August 21, 2014
Pride of Life
I have a few friends and
family members who aren’t prepared for the physical limitations that come with health
and age-related issues. They are unable to do the things they used to do and, unfortunately,
they want to be who they were before.
Reminiscing about their past strength, agility, wherewithal, and independence
is a lament, blended with a little bit of temper tantrum. However, in their loss there is also an element of pride. “For
everything in the world—the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and
the boasting of what he has and does—comes not from the Father but from the
world. The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will
of God lives forever” (1 Jn 2:16-17 NV).
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
Gail;
-----The past can be an empowering or a dangerous thing. It is a very large part of what makes the mind, or ruins it. The difference is in the reflection, thankfulness or lament. Both relate the past to the present and future. The first sorts and stacks it into strength. The latter hordes it upon the back where it saps strength needed for the present.
-----They say growing old isn’t easy. Atrophying muscles, deteriorating bones, failing senses, weakening systems, are the reality that it only gets worse. Learning and practicing new skills until they can be performed unto the building of an estate is replaced by learning and avoiding new pains while consuming what estate is left. Mental toughness would be the only weapon to fight off the despair of aging if it also were not so susceptible to this nose-dive into the grave.
-----For some, it comes to the point where the mind is gone as well. But even for them, if the past has been properly sorted and stacked by the Lord being truly known, and all its relationship to the present has been weaved by the thread of thankfulness rather than the wires of regret, a tapestry of joy forms to cover the ailment of that inevitable dying process. It is the most true thing that can be weaved of our lives, for the only way the misery of life can color joy is by the promised bliss coming on Pegasus’ back (the most encouraging concept I’ve ever read is The Gospel in the Stars by Joseph A Seiss. Yes! Bliss coming on Pegasus’ back!) That those who call on Christ will be saved is a certainty. But it is also the point by which all pain and despair is built into the perseverance of joy through thankfulness for even the sensations of pain and suffering. In as much as the pains of old age announce the inevitable approach of death, they announce the engulfing joy of boundless life thereafter - much more to be grasped than a few delights washed down the creek of time.
Love you all,
Steve Corey
Post a Comment