NKJV)
My father died at 50 of his first and only heart attack. They found him dead on the plane during a layover in Hawaii returning from a trip to the Philippines. He had just interviewed for a cabinet position for the incoming administration of Fidel Ramos. He was at the prime of his life. It was an abrupt ending to such a promising career and real American success story. If I could provide some background: My father was born into a family of moderate means, as his parents were both teachers. And if teaching isn’t a lucrative profession here in the U.S., it’s less so in the Philippines. He was the 3rd child in a family of 10 kids. He fought and struggled for everything he got. Eventually, he became a lawyer in the Philippines in a climate of political instability. He was involved in politics and wrote decrying the graft and corruption of the then-democratic government of Ferdinand Marcos. He understood the political climate, the dictatorial tendencies of the Marcos regime, and foresaw the coming declaration of martial law. To avoid political persecution, therefore, he joined the “brain drain” of intellectuals and professionals leaving the Philippines that occurred prior to Ferdinand Marcos’ eventual declaration of martial law and reign as a dictator through the 70s and 80s. He and my mother arrived in NYC, in this land of opportunity. And finding himself in a new country, he worked hard to provide for a young family, selling life insurance. I still remember him occasionally (when baby sitters were unavailable) taking me, my sister, and brother who was still in diapers along with him to appointments. I recall him taking us to these tenement buildings and knocking on apartment doors. When the occupants asked, “Who is it?” he cried out, “Insurance man!” and they would let us in. I think it helped him close some deals by toting us around. While providing for us selling insurance, he was also self-studying for the bar exam that would allow him to practice law in the U.S. I still recall him seated at the kitchen table, reading law books late at night, writing notes and typing papers. His hard work finally paid off when while I was in 3rd grade he passed the bar exam and was able to practice law in the U.S. and eventually serve as a judge. It’s a true American success story and an example of how hard work, determination and perseverance can result in achieving one’s goals and dreams. With that background, it’s easier to understand my father’s drive and desire for us to succeed. He envisioned that I would one day follow in his footsteps, become a lawyer, and join him in his practice. Being the eldest, however, much was expected of me, and when I failed to meet those expectations, bore the brunt of his disappointment at the end of a belt. The corporal punishment, however, wasn’t the kind delivered by a loving parent, concerned with “…train[ing] a child in the way he should go”[1], offering reassuring words of his continued love and attempts to comfort at the end; but delivered, rather, with a meanness, vindictiveness and malice reserved for one’s enemy (evidenced by the bruises both physical and emotional). I have to admit that his bark was worse than his bite, as the mere raising of his voice would unnerve, disturb and perplex me, especially when he grew impatient with me. As a result, I feared my father and his outbursts, and distanced myself from him as I adopted passive/aggressive behaviors[2] (e.g. procrastination, depression, avoidance, etc.), as a defense mechanism to cope with the stress of my early childhood - a fault and weakness against which I guard as an adult. Compounding this paternal dysfunction was the fact of his absenteeism due not so much to career as to his infidelity towards our mother. My father had another wife while still married to our mother – a secret he kept well-hidden from us. After his death, I came to know my half-brothers and sisters (all 6 of them) and learned of the warm, loving and fond memories they had of him. I was actually jealous of the apparent affection my half-siblings received from my father. I envied them their warm memories of my father and close relationship they seemingly enjoyed with him. I struggle to admit that this revelation produced more pain and self-pity than those nights I cried myself to sleep. Maybe he distanced himself from us, because he loved his other wife more, I don’t know, but I felt gypped, deprived, and cheated of having a dad. Please understand, I love my father, but I hated what he did to me, to us (that "father wound" resulting in our respective hurts, habits and hang-ups). I trust he’s in heaven (based on reports of his accepting Christ before his death), but we still had to live with the effects of “…the sins of the fathers.”[3] I can’t speak for my siblings as, “…each heart knows its own bitterness…”[4], (perhaps matters of the heart, feelings and emotions is the proper province of relativism) but this paternal dysfunction was instrumental in my early development and produced in me a “quiet defiance” towards my father and authority. It was also during this period in my life (jr. high – H.S.) that I began to seriously doubt the existence of God, and even contemplate suicide.
"All happy families resemble one another, but each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way." Anna Karenina, Leo Tolstoy (1875-77)
And the cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon, Little boy blue and the man in the moon When you comin' home dad? I don't know when, but we'll get together then son You know we'll have a good time then (“Cats in the Cradle”, Harry Chapin)
“It’s the terror of knowing what this world is about, watching some good friends scream, ‘let me out!'” (“Under Pressure”, Queen)
"Carry on my wayward son, there'll be peace when you are done, lay your weary head to rest, don't you cry no more." (Carry on Wayward Son, Kansas)
"I'm too depressed, to go on, You'll be sorry when I'm gone" (Adam's Song, Blink 182)
“Hate the sin, love the sinner” (Mahatma Gandhi)
"The unexamined life is not worth living." (“Apology”, Socrates)
"Many a man claims to have unfailing love, but a faithful man who can find? (Pr. 20:6)
"You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle.You have recorded each one in your book." (Ps.56:8 NLT)
No one else can know your sadness, and strangers cannot share your joy (Pr.14:10 NCV)
“Fathers, do not irritate and provoke your children to anger [do not exasperate them to resentment], but rear them [tenderly] in the training and discipline and the counsel and admonition of the Lord.” (Ephesians 6:4, Amplified)
"And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me. But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.” (Mt.18:5-6)
*Richard III, Shakespeare
[1] Proverbs 22:6
[2] http://www.livestrong.com/article/14713-eliminating-passive-aggressiveness/
[3] Psalm 79:8
[4] Pr. 14:10
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Monday, January 18, 2010
Melancholy Princess
Didn’t the Lord make you one with your wife? In body and spirit you are his. And what does he want? Godly children from your union. So guard your heart; remain loyal to the wife of your youth. “For I hate divorce!” says the Lord, the God of Israel. “To divorce your wife is to overwhelm her with cruelty,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. “So guard your heart; do not be unfaithful to your wife.” (Malachi 2:15-17 NLT)
I did a quick search and discovered there are only 6 instances in which the Bible explicitly states that “God” or “the Lord” “hates” something. It’s a noteworthy event given how seldom the Bible states how God “hates” something. Why is divorce such an object of derision, disdain and disregard in God’s view? Perhaps an experience I had on my return trip from Texas this past Easter weekend might shed some light on why God has such a strong opinion about divorce. I enjoyed a visit with friends over the Easter weekend in Texas. My best friend and his wife flew me down from KC and had me stay with them for the weekend. I thoroughly enjoyed myself as I visited with old and new friends. I always look forward to such sweet fellowship. But as is the case with life in this world, nothing lasts, and I soon found myself making the trip back home to KC. I flew Southwest Airlines, and if you’re familiar with Southwest, you sit anywhere you can find a seat. I scanned the first few rows and found an open middle seat in the second row between an older lady seated in an aisle seat and a little girl by the window. I initially thought the middle seat may have been for the little girl's parent, but I asked the old lady if anyone was sitting between them, to which she responded, “No”. I asked if I could sit between them and the old lady said “Yes” and got up to let me to slip by her. I thanked “Jan”, whose name I later learned, and after I settled down between them, I proceeded to catch some sleep, but was soon awakened by the sound of crying. I turned to my right and noticed the little girl crying. She was trying to hide her tears, but couldn’t as she cried in the manner of children with that quick succession of gasps punctuated by sobs, accompanied by a torrent of tears. I asked her if she was ok. She shook her head no, as the tears continued to stream down her face. I turned to my left and Jan, perhaps seeing the perplexity and consternation on my face, explained that the girl’s parents had recently divorced; and after having visited her dad in Dallas was returning to her mother in Detroit. I turned my attention back to her and my heart went out to this melancholy cherub. I thought to myself, “How could a father let his 6 y.o. daughter fly alone under such circumstances?” I knew that if he could only see his broken-hearted, grief-stricken, sad little princess at that moment his own heart would break and he would do everything (perhaps even called off divorce if he could see then what I saw now) in his power to comfort her and stop those tears. I was convinced of this because that’s exactly how I felt. I felt helpless flustered, and frustrated in my desire to scoop her up in my arms and wipe away the tears, but could not, for obvious reasons. So, I did the next best thing and tried to bring a smile to her face. I obtained a gift bag from the flight attendant, which contained an activity book that had mazes, word scrambles, crossword puzzles, and connect-the-dots exercises. I offered it to her along with a little packet of tissues, which Jan volunteered. I introduced myself and found out her name was, “Alyssia” (She later made a point of explaining to me that she dotted the “i” with a heart) Slowly, her tears subsided as I inquired about her visit with her dad and all that she did while in Texas, which she happily recounted. Eventually, she turned her attention to the activity book and enlisted my help in completing some of the exercises. I actually found 8 or 9 (but who’s counting?) of the 12 words in the word scramble, and despite her reluctance to do the crossword I was instrumental in helping her finish it. Eventually we landed in KC, where I was to disembark while she continued on to Detroit. I leaned over and said, “Do you want to know a secret?” She looked up at me and nodded, “yes”. “Jesus loves you.” I told her. She looked at me with those bright blue eyes, and innocently asked, “Who’s Jesus?” My heart sank as I realized that she had never been told about God or Jesus. I didn’t have time to explain in detail so I said that, “Jesus is God and He will find you so you can be with Him in Heaven one day.” “Are you going to be there?” she asked. “Yes, of course. I'll see you there in 80yrs or so - deal?” She agreed and we high-fived. As I exited the row, she jumped up and offered me a set of plastic wings she received in her gift bag. I thanked her, and as I walked through the airport, wings in hand, I prayed that God would protect her and keep her safe. I don’t know the details of her parents' divorce, and I’m sure there’s two sides to every story, but it’s my experience that, more often than not, the husband, in his role as the spiritual head of his family can do much to repair and strengthen his marital relationship. It’s his role as a spiritual warrior to defend his family by #1, guarding his own heart, battling in prayer against the “powers” and “principalities”[1] intent on his family’s destruction, and nurturing his wife as a gardener tends to his garden, “…cleansing her by the washing with water through the word”[2]. It’s our failure as men to see our role as spiritual warriors in submission to God, "the Lord of Heaven's Armies", who endows us with the authority to head our families, enabling us to nurture our sisters in Christ and protect the families we are blessed to have with them; a failure resulting in a 50% divorce rate in the best case, and husbands killing wives and loved ones, in the worst case. It’s the tragic result of a failure to recognize that we are not, nor is anything we have, truly our own, that “in body and spirit you are his”.
“Dear God, would You bless me and my brothers today, helping us recognize in greater measure our identity as sons of God, princes of the King of Kings, and to walk, therefore, this day, in victory over the devil, the world and our own flesh, becoming more and more the husbands, fathers, sons and brothers You want us to be. I ask this in Jesus’ Name. Amen. “
“You are a garden locked up, my sister, my bride; you are a spring enclosed, a sealed fountain.” (Song of Solomon, 4:12 NIV)
"Let my lover come into his garden and taste its choice fruits." (Song of Solomon, 4:16)
"Catch the foxes for us,The little foxes that are ruining the vineyards,While our vineyards are in blossom." (Song of Solomon, 2:15 NASB)
"For the Son of Man has come to seek and save that which was lost." (Luke 19:10 NKJV)
"I have come into my garden, my sister, my bride" (Song of Solomon, 5:1)
"Many a man claims to have unfailing love, but a faithful man who can find?" (Pr. 20:6)
"He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." (Rev. 21:4 NIV)
“Jesus loves me this I know for the Bible tells me so, little ones to Him belong, they are weak but He is strong.” (Anna B. Warner, 1820 -1915)
[1] Ephesians 6:12
[2] Ephesians 5:26Saturday, January 16, 2010
The Divine Romance (1 of 5) – Apologia
“The fool says in his heart, “There is no God” (Psalm 14:1)
I remember in 7th grade around 12 or 13 (I repeated the 1st grade), walking through the woods behind Susan Wagner H.S. with my friends Steven P., Steven C, and Mark A.. We had just finished playing ice hockey on a frozen pond at Pouch Camp on Staten Island, NY one of the few places left in NYC outside of Central Park where there’s still trees and lakes. It’s actually part of what’s called the “Green Belt” on S.I., an area of woods and forest set aside from development, which prevents S.I. from becoming the concrete jungle that much of the other boroughs resemble. It was an improvised game where we used dead tree branches for hockey sticks and a flattened soda can for a puck. Those were fun times. And as we trekked through the woods on our way back home, the dead leaves crunching beneath our shoes, the late afternoon sun shining through naked branches, I jumped over a small creek and remarked, “You know, all we live for are memories.” It was a statement that earned me some mild sarcasm and scorn characteristic of adolescent teens more concerned with what was on TV that night, or what was for dinner than what was the meaning of life. In the years leading up to this, my belief in God began to wane. Please don’t misunderstand; my brother, my sisters and I were brought up believing in God. Our mom used to “drag” us to church on a regular basis. I vividly remember, when I was 5 yrs old our mother teaching us the “Our Father” and “Hail Mary” (we grew up Roman Catholic) as we lay down to bed. In retrospect, I realize how absent our father was in our spiritual instruction and formation. In my experience, at least, he played no active role that I can remember. I suspect the absence of fathers in their children’s spiritual formation to be a contributing factor to the struggles or hang-ups people may have later in life with a belief in God, let alone seeing God as a Heavenly Father. This is a little of what John Eldredge calls the “father wound”1 that many of us suffer (abusive and/or absentee fathers – in my case both) – a wound that unfortunately is often perpetuated from generation to generation as evidenced by the decline of the nuclear family in our day 2 But I also came to realize with increasing clarity how unfair and unjust life can be, how the good doesn’t always win, how the fairy tales we were taught as kids didn’t correspond to “reality”, and how very few stories end in a “happily ever after”. As a result, an increasing sense of despair, loss of hope and meaning, a profound “teenage angst”, seemed to settle upon me as I came to the unsettling conclusion that “God is dead”.3 It was unsettling because if God was dead, the question then arose, “what’s this life for?”4 If the idea of God and the notion of absolute right and wrong, good and evil was no longer relevant; then by what compass, what navigational chart, what guiding principle do I steer and sail my vessel through this ocean of uncertainty called life? Ah, but the good ship “Atheism” was ready to weigh anchor, and Capt. “Relativism” and his first mate, “Nihilism” beckoned me to ““Come sail away“5. I perused the brochure and toured the boat, but I never set sail or left port. For it was while entertaining the notion of atheism and peering into that abyss of relativism, that I began to understand the nihilistic consequences that life would entail, leading to my melancholy observation regarding life’s purpose (If living for nothing more than memories wasn’t depressing enough, consider that upwards of 50% of us will develop Alzheimer’s in our old age.6) And isn’t it an insidious “nihilism”, a helpless, hopeless sense of life, bereft of meaning, purpose, and value that’s characteristic of a certain “quiet desperation”7 that afflicts many, particularly our youth, resulting in suicide as the “third leading cause of death among those aged 15-24”?8 I remember entertaining the notion myself from junior high through high school, even sharing the idea with friends, but I have to admit, I was too much of a coward to avail myself of that “suicide solution”9 (To be continued…)
My argument against God was that the universe seemed so cruel and unjust. But how had I got this idea of just and unjust? A man does not call a line crooked unless he has some idea of a straight line. What was I comparing this universe with when I called it unjust? …Of course, I could have given up my idea of justice by saying that it was nothing but a private idea of my own [relativism]. But if I did that, then my argument against God collapsed too--for the argument depended on saying that the world was really unjust, not simply that it did not happen to please my private fancies. Thus in the very act of trying to prove that God did not exist--in other words, that the whole of reality was senseless--I found I was forced to assume that one part of reality--namely my idea of justice--was full of sense. Consequently atheism turns out to be too simple. If the whole universe has no meaning, we should never have found out that it has no meaning: just as, if there were no light in the universe and therefore no creatures with eyes, we should never know it was dark. Dark would be without meaning. -C.S. Lewis
To sustain the belief that there is no God, atheism has to demonstrate infinite knowledge, which is tantamount to saying, "I have infinite knowledge that there is no being in existence with infinite knowledge" --Ravi Zacharias
A disbelief in God does not result in a belief in nothing; disbelief in God usually results in a belief in anything. —anonymous
[1] Wild at Heart, John Eldredge 2001
[2] http://ezinearticles.com/?Single-Parent-Family-Statistics---Single-Parents-a-New-Trend?&id=1552445
[3] “The Gay Science”, Friedrich Nietzsche 1882
[4] “What’s this life for?”, Creed 1997
[5] “Come Sail Away”, Styx
[6] http://www.zarcrom.com/users/alzheimers/w-06.html
[7] “Walden”, Henry David Thoreau, 1854
[8] http://www.friendshospitalonline.org/teensuicide.htm
[9] “Suicide Solution”, Ozzy Osbourne
I remember in 7th grade around 12 or 13 (I repeated the 1st grade), walking through the woods behind Susan Wagner H.S. with my friends Steven P., Steven C, and Mark A.. We had just finished playing ice hockey on a frozen pond at Pouch Camp on Staten Island, NY one of the few places left in NYC outside of Central Park where there’s still trees and lakes. It’s actually part of what’s called the “Green Belt” on S.I., an area of woods and forest set aside from development, which prevents S.I. from becoming the concrete jungle that much of the other boroughs resemble. It was an improvised game where we used dead tree branches for hockey sticks and a flattened soda can for a puck. Those were fun times. And as we trekked through the woods on our way back home, the dead leaves crunching beneath our shoes, the late afternoon sun shining through naked branches, I jumped over a small creek and remarked, “You know, all we live for are memories.” It was a statement that earned me some mild sarcasm and scorn characteristic of adolescent teens more concerned with what was on TV that night, or what was for dinner than what was the meaning of life. In the years leading up to this, my belief in God began to wane. Please don’t misunderstand; my brother, my sisters and I were brought up believing in God. Our mom used to “drag” us to church on a regular basis. I vividly remember, when I was 5 yrs old our mother teaching us the “Our Father” and “Hail Mary” (we grew up Roman Catholic) as we lay down to bed. In retrospect, I realize how absent our father was in our spiritual instruction and formation. In my experience, at least, he played no active role that I can remember. I suspect the absence of fathers in their children’s spiritual formation to be a contributing factor to the struggles or hang-ups people may have later in life with a belief in God, let alone seeing God as a Heavenly Father. This is a little of what John Eldredge calls the “father wound”1 that many of us suffer (abusive and/or absentee fathers – in my case both) – a wound that unfortunately is often perpetuated from generation to generation as evidenced by the decline of the nuclear family in our day 2 But I also came to realize with increasing clarity how unfair and unjust life can be, how the good doesn’t always win, how the fairy tales we were taught as kids didn’t correspond to “reality”, and how very few stories end in a “happily ever after”. As a result, an increasing sense of despair, loss of hope and meaning, a profound “teenage angst”, seemed to settle upon me as I came to the unsettling conclusion that “God is dead”.3 It was unsettling because if God was dead, the question then arose, “what’s this life for?”4 If the idea of God and the notion of absolute right and wrong, good and evil was no longer relevant; then by what compass, what navigational chart, what guiding principle do I steer and sail my vessel through this ocean of uncertainty called life? Ah, but the good ship “Atheism” was ready to weigh anchor, and Capt. “Relativism” and his first mate, “Nihilism” beckoned me to ““Come sail away“5. I perused the brochure and toured the boat, but I never set sail or left port. For it was while entertaining the notion of atheism and peering into that abyss of relativism, that I began to understand the nihilistic consequences that life would entail, leading to my melancholy observation regarding life’s purpose (If living for nothing more than memories wasn’t depressing enough, consider that upwards of 50% of us will develop Alzheimer’s in our old age.6) And isn’t it an insidious “nihilism”, a helpless, hopeless sense of life, bereft of meaning, purpose, and value that’s characteristic of a certain “quiet desperation”7 that afflicts many, particularly our youth, resulting in suicide as the “third leading cause of death among those aged 15-24”?8 I remember entertaining the notion myself from junior high through high school, even sharing the idea with friends, but I have to admit, I was too much of a coward to avail myself of that “suicide solution”9 (To be continued…)
My argument against God was that the universe seemed so cruel and unjust. But how had I got this idea of just and unjust? A man does not call a line crooked unless he has some idea of a straight line. What was I comparing this universe with when I called it unjust? …Of course, I could have given up my idea of justice by saying that it was nothing but a private idea of my own [relativism]. But if I did that, then my argument against God collapsed too--for the argument depended on saying that the world was really unjust, not simply that it did not happen to please my private fancies. Thus in the very act of trying to prove that God did not exist--in other words, that the whole of reality was senseless--I found I was forced to assume that one part of reality--namely my idea of justice--was full of sense. Consequently atheism turns out to be too simple. If the whole universe has no meaning, we should never have found out that it has no meaning: just as, if there were no light in the universe and therefore no creatures with eyes, we should never know it was dark. Dark would be without meaning. -C.S. Lewis
To sustain the belief that there is no God, atheism has to demonstrate infinite knowledge, which is tantamount to saying, "I have infinite knowledge that there is no being in existence with infinite knowledge" --Ravi Zacharias
A disbelief in God does not result in a belief in nothing; disbelief in God usually results in a belief in anything. —anonymous
[1] Wild at Heart, John Eldredge 2001
[2] http://ezinearticles.com/?Single-Parent-Family-Statistics---Single-Parents-a-New-Trend?&id=1552445
[3] “The Gay Science”, Friedrich Nietzsche 1882
[4] “What’s this life for?”, Creed 1997
[5] “Come Sail Away”, Styx
[6] http://www.zarcrom.com/users/alzheimers/w-06.html
[7] “Walden”, Henry David Thoreau, 1854
[8] http://www.friendshospitalonline.org/teensuicide.htm
[9] “Suicide Solution”, Ozzy Osbourne
Friday, January 15, 2010
Divine Abduction: Precocious Melancholy
For this world is not our permanent home; we are looking forward to a home yet to come. (Hebrews 13:14 NLT)
“When Enoch was 65 years old, he became the father of Methuselah. After the birth of Methuselah, Enoch lived in close fellowship with God for another 300 years, and he had other sons and daughters. Enoch lived 365 years, walking in close fellowship with God. Then one day he disappeared, because God took him.” (Gen. 5:21-24 NLT)
Enoch was only one of two people in the entire Bible [1]who didn’t die either naturally, by the Hand of God, or by the hand of man, but was “abducted” by God. After having first read this passage, I’ve often wondered what it would take for me to just be taken off this planet, straight into Heaven. Let me explain why I felt this way. I don’t recall when exactly, but there was a period in my life, between 5th and 8th grade, when I was pretty depressed; so depressed, in fact, that my mom took me to see a psychologist. I still remember that awkward, embarrassing, and fruitless meeting. How do you explain to a psychologist, or anyone else for that matter, that, at 11, or 12 years old, you despair of life, understand it’s filled with suffering, that life isn’t fair, that the good doesn’t always win, that the fairy tales you read growing up don’t correspond to “reality”, in short, that life sucks? (I was precocious in my melancholy) Life, even at a young age, lost its veneer of innocence, seemed hopeless, futile, without purpose; so much so, that I contemplated suicide as my means of escape (others may choose, sex, drugs, alcohol, etc.). But when I came to know Christ in my junior year of high school, surrendered my life to God and became a “born again” Christian, I realized that my life had a purpose and I had a mission to complete before I could punch my ticket and receive that call Home; that suicide wasn’t an option, that my life wasn’t my own, that I truly was living on borrowed time. Still, I’m not content with merely “phoning” Home (prayer), rather, I can’t wait to GO HOME, because I realize, “…this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave.”[2] And isn't this tacit understanding of the brevity of life, of the ephemeral nature of all that exists, that nothing lasts, what is the cause of our dissatisfaction, discontent, and "quiet desperation" (Thoreau)? Only in realizing the fact that, "He has planted eternity in the human heart..", so that in comparison "..all the things that are done under the sun...are meaningless, a chasing after the wind...", seeing that "...creation was subjected to futility..", can we then truly "..Be still, and know that [He is] God" [3] and find rest for our souls: "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." [4]
Besides, much of what I want can’t be had in this life. So while my desire to GO HOME, hasn’t diminished, the means whereby I would effect that departure appeared to be a daunting task. In my attempt to discover how to effect such a “divine abduction”, I discovered that Enoch “lived in close fellowship”, “walked steadily” (Message), “walked [in habitual fellowship]” (Amplified), “truly loved” (CEV), and “walked with” (KJV) God for 365 years! I pray to God that it doesn’t take me 365 years to learn how to do that, ‘cause I don’t think I can make it that long (Ps.90:10). But I know that however long God has for me in this, the epilogue of His-story, that as long as He’s with me, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”[5] I have a friend, Rusty, who used to pray, “I’m nothing without You Lord, but I thank You that I’m not without You.” With that in mind I pray:
Our DAD in Heaven, I thank You that You are with me, my brothers and sisters, so I ask would You please bless us today, empower us and give us the grace to “walk with" You, even today? I ask in Jesus’ Name.
“And for us this is the end of all the stories, and we can most truly say that they all lived happily ever after. But for them it was only the beginning of the real story. All their life in this world and all their adventures in Narnia had only been the cover and the title page: now at last they were beginning Chapter One of the Great Story which no one on earth has read: which goes on forever: in which every chapter is better than the one before.” (The Last Battle, C.S. Lewis)
“I know a place where we’ll be together and stay this young forever…We can get away to a better place, if you let me take you there…” (Let Me Take You There, Plain White T’s)
"Someday girl I don't know when we're gonna get to that place where we really wanna go and we'll walk in the sun, but 'till then tramps like us, baby we were born to run..." (Born to Run)
“We want more than this world’s got to offer.” (Meant to Live, Switchfoot)
"The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation. What is called resignation is confirmed desperation." (Henry David Thoreau)
"I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind." (Ecclesiastes 1:14)
'...For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope" (Rom.8:20)
"...while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord." (2Cor.5:6)
"...they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth...they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them." (Heb.11:13,16)
For this world is not our permanent home; we are looking forward to a home yet to come. (Hebrews 13:14 NLT)
[1] 2Ki.2:11
[2] 1Jn.2:17
[3] (Ps.46:10)
[4] Mt.11:28
[5] Ph.4:13
“When Enoch was 65 years old, he became the father of Methuselah. After the birth of Methuselah, Enoch lived in close fellowship with God for another 300 years, and he had other sons and daughters. Enoch lived 365 years, walking in close fellowship with God. Then one day he disappeared, because God took him.” (Gen. 5:21-24 NLT)
Enoch was only one of two people in the entire Bible [1]who didn’t die either naturally, by the Hand of God, or by the hand of man, but was “abducted” by God. After having first read this passage, I’ve often wondered what it would take for me to just be taken off this planet, straight into Heaven. Let me explain why I felt this way. I don’t recall when exactly, but there was a period in my life, between 5th and 8th grade, when I was pretty depressed; so depressed, in fact, that my mom took me to see a psychologist. I still remember that awkward, embarrassing, and fruitless meeting. How do you explain to a psychologist, or anyone else for that matter, that, at 11, or 12 years old, you despair of life, understand it’s filled with suffering, that life isn’t fair, that the good doesn’t always win, that the fairy tales you read growing up don’t correspond to “reality”, in short, that life sucks? (I was precocious in my melancholy) Life, even at a young age, lost its veneer of innocence, seemed hopeless, futile, without purpose; so much so, that I contemplated suicide as my means of escape (others may choose, sex, drugs, alcohol, etc.). But when I came to know Christ in my junior year of high school, surrendered my life to God and became a “born again” Christian, I realized that my life had a purpose and I had a mission to complete before I could punch my ticket and receive that call Home; that suicide wasn’t an option, that my life wasn’t my own, that I truly was living on borrowed time. Still, I’m not content with merely “phoning” Home (prayer), rather, I can’t wait to GO HOME, because I realize, “…this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave.”[2] And isn't this tacit understanding of the brevity of life, of the ephemeral nature of all that exists, that nothing lasts, what is the cause of our dissatisfaction, discontent, and "quiet desperation" (Thoreau)? Only in realizing the fact that, "He has planted eternity in the human heart..", so that in comparison "..all the things that are done under the sun...are meaningless, a chasing after the wind...", seeing that "...creation was subjected to futility..", can we then truly "..Be still, and know that [He is] God" [3] and find rest for our souls: "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." [4]
Besides, much of what I want can’t be had in this life. So while my desire to GO HOME, hasn’t diminished, the means whereby I would effect that departure appeared to be a daunting task. In my attempt to discover how to effect such a “divine abduction”, I discovered that Enoch “lived in close fellowship”, “walked steadily” (Message), “walked [in habitual fellowship]” (Amplified), “truly loved” (CEV), and “walked with” (KJV) God for 365 years! I pray to God that it doesn’t take me 365 years to learn how to do that, ‘cause I don’t think I can make it that long (Ps.90:10). But I know that however long God has for me in this, the epilogue of His-story, that as long as He’s with me, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”[5] I have a friend, Rusty, who used to pray, “I’m nothing without You Lord, but I thank You that I’m not without You.” With that in mind I pray:
Our DAD in Heaven, I thank You that You are with me, my brothers and sisters, so I ask would You please bless us today, empower us and give us the grace to “walk with" You, even today? I ask in Jesus’ Name.
“And for us this is the end of all the stories, and we can most truly say that they all lived happily ever after. But for them it was only the beginning of the real story. All their life in this world and all their adventures in Narnia had only been the cover and the title page: now at last they were beginning Chapter One of the Great Story which no one on earth has read: which goes on forever: in which every chapter is better than the one before.” (The Last Battle, C.S. Lewis)
“I know a place where we’ll be together and stay this young forever…We can get away to a better place, if you let me take you there…” (Let Me Take You There, Plain White T’s)
"Someday girl I don't know when we're gonna get to that place where we really wanna go and we'll walk in the sun, but 'till then tramps like us, baby we were born to run..." (Born to Run)
“We want more than this world’s got to offer.” (Meant to Live, Switchfoot)
"The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation. What is called resignation is confirmed desperation." (Henry David Thoreau)
"I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind." (Ecclesiastes 1:14)
'...For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope" (Rom.8:20)
"...while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord." (2Cor.5:6)
"...they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth...they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them." (Heb.11:13,16)
For this world is not our permanent home; we are looking forward to a home yet to come. (Hebrews 13:14 NLT)
[1] 2Ki.2:11
[2] 1Jn.2:17
[3] (Ps.46:10)
[4] Mt.11:28
[5] Ph.4:13
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