Live by faith in anticipation of life beyond faith
Some would say hope in God is stupid or futile, that it is imaginary, a pipe dream. In Revelation 18 and 19 we see people who had those viewpoints. A time came when both saw clearly. Those who lived first, Babylon’s consorts, died second and those who died first at Babylon’s decree lived second.
Writing these notions down for Sunday school is valuable, but it is not life by faith. Life is lived in the moments of our day, and those are not the easy ones. Some morning I arrive to the Augusta State Medical Prison ophthalmology clinic around 9 or 930a. By that stage I have been up and at things like Sunday school and work, listening to books e.g. William Shirer’s memoirs or a novel by L’Engle, Brooks, Sanderson or someone else. I may have exercised creativity in writing or graphic design, or answering emails or addressing resident. Many cups of coffee have gone down the hatch, after all I have been out of bed for maybe four or more hours (I love mornings!).
As the door shuts on my pickup and I begin walking toward the entrance my reality shifts. It is almost surreal, and not because it is a prison, it is just on those days my mental cylinders have been firing for so long the engine is running smoothly and briskly. Truth be told it is time for a break. Truth be told it is time to put into practice those sublimer things that have fascinated me all those hours.
Things can get tricky fast as I have to start spinning plates. My resident needs this. A tech has a patient with a high eye pressure, or worse is seeing double. This patient came without their chart or that one is (probably) pretending to be blind. Some are knocking on the door, and that ridiculously loud fire alarm is going off and you cannot carry on the conversation you were having. Laser for this one or an ultrasound for that one. “No, sir, you cannot have dark glasses, the warden won’t allow it in patient’s whose eyes are so normal. Yes, I know the sunshine the fluorescent dorm lights seem bright, but that does not qualify you for a shades profile.”
These kind of things may seem so insignificant compared with being a martyr, but my Bible is supposed to be for me as much as it is for the martyr. The crosses we bear may be mundane crosses. We need to realize that God’s way is the right one and is relevant all the time.
Jesus came and taught a way of life that was to go beyond the epic moments. Probably his way was more about living in the non-epic. His epic birth, life and death was to make the same for ours. Epic is Christ in the mundane. I do well to not fret the fretting of patients and staff, but live as Christ would in anticipation of life by sight: Beyond Faith.
They worship, but why?
“2 for his judgments are true and just;…” (Revelation 19:2–ESV)
They can see clearly now, and sure they worship, but why do they do it? The answer is in the things they say.
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