Nevertheless

Nevertheless

     It was early in my walk as a new budding interventional cardiologist when I was busy at the main hospital. I got a frantic call late morning to come help out a colleague who had been performing an elective cardiac catheterization on a patient who had come in that morning or the procedure. It had been a routine procedure and the patient was scheduled to leave later that day. I drove hurriedly to the other hospital as it was 15-20 minutes away however it seemed like I was there in an instant in time. I walked into the recording area where I saw two of my colleagues in distress. Apparently, there had been a complication during the procedure. The woman on the procedure table laid lifeless without blood pressure or heart rate. There had been a complication where there was a dissection of the Left Main coronary artery which provided most of the circulation to the left ventricle. This then caused occlusion of blood flow to the left side of the heart. The patient had been shocked 25 times and yet, there she was, apparently dead. I quickly gathered myself and said: are there any balloons here?” See, at this time, in the early nineties, there were no stents, the hospital did not have a surgical program at that time and I was left with whatever the staff could muster. I asked for a catheter and engaged the ostium of the Left Main coronary artery. I then “wired” the artery and placed the wire down the Left Anterior Descending artery which was one of the main branches from the Left Main trunk. I then was given and undersized balloon because that’s all that was available and dilated the trunk. I then injected dye and saw the blood swirling around the Aorta with no flow to the left side of the heart. I looked to my colleagues and pronounced: She’s dead. We will have to go tell her husband.” Then, flippantly, I then said: “Let me just shock her one more time and then we will go tell her husband” (thinking, “This is useless”).

     After this last shock, the patient had normal blood pressure and normal heart rate! I immediately called the surgeon at the main hospital and told him I was coming via ambulance with this patient and that he was going to perform coronary bypass revascularization on my patient. We rushed her to the hospital in the ambulance where the surgeon performed bypass surgery on her. The next day she was extubated and then eventually sent to a step-down telemetry unit within a short period of time. I went to see her, thinking she had brain damage, heart damage, kidney damage, all of it. To my great astonishment, there she was, in her bed, and quite awake. She looked at me and I proceeded to tell he who I was. She said: “I know who you are. Thank you for saving my life.” Now, if there has ever been a moment in my life where shock came into my very inner parts of my being, this was it. I then said: “you cannot know who I am. You had no blood flow to your brain. You were dead.” She then proceeded to tell me everything I had said in the room. Again, I was dumbfounded. I said: “How is this possible?” She then started telling me that she was in the room but above me and she was with God! I rebutted: “I don’t believe in God.” And then she exhorted: “Nevertheless.” I pressed on in my prideful, cynical attack: “Well, what did God look like?” Now I knew in my mind that there could not be any plausible answer that I would believe in to that question. To my amazement, she replied: “I don’t know, but I felt loved, so loved, that I didn’t want to come back, or even for my children.”

     Years later, I was in my office, answering a phone call from one of my lawyers as I was in the middle of a difficult divorce and angry as I could be. The next patient I went into to see was her. I thought for a minute and then asked her if I could go back to that day and recount what she had told me? She said, of course. I told her that I wouldn’t be upset or mad at her if she had made the whole thing up, yet I dared to ask: “Was it really true?” See, when she had said that she would rather stay with God then be with her children, I thought she was deranged. She told me: “Yes, it was true.” I then blurted out: “why do I doubt? I just don’t believe it.” Shen then said the most extraordinary thing I had heard anyone ever say to me and I didn’t understand the answer at all. She said: “I doubt. We all doubt.” Aghast, I replied: “But you were there, with Him, how could you doubt?” Then she retorted: “We all doubt. That’s just the way it is.” I was flabbergasted.

     With all that, I was still an atheist. That had not changed me one iota. Strange. Much later, in June of 2011, God’s grace came upon me and I became a disciple of Christ. That’s for another story. When she found out that I became a believer, she was so happy and joyous, she could hardly contain herself. Since then, she continues to be my patient. I saw her not too long ago and or course, we have this relationship of brother and sister in Christ. Funny. There’s a peace to her, the look in her eyes, the way she comports herself that is godly. I can’t explain it but I know how she feels. It’s that way for all those who truly are followers and not just fans of Christ. I can explain it but then, unless you believed in Christ as Savior and Lord, you’d think me deranged!

Friend

Friend

     Lukewarm doesn’t cut it. Too much time has elapsed. It’s a gradual process. I just don’t have the time. I’m busy. I’m tired. I’m good, it’s their problem.  I just don’t care enough or I don’t have that talent. I’m afraid of people. What happens if the get angry or get upset? I’m just not built that way. I’m really not interested. It doesn’t really matter, it’s up to each individual. I’ll just let someone else do it. I’m not prepared. I’m just not that smart. I’m not equipped. I can’t handle the pressure. I’m sacred. I’ll mess it up.

     Every excuse in the book is given. Many, I haven’t even thought of. It’s true. Many Christians just don’t want to get their “feet wet.” The prospect of talking to another person about Jesus is difficult. How does one start? Does a Christian really need to evangelize? What about if the person gets mad or doesn’t want to engage or interact? What if the Christian doesn’t have all the answers? Don’t you need a degree to evangelize? I’ve heard it all. Yes, I was one of those Christians as well. It absolutely scared me to death to proclaim Christ to anyone. How do you start the conversation? What do you say? What is the “right” way of doing it? Is there a right way? I’m not Jesus. I’m not a pastor or a priest. I really don’t have to do this. So many excuses. But, here’s the thing: Jesus didn’t have any excuses. You might say: “Jesus is God. I’m not.” So?

     It’s funny to hear all of it. Like I said, I was just that way. Then, one day, it hit me right in the face: Jesus went “to bat” for me. He didn’t have to do it. He did it out of love for us. For me! See, I can’t comprehend that kind of love. Neither can anyone else. I don’t care if you’ve memorized the Bible, read hundreds of books, studied for years, it certainly doesn’t give you an inside track on Jesus. He loved us first. He proved His love by giving His life for us. Would you do that for your most hated enemy? What about your friend, your best friend? What about your family member? What about a perfect stranger? What about if you had to watch your son die brutally and be mutilated so you could live? Here, it gets interesting. Watching someone you love get butchered so that you could walk away free and alive. Now there’s a thought.

     I wonder how many Christians have truly felt the awe of what Jesus did for them? He condescended to become human. That in itself, is beyond any words you could ever describe. He went willingly and voluntarily to His death by crucifixion. He did it solely for us. Moreover, He took on our sin and gave the believer His righteousness so that the relationship between God and humanity could be restored in fellowship. Now, Jesus becomes the mediator between God and humanity and we have an advocate who we can go to for anything. He loves us that much. He pursues us. He’s present. He’s God.

     A lot of people across the globe have a very hard time believing that Jesus is God. He specifically stated that the only way to heaven is through Him. That turns a lot of people off. Many believe that there are many paths to heaven and all are valid. Some don’t even believe in heaven. Some, just don’t care. Some people just don’t like “organized” religions. See, Jesus is not a religion, He’s a Person. He doesn’t need traditions or rituals; He wants a relationship. It doesn’t make any sense to believe in a building if you have Jesus who is waiting to have a relationship with you. After all, that why he came. See, for those who believe in Jesus as God, He call us friends. The God who created everything wants to be your friend. Friendship between God and humans is the most intimate friendship a human could have. Creator with the creature. It seems unimaginable yet it does happen to all those who believe in the Creator. Jesus doesn’t give much “wiggle room, here.” Either He is who He says He is, or He’s not. But He forces you to make a choice. The choice is free and yours alone. He will not interfere. Either you want friendship, or not. See, people make a big deal about hell, as if there’s no choice in the matter. God is evil and sends people to hell for no apparent “good” reason, or so they say. Well, not so fast. First, God is not evil, we are. He is good and we are not. He’s consistent and we are not. He can’t be other than He is, and we change all the time. He created; we are His creation. He makes the rules, we either follow them or not. He’s the Ruler, we are His subjects. He loves first. We don’t know His love for us until He shows it to us. He loves us more than we could ever possibly love ourselves. We sinned (rebelled) against Him, He went to the cross for us. So, it’s a choice. We choose Him or we don’t. We choose hell, He doesn’t choose it for us. Don’t think that hell is a lot of fun. It isn’t. The only reason why we have any “fun” or “good times” on this planet even if we don’t choose Him, is because of common grace. Yes. God gives us that too. Common grace means an unmerited favor God bestows upon us even if we choose not to be with Him while we are alive. Trouble is, dead, there’s a judgment. If you wanted to do it your way, well, you get judged on how you did. One sin, you’re out. God and sin can’t be in the same space. Yes, your choice, hell. Now here comes the really bad part about hell. See, I think the Bible “water downs” hell. In hell, there is no common grace. There is no communication with God ever again. So, you live eternally in sin. Bad gig.

     I think one should really think about where they want to spend eternity but distractions get in the way: life! The problem is that life really is too short. Whatever you think is fair or unfair, eventually, your life comes to an end and you got the rest of eternity to either be with THE Friend, or not. See, when you choose Christ, He promises you friendship with Him forever, and the best part is: He’s God. Sure, many will blow this off as intolerant, racist, whatever. Still, the choice is yours. You can’t get around it no matter how long you put it off. Think about it. He died to be your friend.

The Unicorn

Imagine that there is a segment of the population that denies the existence of the unicorn. There are “experts” in the field of science, philosophy, and history which categorically deny the existence of the unicorn. Surprisingly, the evidence suggested purports that there has never been any empirical evidence supporting its existence. No one has ever seen, heard, touched, smelled or tasted a unicorn. Scientism denounces the idea, let alone the existence of the unicorn and in fact, scientists consider those who would believe that the unicorn exists, would be deemed to be psychopathic. Without mercy, those that believe in the unicorn are laughed at, scoffed at, ridiculed, and basically called names which are slanderous and rude. There are others who would commit believers of the unicorn to psychiatric institutions. Still others, would persecute those who believed in the unicorn by mental and physical abuse. Perhaps, at some point in time those believers might suffer penalties or potentially be incarcerated for their beliefs because the majority simply could not tolerate those who would impose their fallacious view of the unicorn on others. They could be silenced and their views as well because, promotion of their views of the existence of the unicorn could potentially affect the children and society as a whole. Even though, some supporters of the existence of the unicorn could be viewed as non-extremist, the fact that they could even exist in society, could pose a threat to others. Perhaps, the “final solution” could be the systematic elimination of all who believed in the unicorn and with the additional decree that no further talk of the unicorn would be tolerated by the society as a whole. Constitutionally, it does not matter that one has freedom of speech because the belief in a unicorn is so preposterous and offensive that those individuals simply could not be granted nor defended in any constitutional manner. There must be a systematic, consistent, and deterministic effort to dissuade anyone from speaking or proclaiming the unicorn to another human being. This type of belief system is seen as racist, bigoted, and contrary to any diverse, cultural norms of the present, modern-day society. The belief in the unicorn must never be taught in any school system which would jeopardize and radicalize those younger individuals who would be irrevocably harmed by believing in the unicorn. It doesn’t matter, if in some part of the universe, the unicorn would and does in fact, exist. The unicorn does not exist on this planet, nor has there been any evolutionary evidence of its existence. There is no archeological explanation that could justify the unicorn. From a philosophical point of view, there are no arguments which could satisfactorily defend the existence of the unicorn. From an epistemological viewpoint, knowing that there could be the unicorn does not necessarily correlate belief with reason. There simply is no basis of fact for believing that the unicorn exists, only in the imagination of some deluded individuals who could impose their ridiculous views on others. It would be as ridiculous as believing in Santa Claus, the Easter bunny, the tooth fairy or Humpty Dumpty. It’s evil and vicious that some would stoop to trying to convince others of this unbelievable belief. Something must be done. Laws must be enacted. Perhaps, these individuals should be asked to leave the country, jailed or at the worst “removed” from society. The worst fear would be a resurgence of belief in the unicorn where, if spread, could degrade our post-modern, post-truth, multicultural, and diverse society where the mere thought of the unicorn is repulsive, derogatory, and divisive. Society cannot be totally free until the complete eradication of unicorn thought is systematically removed from everyone’s mind. It’s perverse to believe that years ago, some individuals “conceived” the idea of the unicorn and brought it here to a free society where the very thought of it is intolerant, intrusive, and offensive to the overwhelming majority of individuals living in this free society. There must be a Supreme Court ruling for the total abolishment of unicorn thinking or said individual would have criminal proceedings brought upon him/her. It’s unfathomable that there hasn’t been more uproar from those communities which are directly affected by those who would propagate the existence of the unicorn. Radicalized factions in our societies should defend and protect citizens who are proselytized by these unicorn believers. One could not possibly imagine that this could happen in America. Yet, it does. How idiotic can these individuals be? This is an era of scientific enlightenment which is the ultimate authority when it comes to proving or disproving the existence of the unicorn. Seriously, how stupid can one be? A unicorn? What’s next, God?

The Path

Election. This has been a hard-fought battle between Reformers and Catholics between Calvinists and Arminianists or Molinists, and between Aquinas and Augustine. Whatever your camp may be, compatibilist, libertarian or open theist, one thing must be necessarily true: God is sovereign. Grace comes from God and only God. Grace is an un merited favor which God bestows upon the creature simply because He is God and we are not. He chooses to give grace. Now grace can be common as in looking up at the stars and knowing we didn’t do all that, somebody did. That’s common grace. That’s given to all humans whether they accept it or not. See, without common grace, there would be no grace at all. And without grace, there is no communication with God. That’s what Hell is: no common grace. There’s another type of grace, being special or efficacious or even prevenient grace which God bestows on those whom He elects. Again, whether we have a say in this election (free will) or not, or how much choice we have is a topic for a future reflection. Safe to say, God bestows grace. It’s not merited. No works can get you grace of any kind. It’s God’s gift to those whom He chooses. Sure, there are passages in the Bible where God wishes none to perish but all to come to Him. So, grace is offered. The next step is important. Regeneration. See, you cannot know Jesus unless you have been born of the Spirit. This is biblical. No regeneration, no knowing Jesus. Once you’ve been born again, you repent of your sins, knowing that you’re a sinner and have a sin nature. With this sin nature, you cannot be with God, so you must be saved from your sin. That’s where Jesus comes in. He died on the cross for us. He bore our sin and gave us His righteousness so that we can stand before a holy God without sin. We are thus justified by the blood of Jesus and His Death and Resurrection. From there, the Holy Spirit comes to live inside of the believer as your body becomes a temple of the Holy Spirit. Now this next process involves sanctification as we become less sinful and more holy. We now are adopted children into the Kingdom of God. Once we die, our souls go to Heaven to be absent the body and present with the Lord. We are then sealed and glorified, incapable of ever sinning again. Once Jesus returns, we will have new glorified bodies. We will be with our God and He will be with us for eternity with a new Heaven and a new Earth.

     It’s not as simple as praying a prayer and now going on and doing what you used to do as a sinner, living your life free from God. That’s not salvation, that’s condemnation. Committing your life to God requires daily sacrifice to Him. Why? Well, He sacrificed for us. He didn’t have to. He did it because of love. So, we in turn, sacrifice ourselves to Him for love to God. While sacrificing, this does not come easy as we are still in our sin nature. The enemy chooses distractions so as to lie to us. By distracting us, we turn from God and choose sin. The sacrifice is daily, hourly, minute by minute. Following Jesus is discipleship. You can’t be just a fan of Jesus. That’s not salvation, that’s condemnation. You will be hated. You could be persecuted. You could be killed for following Him. Suffering will come just like blessings. God chooses to test us, to chastise us, to love us. We are His. Life will get much harder and much more complicated as one turns from the world to God. But there are rewards. The gifts of the Spirit: joy, peace, love, compassion, humility, kindness, generousness, and self-awareness are just a few of these wonderful treasures which God bestows upon us instead of anxiety, worry, depression, greed, hate, immorality, pride, and idolatry. The inclination towards holiness leads to fellowship with God, the inclination to sin leads to fellowship with Satan. One must choose. A house divided cannot stand. As one becomes more holy, one chooses sin less and less. The world holds no hold on you. Believers are aliens just passing through the world to get to glory with Jesus in Heaven.

The path to God is the path given to us by God. There is no “road up to the mountaintop.” Jesus is the only path to God because Jesus is God. If one would not choose Jesus as Lord and Savior, then once you die you will give an account of all your works, the good and the bad. If you have one sin (and we all do), then your choice is Hell. This comes a big surprise to many. There are quite a few arguments and excuses. But the choice is ours. Which path will you follow?

Where Do I Belong

     Legalism defines a certain behavior where dependence on moral law is more important than personal faith. Sadly, this behavior is seen readily in most Christian communities, reminiscent of the Pharisees in biblical times. In the Gospel of John, the apostle wrote of Jesus, stating: “If you love me, you will obey me (John 14:15). There are those who exegete this verse to mean strict adherence to moral law. Certainly, the moral law must be followed by any Christian who has been saved through faith in Jesus, the Christ, alone. Yet, the new covenant, that is Jesus, concerns itself with love: “37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments” (Matthew 22:37-40). Exegetically, I interpret this to mean that the moral law or the Ten Commandments, are categorized into two parts: love of God and love of neighbor. The problem I have is in the communication of these two commandments by believers and how they believe the two commandments  fit into everyday Christian life. Certain factions or sects of Christianity place additional restrictions on who should be “allowed” into their particular “sphere” of Christianity and who should not. For example, there are those who discredit those who do or do not speak in tongues in order to be accepted or rejected into their particular “sphere” of Christianity. Others believe one must be baptized to be saved. Still others believe in full immersion for baptism versus infant baptism. And, if one had debates about Roman Catholicism and its particular practices, this reflection would be much longer than it should be. Moreover, certain Christians pay particular attention to physical norms. Does he or she have tattoos? Is the dress too short? What about jeans or shorts? Hairstyles? Whatever. There seems to be a certain “puritanical look” that one tries to achieve to give the impression of piety. Strangely enough, Jesus sat and ate with prostitutes and tax collectors (Matthew 9:10-17). The modern day dregs of society are not so welcomed in modern day churches. 

     There are many sects of Protestantism, all which have certain rules and regulations, in order to become a member of their church. There are non-denominational churches but are these friendly towards the LGBTQ community. Ever increasingly so, churches are segregated. There are predominantly black churches and predominantly white churches where fewer churches are integrated in ethnic diversity. This is not to imply that, as a Christian, I condone same-sex marriage, agree with the practices of LGBTQ community. I have core beliefs in the tenets and doctrines of the true Christian faith. That is not the issue at hand. My concern is tolerance and acceptance as human beings in the profession of love for all humankind, not in the celebration of practices which are contrary to doctrinal Christian beliefs. One can love his/her neighbor despite who or what that neighbor practices or looks like. This is where the legalism part of Christianity comes into vogue. Certain “virtues” are accepted and defended more than others. Why is that? Didn’t God state: “Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment” (John 7:24), and ““Judge not, that you be not judged” (Matthew 7:1). Of course, if one frequents a particular church, that intolerance cannot be true of “our” church, only other churches. I have found that to be the case in most, of not all churches. I refer the reader to the chastisement by Jesus on 5 of the seven churches He addressed in the book of Revelation by the Apostle John. 

     Welcoming all people in the spirit of love is a commandment which was given to us by our Lord and Savior, Jesus. I look at myself. Do I fit the classic description of a traditional Christian who came to know Christ at a young age? I do not. God bestowed grace upon me quite miraculously at age 55. Previously, I was an atheist and detested all forms of religion. If you truly interested in my testimony, you can see it on my website: danieledegirolami.com. My body is full of tattoos. The conditions or the appearances of the classic Christian are not part of my norm. Where do I belong? It’s strange. I am presently very happily married. I have a Master’s Degree in Christian Apologetics from Biola University. I am a faithful member and elder of River Valley Christian Fellowship Church. Most importantly, I have a very close and personal relationship with my Lord and Savior, Jesus, the Christ. Above all, this relationship is the way I live both at home and in my practice of cardiology where I proclaim Christ to all who would listen and even those that would not. Presently, my “community” has been increasingly confined. I’ve realized that loving Jesus is a full time job, almost like breathing. I have found little time in negativism, particularly from “fellow” Christians who are on the “in” crowd. This is not new from a human perspective. People tend to be drawn to “like kinds.” That kind of thinking rarely interests me. From my vantage point, our commission encompasses a command by Jesus to go and make disciples. Now, no human will convert another. That is the sole purview of God. We are to plant seeds by abiding in Christ, giving our testimony, and so forth. But, where do I belong? I think I belong with Christ. My wife and I are one flesh in Christ. The community becomes smaller and smaller as the judgment becomes bigger and bigger and the traditional norms of “Christian living” simply do not comport with the norms of Jesus as “Christian loving”, which my wife and I have concentrated on. 

     This “waiting room” that God places each and every Christian at one point in their life or another, is a place for reflection. We wait for God to increase our capacity to draw us closer to Him by glorifying him on a minute by minute basis. This is where true Christianity begins and the traditional, normative Christianity ends. It’s not about Jesus plus x. It’s just about Jesus. I have come late to the to the vineyard, but I got the same denarius (Matthew 20:1-16). Not my choice! It was God who elected me, the Holy Spirit who “quickened” or regenerated me (born again), repentance, faith in Jesus (which God gave me), salvation, justification, and sanctification with the ultimate aim of glorification, once I die. So, in reflection, I think that having a personal relationship with Jesus is decidedly and convincingly much more important than any human normative pattern one needs to be conformed to. That’s Who I belong to, not where I belong. 

Loss

     There is a distinct clarity in the inevitability of loss. Oftentimes, loss is permanent. There is a multi-step approach to that one undertakes for that particular loss. There’s a process involved where one finds one’s self in a very inauspicious way. The end is final. There is no turning back the clock. What had to be said, or not, was said, or not. Loss in the form of death, at least in this “playing field” begets permanence. All that one ever had, big or small, is left behind to family, museums, or charity. The legacy of the loss is the gain of the legacy. Whatever, one leaves behind, somehow, somewhere or someone benefits from the loss. This may continue in transmission for decades if not centuries. This is viewed as “treasure” for humankind as the legacy of the the loss marches on, whether it be in books, art, music, photography, science, thought, or just in memories. Loss reminds us of our human frailties. It does not condone. Whether the loss is painful or grateful, loss evokes certain emotions that produce true and raw responses to it. Loss does not necessarily mean the end. One can exhibit loss without its finality. Loss of friendship, loss of a marriage, loss of trust, loss of time, loss of one’s own mind connotes quite a different set of emotions. Sometimes, the loss of self is the most dastardly. Loss of identity. This happens as loss of time becomes ever increasing as loss of health reminds us of loss of space. The world becomes narrowed and the friendships one once had, well, they are too busy and become loss as well. Yes, there is a permanency to loss and it comes quickly. One is thrust into ambiguity as one struggles to maintain a sense of elegance in their particular loss. One rarely thinks of loss when one is young unless, the loss is of a family member or friend. Yes, one can get loss in school when one is ostracized from others as children often do because of their selfish nature. Loss of a job, loss of a pet, a patient or client. Loss of respect and yes, loss of one’s humor and joy are oftentimes replaced with another loss; the loss of caring. 

     Thankfully, loss is not always somber and negative. For every loss, there must be a gain. For example, loss of atheism could lead to the truth of finding God and salvation. Sometimes, in the loss and subsequent suffering, one finds peace, rest, and understanding in what the Lord endured in His loss for our redemption. When one comes to the understanding that there can be freedom from eternal loss, there can be great joy and praise in these moments when God imparts grace upon those who were lost, but now found. Introspectively, one can imagine that the loss of pride, lends itself to humility. The loss of idolatry for idols is replaced with the adoration for God. Certainly, loss of hatred can be replaced with love, loss of fear and anxiety with hope, and loss of worry with trust. Loss is a very complicated emotion. There is an emptiness which cannot be filled. The other side of loss is the filling of that emptiness with joy, a joy so overwhelming that it wasn’t created by you, but by God. God can fill holes which we create through our losses and replace them with love. 

     Still, there are other losses which are voluntary and cannot be retrieved. Conceptually, if one would believe the the supernatural, one might contemplate the existence of God or a Creator who made the universe. Going further, one might think of this Creator as being personal. He cares about His creation, not because He needs anything, but because He wants to. Then, one step further,  voluntary denial of relationship with this Creator would , according to the free will defense, necessarily separate the created from the Creator for eternity. This loss is irretrievable. We are given a chance, while alive, to relate to this Creator. His love for us is infinite and unconditional. However, He would not impose His love on us. The relationship He seeks must be freely chosen by the creature. Sadly, the creature, mostly, loves the created more than the Creator. It’s easier to love something seen rather than unseen. Hence, the loss. Christianity posits that God, being a personal Creator, created humankind in His image and therefore all of us, whether we choose to believe it or not, have an imprint of the image of God in our souls. The soul is that immaterial part of ourselves which comprises mind, emotion, and will. The choice is ours. To believe and want to have a relationship with God, or not. If not, that is our loss. The loss is eternal. The loss of the Creator is the greatest loss inflicted upon any individual. Unfortunately, this loss is seldom contemplated as one permits daily routine to entrance the very existence of why we are here, and not, who we are here for. One’s loss chooses what the Master has “on His table,” rather than choosing the Master. We get fooled into the limited viewpoints of life on earth rather than searching for things above which have eternal consequence. To many, it’s just a “fairytale.” Consistently, the search for truth has had a great loss since the 1600’s. Truth has become inconsequential and individualized for cultural expediency. Now, talk about loss! Jesus stated: 13 “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. 14 For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few” (Mathew 7:13-14). This is the ultimate loss. To be forever away from God without any grace whatsoever. That is the simple definition of hell. Loss of God. Choose God, or not. The choice is ours, the loss, is as well.

The Second Season

     Recently, I have begun to wonder what the second season will look like. The limitations of time preclude the eventuality from happening to all of us, death. Naturally, there is usually one or a series of particular events which catapult one into a profound introspection of the finality of one’s existence, here on this planet. Before then, one is faced with the second season. What is it? It is this change in one’s personality where change itself has become frightening. Perhaps, it may have been sparked on by an event, in this case, Covid-19 virus. From a global perspective, the pandemic affected everyone on this earth. No one was immune to its grasp. Mind you, it may not have been physical in your particular situation, but for most, if not all, it certainly was mental. As a clinician, the mental anguish that I experienced over one year, watching people of all ages die from the virus left an inedible mark in my psyche. Moreover, I contracted Covid-19. I expected to die, but I didn’t. As a matter of fact, I had barely any recognizable symptoms at all, yet I was still left with a form of post-traumatic stress disorder. To make matters worse, I also contracted a debilitating illness which left me feeble and mentally depleted due to, its effect on my body and the terrible insomnia which followed.

     To quote Dickens: “It was the best of times. It was the worst of times.” The second season brought me ever closer to my relationship with Christ, then my wife. Through it all, it seems that the “imprisonment” in my household had great and significant consequences. Previously, the focus had been on myself. I was the cardiologist, the “rainmaker,” the doer who always got things done for everyone, no matter the challenge. Stress was an afterthought, ever present, yet controllable. Recently, this has not been the case. With great introspection, has brought great trepidation. The bold and stalwart risk taker had changed. That which was so important didn’t matter anymore and that which was left behind the scenes suddenly became of crucial importance. Now, one might think that 65 years of age is not necessarily a second season at all, in fact, it may be the prime of one’s life in self-actualization, financial security, and such. This has not been the case, in my humble opinion. The year 2020 marked a deviation from the norm. I presume that perhaps, the Spanish Flu pandemic of the early 20th century may have had similar consequences. I’m not sure. Certainly, one could surmise that history often repeats itself, but I think that this particular pandemic, albeit not being the worst in history, had a very specific impact in that the transmission was aerial and from a strand of an RNA virus. This has chilling consequences as it spread throughout the entire world where everyone on the planet was affected in one way or another. Whether it be fear of illness or fear of survival, the pandemic, I believe, will have far-reaching circumstances for the foreseeable future.

     The second season also reflects a turning point in my relationship with my wife. Being 16 years younger, we have spent the first part of our journey with great wonder and travel. We thoroughly enjoyed the many years we had together as one flesh. Now, age becomes ever increasingly a distance point where the natural decays of life unfold for one and not necessarily for the other. The vantage point is different. I look back at see myself when I first met her at her age and I see myself elderly, although to my great surprise, still quite fit to make of go of it. Sadly, the body functions on one level while the mind at yet another. The second season envisions an eventuality that is incontrovertible and final. One begins to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Spiritually, there is no confusion. We both are Christians and fully ready to meet our Maker with great awe and anticipation. Respectfully, one is still human with joie de vivre. Despite the joy of meeting Christ, one still holds on to the precious life given by the Creator. This was described by the Apostle Paul in his letter to the Philippians. Suddenly, time has taken on a more peculiar meaning as if it has a mind of its own controlling the eventuality of one’s soul. Space has also its peculiar consequence as change has become frightening and fearful. One begins to get set in one’s ways and in every respect, finds great comfort in the banality and mundane. Trips, here and there, to family and friends take on new and challenging meaning. It’s not necessarily the destination but the trajectory that begs the question, why?

     Now, this may have some substantial, yet quite a different effect, on my wife. See, how I was then, the way she is now, can no longer been seen from my vantage point. It’s not a constraint, necessarily, but a change of a way of life that has become habit forming. I certainly could not bear the thought of weighing her down with my melancholia. She has been more than a joy, an inexpressible joy in my life. The truth remains. Yes, I am a “young” 65-year-old married to a woman nearly 50 years of age. It has been a great pleasure to have spent this first season with the woman of my very soul. I pray that this second season affords me the wisdom and elegance to gracefully age in a manner befitting such a dame for the ages. God bless you, my love.

For Sonja

The Bunny

     The legend of the bunny, suspected to have been originated by German immigrants to Pennsylvania, was first introduced to America in the 1700’s. As the legend describes, the bunny would lay colorful eggs as gifts to the children that were good. This festival of the bunny, called Eostre, which honored the goddess of fertility and spring, supposedly took the form of a rabbit. This is believed to have been a time-honored pagan tradition. Similarly, on the 25th of December, this day also honors a pagan holiday in which Saturnalia, the pagan Roman winter solstice, was celebrated. Dress codes were relaxed and small gifts were exchanged. Today, in America, these two holidays are widely celebrated, one at the time of Easter, and one at the time of Christmas. It’s interesting that the secular, pagan view of the two most important days in Christianity is not only allowed and vigorously celebrated, but the profound and deeply significant Christian remembrances of the Incarnation of Jesus, the Christ at Christmas and His Resurrection from the dead at Easter are actively and shamefully dismissed. One interesting note is that no other religious holiday from any other religion is so blatantly and negatively impacted. On Easter Sunday, there is not one single mention of the importance of this holiday, where 2 1/2 billion people across the globe, celebrate it as the Resurrection of Jesus, the Christ. Instead, the secularization of America has denigrated the most important event in Christianity to the coloring eggs and laying them down for the hunt by children who have no idea of who Christ is. The bunny and Santa, his “cousin,” have taken over the mindset of the “progressive” and “tolerant” 21st century society. The society, thus, has reduced Christianity to a mere afterthought glazed over with religious intolerance. The bunny is more “tolerant” than Jesus and certainly has become more important.

     The Apostle Paul said it best in 1 Corinthians 15: 14-23:

14 “And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. 15 We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. 16 For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. 17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. 18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19 If in Christ we have hope[a] in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.”

     What is problematic is that a majority of Christians modify, adapt, and compensate their religious beliefs for the sake of “blending in” to cultural norms and traditions so as to offend no one from the Christian worldview of reality. Christians are partially to blame for their being “ashamed” of Jesus and who He is and claims to be God. This is a perilous undertaking in an increasingly secular and humanistic society where everything and everyone is tolerated and accepted, except the Christian. The “bunny” represents the secularization of Christianity by demanding that Christians succumb to popular, cultural norms which society has forced upon them despite the mandated, “apparent,” freedom of religious expression by the Constitution of the United States of America. Christianity is viewed as a religion and a tradition instead of it being viewed as a Person. The bunny does not represent Christ. For Christians who truly have a personal, intimate relationship with Jesus and who are not afraid of proclaiming Jesus as Lord and Savior, the bunny is an anathema.

     Increasingly, the foundations of Christianity are being “rooted out” and being replaced with euphemistic language and deconstruction of its tenets and doctrine. There are a majority of Christians who are truly “fans” of Jesus but not followers. The traditional hullabaloo of fancy hats and curious clothes on Easter Sunday has replaced the abject reverence a Christian should have on this day as our Savior and Lord was raised from the dead. Sure, there may be many who deny the resurrection or even that of Jesus as God. That’s not for me to judge. Humbly, these points are brought up because Christianity matters to some in this country and should be respected like all other religions which are greatly tolerated in this country instead of the mockery exhibited against Christianity, vis a vis, the bunny.

     Surprisingly, most Christians do both. They go to their churches and then run home to their bunny and Easter egg hunt, have brunch or dinner with their friends while eating steak and getting drunk. The point of Easter is unequivocally missed. The point of Easter is Christ. That should be the only point for any true disciple of Jesus. This holiday represents the atoning sacrifice of the Theanthropos who condescended to become man so that He could suffer the death due to all humankind because of our sins by dying in our place, on a cross, and bearing our sins so that we could be in right relationship with God. His victory over death, sin, and Satan defines the reason why He did what He did. Yet, in Christianity, who He is, is even more important. He is God. And for that reason, Christians should be appalled that pagan holidays are being celebrated with defined Christian holidays which mark the Birth, Death, and Resurrection of Jesus, our God. This is not new. There has been consistent, intolerance of Christians since the Death and Resurrection of Jesus. It would not surprise me that in some near future, the practice of Christianity, seeming to be increasingly hostile to a secular society, would eventually fall prey to persecution, not only by the people of this country, but also by the governing bodies as well. Not so, with other religions, mind you. The very fact that this reflection has been written connotes a distinct direction that the country is taking against Christianity. The beautiful, majestic, and awesome name of Jesus has been used commonly, often cursed vulgarly with the defaming of His name. “Imagine, there’s no heaven, no religion too” (to coin a Lennon song). Now, there’s the bunny, for all to view. Have a happy Easter.

Humility

     I often have thought quite a bit about humility, but it’s very difficult to effectuate. It seems quite noble to be humble, yet I’ve yet to see any human nobility to apply it to themselves. It seems like a reasonable proposition to be humble, yet how does one go about being humble in the first place? If it was so easy, most all of us would do it, we pride ourselves in not being humble at all. For many, humility is a great sign of weakness, not meekness. It portrays a sense of giving and not receiving anything in return. Perhaps, that is the whole point of humility, but few base any credence on it. Maybe, it would be better if we gave a simple, but humble, definition of humility. Humility, defined, is a modest or low view of one’s own importance. That suggests that in order to be humble, one should view themselves as less important than others. It seems that there is a growing contradiction, here. For example, in modern society, importance claims its rightful stronghold on all those who hold it dear, and that happens to be the lot of us. After all, people of wealth, power, authority, artistic skills, and the like are viewed has gods who need to be sought after and worshipped. Now, that seems to be in contradistinction to being humble, isn’t it? But that is exactly the human condition, pride. Pride seems to be the opposite of humility. I think most people are proud, at least proud of something or someone. Pride has somehow replaced humility as the single most influential emotion on the planet. Pride has done so much good for humanity and, so much bad. Come to think of it, there is no place for humility because we are just too proud to drop our facades or positions in life, giving place to someone else. We deserve what we get and who we are. After all, pride states that you work hard enough, you gain respect and all the rest of it that goes along with pride. Pride does not listen, it knows (unfortunately, that’s not my saying, but nevertheless true). I have often wondered what would happen to the people in this world I’d we gave up pride for one month, ok, one day. What if we could replace pride with humility and think less of ourselves and give importance to those around us? What do you think would happen?

     There is a story about a man who was humble, gentle, and lowly. He had been a man of great power, but he gave that all up to live among the poor. As a matter of fact, he had no wealth, no home, and had to go from house to house to eat. He sought the downtrodden, the poor, the disenfranchised. Perhaps, you can identify with this man, perhaps, you know who, he is or know of him? Well, he was a great listener. I think one has to be a great listener to be humble. He always gave kindness, gentleness, and generosity, even though he didn’t have much in, terms of earthly possessions. He was compassionate and loved everyone. He had a keen sense of who you were from the inside, out. He was shunned, disgraced, and often hated, yet he spoke of love. In the end, there was a trumped-up charge against him and he was jailed. Convinced he had orchestrated a capital crime against the government, they killed him. Isn’t it funny, one can tell that story to just about most people on the planet and they would come up with the man’s name, or would they? The point is, here was a man that thought humility was greater than pride. As a matter of fact, he thought the proud to be sinful and demonic. Pride was the absolute antithesis of his beliefs. Yet, although he didn’t last very long on this earth, only 33 years, he made an impact forever. His greatest weapon: love. Through love, he was able to humble himself and place all of us above his own importance. He did not confuse kindness with weakness. His humility left a lasting impression to all because of his grace and mercy to others. See, humility begets sacrifice. One sacrifices all he has for others. That is real strength. That is real power. That is real love. Unconditional love. To humble oneself for another, for all. And, it’s a full-time job. The real hard part is yourself. See, if have to take yourself out of the equation. If it’s about you, you’re probably wrong (that’s another saying I can’t take as mine). God loves the humble and hates the proud. Pride took humanity away from God. We thought we could do it without Him. We can’t. Eventually, everyone and everything dies, including the universe. The only One who remains is God. If you ever had one once of humility, please, use it for God. He’s waiting.

What Does God Want From Us?

     The answer is simple. However, we as humans, have made it impossible to answer this question. What does God want from us? For some, the answer is quite simple and ordinary: nothing. He wants nothing from us because He doesn’t exist and We don’t want anything from Him. Moreover, He’s all fabricated nonsense from some religion that was made up thousands of years ago when people then had a good reason to believe in what they couldn’t understand, so they made the whole God-thing up to answer questions they couldn’t answer. With the advent of continued, deliberate, and scientific discovery, God lost His “position” of importance because He was simply “explained” away by every facet of human endeavor, to which believing in some nebulous Being up in the sky controlling everything, was counterintuitive and primitive. We have it all figured out with science, philosophy, epistemology, archeology, mathematics, and common sense. Reason, “enlightened” humanity from the 17th century onwards and God was reduced to a book of “fairy tales” plus good morals principles in which to live by, if one so chose to read the book. There are many other books about God with their own “fairy tales,” so who is to say which book is the “right one?” All religions are essentially the same and their book explains why their God is the “way” to enlightenment, nirvana, a better afterlife, or a sort of “molting” process where one continues the learning process, life after life, until union with God becomes achievable, or not. It is quite confusing and culturally founded, yet who is to say who is correct in their assessment of God through their own particular religious beliefs? It would be much easier if humanity believed in multiverses, “String Theory”, the Big Bang, evolution, and the Higgs Boson (God particle) which would rationally explain the secular worldview. Then, by the scientific approach, logic could then supersede any deity, consequently then, placing humanity in control.

     It’s about control, isn’t it? Something or someone (God), is not understood by natural means so it is dismissed as simple-minded, archaic, and supernatural nonsense. Then, God is replaced with something which can be explained and controlled. After all, brilliant minds throughout history have shown us that whatever humans come up with as the solution to the existence of the universe must far outweigh the senseless pursuit of a supernatural Being who controls everything. There is just no convincing evidence for Him. Why? Basically, it all comes down to what and why is the meaning of all of it. Fear is the great directive. Fear consummates the inexhaustible human pursuit of controlling its inevitable destiny, which is death. How does one control fear of death, naturally? Again, one could be dismissive and journey onward until the finality occurs. Have a good time. Here today, gone tomorrow. No harm, no foul. One lived and died. Perhaps, there may from be quality control of sorts, but certainly not quantity. Many people live this way. Plunging themselves into the mundane, banality of life, one drifts off into the sunset, closes the eyes and is gone. Right. Perhaps, lest one forget, suffering! There is no life without suffering. The previous montage was a concocted, bald-faced lie. Life is marred with suffering, the lot of us do it to perfection. Humanity not only fears death, but suffering as well. Put the two together and one begets the greatest impending enemy of any society: anxiety. So, now we have an amalgamation of fear of death, suffering, and anxiety. And, we still think we are in control?

     What does God want from us? First, one has to begin the process of accepting the possibility that God exists. That is a big starting point. Without acceptance that there might be something or someone who is supernatural, it simply will not get you there. There are millions of people who simply believe that there are no supernatural phenomena, and no supernatural, phenomena Maker, period. Hence, no God. For those of you who cannot come to any conclusion whatsoever of that possibility, good luck with that because the only control you’ve got is useless, baseless, and limited. Forgive me for casting aspersions, but that is not a joyful way to live, whatever time you’ve got left, and please use it wisely. By the way, don’t get caught looking the other way when crossing the street; at least be consistent about not believing in a God that loves you and wants no harm to come to you. It doesn’t matter, remember. You’re trillions of cells placed together in random exchange, processed from billions of years of evolutionary stardust. Who cares? But wait, you care. You’re in control, right?

     For those of us who believe there’s something out there but can’t pinpoint exactly what it is, well, pick a side! Either you’re a naturalist, atheist or you’re not. This agnosticism is unwarranted and dumb, like playing both sides of the fence. Take a chance. What do you have to lose except a bunch of mixed-up friends that believe exactly like you do? There is no glee club in agnosticism. You’re either a Bear’s fan or a Packer’s fan. You can’t just say, “I like both teams” or you might just get shot. Finally, there are those of you who believe in a God. That means you believe there is the possibility of supernatural phenomena. Great! Here’s the rub. Which God, and why? There are many religions which believe in God. Which one is right? Does it matter? When you die, do you live on or not? Even if there is a God and you don’t live on after death, what does it matter which God you believe in. Pick one and go on. Now, if you believe there is a God and an afterlife, it’s still gets a little tricky. There is still a plethora of religions to choose from. How do you do know if you picked the right one? Maybe, in your after life, you come back as a cow? Or perhaps, you come back as yourself but you keep on doing it over and over and over again. In addition, there are religions that are pantheistic or panentheistic. In Pantheism, God is the universe and the universe is God. In Panentheism, it suggests that God is greater than the universe but includes it and interpenetrates it. Then, there are polytheistic religions with many gods. Now, there are three monotheistic religions. Simply put, only one God. They are Islam, Judaism, and Christianity. There is a fourth: Zoroastrianism, a Persian religion founded the 6th century BCE, but rarely followed today. In monotheism, God is one. The problem is, if one were to believe solely in one God, which one? A huge segment of the population of the world follows monotheism. But how can you tell which is the true God? Just ask a Muslim, Christian or Jew and they’ll tell you. Their God is the true God.

     The question is still the same. What does God want from us? I think the answer lies in relationship. See, in Islam or Judaism, God manifests Himself as less personal. He’s God, we’re not. In Christianity, it’s different. God becomes very personal, in fact, He becomes human. He interacts with us. He speaks to us directly. He eats and drinks with us. He weeps. He sleeps. He’s involved. He also gets butchered, mutilated, and is hung on a cross and dies for us. He does all of those things willingly for us. See, Jesus is the only God that sacrifices for us. He takes on our sin and replaces it with His righteousness. He proves it by rising from the dead and going back to heaven to His rightful place. He does it for one reason only: love for us. What does God want from us? Relationship. He wants our love for Him. See, in Christianity, it’s not about what we can do for God, it’s about what God did for us. The is no path to God as in all other religions. God comes down from heaven, dies, resurrects, and takes us home to be with Him. All He wants is a relationship. As in all relationships about true unconditional love, the love is not 50/50; it’s 100/100. He gave 100%, He asks for your 100%. Can you trust, love, and give that to Jesus? That’s what He wants. What do you want?

Capacity

Capacity

     Love God with all of your heart, soul, mind, and all of your strength. The heart is deceitful above all else, so it has been said in Scripture. Desire for the “flesh” has always been the downfall of most, if not all. Desire does not need to be erotic for that would be too simplistic. It’s our innate desire which bends the heart on itself, turning away from God to our own concupiscence. One could understand what it means to love God with all your heart, yet we don’t. The soul, or your immaterial essence has been thought of philosophically, epistemologically, and theologically for many generations. Suffices to say that your soul or spirit is that part of you which “lives on” after your physical death. Sure, one could love God with all of your soul, but we don’t. As far as the mind is concerned, this entity is distinguishable  from the tangible, physical brain. Your thoughts, reason, and such are not necessarily intertwined by neurons alone. So, again, makes reasoned sense that one could love God with all of one’s mind, but we don’t. Lastly, comes the very point of contention: strength. Loving God with all of your strength was, at the very least, quite ambiguous to me. Was it my physical strength? If so, how could one love God with all one’s strength if one had cerebral palsy, for example. There had to be some other more appropriate definition that would suffice. Strength might come in the form of perseverance. Love God to the very end and reward would come your way. Yet, that felt like a works-based project, as if God needed any assistance from us in making any decisions. It just didn’t seem plausible. Strength had to be defined and then interpreted. Might it be impregnable? The thought occurred as if there might be a shield of armor by which all evil would be deterred and strength would carry on, but that seemed a bit obtuse.

     I think strength means capacity. Capacity is the maximum amount that something can contain. We are limited beings and God asks that we love Him with the maximum amount of love that can be contained in us. What I didn’t realize until this past year, while I was going through a tough period of physical and mental suffering, was that I was then able to understand that strength was the capacity to love God. It took great periods of anxiety, fear, and doubt to place my full capacity on the only One who could see me through the anguish of many months. I clung to God, as if the only hope left in me was in Him. He saved me from myself. It was then I realized that capacity is not limiting to God. He has infinite capacity and He discloses or presents you with more capacity as you place your complete trust and love in Him. He gave me more capacity to love Him! This was revelation for me. Yes, I was limited by my capacity, but not limited by His ability to give me more capacity to glorify Him. This brought my understanding of my relationship with God to another, more personal, level. Since God has limitless capacity and since He wants to share this with His adopted children, the intimacy of relationship transcends joy. The capacity is forged in many ways. For example, this focus is not necessarily on the blessings of God, but on God, Himself. One learns to love the Master and not what “He has on the table.” This capacity of Who to love and not why we love Him has exponentially expanded my love for God. Through no boast of my own, God has shown me how to love Him in a much deeper way by increasing my capacity to love Him more.

     I think there are seasons. Sometimes, one clings to the mundane and spurts through life without thoughtful purpose. The purpose is worldly and directed without substantive reflection. We engross ourselves in the problems of tomorrow without thinking about our relationship with our Creator. We are lost in a sea of ambiguity where we are tossed, here and there, waiting miraculously for some marginal outcome. It is quite worrisome. Joy is missing. We capitulate. We settle. We climb the “hill” only to fall flat on our faces again. Why? Because, we are stuck in the cave where we can’t see two feet in front of us. This is all we have. This is where we’ve come to. Garbage in, garbage out. This is not new. Plato reflected on this mirage thousands of years ago. But then, glory! We are reminded that we are not alone. Per Pascal, there is something greater. And, it’s God who illuminates our minds, our hearts, our souls, and our capacity. Without His divulgence of a deeper understanding of who He is, we could never get there with our own capacity. It’s just too limited. The relationship unfolds and is manifested in joy for the One who loves us more than we could ever possibly love ourselves. Once felt, this joy overwhelms to the point of hysteria and exhilaration. One could not compare it to any other human experience. The more we seek To glorify Him the more our capacity is increased to feel His love for us. It’s incredible that by glorifying Him more, we are able to feel more joy, more love, and more understanding of Him. Love God with all of your capacity and He will give you more as you truly worship Him.  

Lift Up Your Hands

     There’s an interesting passage from the Book of Exodus in the Bible where The Amalekites attacked the Israelites at Rephidim (while the Israelites were in the Wilderness of Sinai). Moses then instructed Joshua to go and wage battle against the Amalekites. He further told Joshua that he would be standing on a hilltop and raising the staff of God in the air. While the staff was raised, Joshua would win against the Amalekites, but the arms of Moses grew weary. As he dropped the staff, the Amalekites began to win the battle. Aaron, the brother of Moses and Hur, a companion of the tribe of Judah, helped Moses by assisting him as they held his arms and the staff up in the air long enough for Joshua to win the battle. Subsequently. Moses built an altar after the victory and called it: “The Lord is my Banner.” A hand was lifted up to the throne of God.

     In the battlefield of your mind, strongholds are built to dissuade you from the almighty power of God. Sin becomes an insurmountable desire to substitute anything for God. Without the armor of God (Ephesians 6), one is a guaranteed casualty in the spiritual warfare that rages on every moment of every day while we live. The armor of God that the Apostle Paul describes likens to the armor that a Roman soldier would place on before battle. The belt on truth describes the holy Bible. The breastplate of righteousness declares the righteousness of Christ that a believer carries as Christ bore our sins and while He took on our sin, we took on His righteousness. The feet of peace signify the proclamation of the gospel and one lives it every day. The shield connotes faith, trust in God, Jesus, and the Bible. The helmet of salvation demonstrates victory to those who have become believers in Christ, they will spend eternity with Him in heaven. The sword is the word of God. Lastly, prayer (without ceasing) is a necessary weapon against powers and principalities of darkness.

     Returning to the narrative in Exodus, God commands us to trust in His power. He alone has defeated the enemy and He alone can defend the believer from Satan’s crafty schemes. As trials and tribulations, pain and sufferings, inevitably come into one’s life, we need to have faith in the “staff of God” against all worry, despair, depression, and fear. If we cannot “hold our hands up “to the Father, asking Him for victory, we have two “Helpers” who can hold up our arms to Him; Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Jesus intercedes for us as we pray to Christ for help and He, who sacrificed His life for us, mediates for our supplications before the Father. In addition, all believers have the Holy Spirit in our hearts. He helps, comforts, and guides us to Christ. This is the promise of Jesus. Through Him, we as sinners, were reconciled to a holy God (the Father) through what Jesus did on the cross. His atoning sacrifice gave us grace and mercy to pray to God and that we’d be heard. This does not mean that all that we pray will be as we wish. Prayer is answered as God wills, not us. It is important to understand that while humans still have a sinful nature, we can fall prey to strongholds which can influence us in a very destructive way. Even believers can be influenced because, though inclined towards holiness because of salvation, they still continue to have a sinful nature. Possession, however, cannot ever be possible with a believer because he/she has the Holy Spirit. A house divided cannot stand against itself (Mathew 12:22-28), according to Jesus, so the enemy cannot take possession of a believer. For the unbeliever, that is a different story altogether and possession is possible and stories in the Bible clearly narrate these events as Jesus did cast out demons from unbelievers. In our daily struggles we put on our amor of God, relying on God to defeat strongholds and when we grow weary, we have Jesus and Holy Spirit to “lift our hands” towards the throne of God to fortify us against the enemy and his minions.

What is Left

What is Left

You’re born into calamity. You gave your first breath and you cried and shriveled in the coldness of the air. Quickly you were laid in swaddling clothes. There you lay, alive and helpless. From there, you were brought “home.” It could have been a palace, it could have been a hut, perhaps the street, but you were brought. Food and drink were given to you and you thrived, or not. But let’s say, you did. You carried on. You moved forward. You adapted, you modified, and overcame your circumstances. With help, then, time brought you toward goal after goal. You sat, you stood, you ran, and you, learned how to use the toilet, properly. You were now ready for the “big times.” Slowly, but progressively, you gained in stature and in wisdom. Rule the world, you shall or should. Oftentimes, you became a product of your culture and customs. You sought the world before you and around you. You became aware. Others were like you. Some bigger, some smaller, some good, some bad, some deep, some annoying, some dastardly, some loving; all the while, you learned. Eventually, what shaped you was no longer part of what you had. Now, you got independence. You longed for it. You dreamed about it, idolized it, wanted it. When the “time” was right in someone else’s sight, it was “given” to you, and you fled. Far away, as fast as you could, you flew. More cultures, more customs, more questions, more grief, you evolved and emancipated yourself from the umbilical cord that was suffocating you, or so you thought. You were free, free to choose whatever life brought you. You were there for the taking and this was your time to shine. Victory came at a price. The price tag for freedom is never cheap. These are lessons learned as we peruse the galaxy for adventure and excitement. But then, life takes a swift turn. It’s never easy. That paradigm shift happens when one least expects it. It may be death, divorce or some other mishap, but it invariably happens. Suddenly, life twists upon itself and deconstructs your very existence so that you must reclaim yourself, not as you once were, but as something ever so subtle, but different. What you thought was ironclad became mundane and unimportant. The twist was significant enough to change your direction and off you went, although where exactly, you didn’t know.

     A rude awakening. Friends that you thought you couldn’t live without, your very best friends, just became your mortal enemies. You can’t stand to even think about them, let alone look upon them. Cursed creatures, they brought out the worst and what’s even more hurtful is that you gave them the very thing you treasured the most; not love, but trust. How could you? The humiliation brought defensive barriers which begot fear, anger, rage, and despair. Soon, you’re thrust into a human mixer. Which end is up? You’re drowning in your own selfish worth and depression rolls in. What now? Drugs, alcohol, sex, kiwi, and anything to pass the time because now, time has just screeched to a halt. You find new friends but they betray you as well and trust becomes a four-letter word. The topography of your self-worth has been reduced to a can of Spam. Yes, it can and does get much worse than this. There are those who, inadvertently, check out by several inexplicable means. The path to destruction is laid upon the many, not just the one. A silver lining, perhaps? Maybe. For some, they find the courage and fortitude to press on. Some are blessed to find those friends and family members that actually care. Isn’t that a thought? A change of venue is sometimes appropriate and helpful, so isn’t a nice weighted blanket. Somethings you just can’t make up. They just fit.

As time beckons, one is left wondering, is this it? What have I accomplished? What is my legacy? To whom do I pass my insignificant air looms to? Stuff becomes just more stuff, and then more. The gathering period begins and some succumb to tribal “pack-ratting.” At the end of it all, it just doesn’t mean ... to a tree. In the end, the end is very final. You can’t bring the stuff with you and there is no legacy for the one who has gone to meet one’s own final resting ground. It’s over before you know it. Looking down the barrel of a gun, one starts to see the end when someone finally pulls back the trigger. It’s funny how one looks at life with such a longevity to it until, another paradigm shift, age. With age, there should be some dignity to it but maybe, just maybe, there really isn’t. Behind closed doors, the elderly is really worried about the finality or they’re in a stupor and they really couldn’t care less about it. The families are worried or maybe they’re just waiting for their “just due.” In the end, who cares. It doesn’t matter because we all die alone. All the money, power, fame, and glory doesn’t amount to squat because when you’re dead, well, you’re dead. They could erect a mausoleum and paint your toes red and face blue, but guess what, you’re dead. All these people that go to the grave sites to pay their respects, well guess what, their loved ones are not there. Yes, you guessed it, they’re dead. Gone. So, what’s left? I’m reminded of my own life. I pray my wife, who is 16 years younger than me, dies before I do. Why? So, she wouldn’t half to be alone in this house we call a home. Sure, it gets lonely, but she’s not alone! See, as Christians, we believe we live in eternity with God, those of us who believe in His Son, Jesus, and have a personal relationship with Him. So, for me, I’d rather be here alone and suffer without having her here rather than the other way around. It’s not that I love her more or vice versa, it’s about suffering. I’d rather do it than have her go through it. See, life is about suffering. Sure, you have happiness. There’s a lot of that but there’s just as much suffering, if not more. What’s left is hope. What’s left is faith. What’s left is love and sacrifice. A human is not measured by what one has but by what one doesn’t have. Why? The only” Thing” you really need is Jesus. If you haven’t got Him, then all the things you do have mean absolutely nothing. Sure, I keep on harping on Jesus in a lot of these reflections, but guess what, He harped on me first. He made the first move, I didn’t. So, there it is, what’s left? Just, Jesus

Mirroring

     Mirroring defined is the behavior in which a person unconsciously imitates the gestures, speech, or attitude of another. This is often seen in social situations particularly in contact with close friends or family. This is quite familiar to human beings, so familiar in fact that it often goes unnoticed. Mirroring seems to take on a life of its own as by some “passing of the baton,” the person assuming the gestures, speech and such, becomes a chameleon, similar to a “Talented Mr. Ripley.” We all do it. I’m convinced it’s generational as the effectual changes occurring as I get older are increasingly similar to my father’s idiosyncrasies. Lest one might think that it is purely generational, please be aware of yourself the next time you repeat the same phrases or the same gestures as your spouse or significant other, as it were. Moreover, the operative phrase is “unconscious behavior.” Seldom, does one capitulate to the obvious; you have become a mirror to someone else. And, when it finally becomes apparent, it oftentimes connotes a sense of pride or laughter, particularly if taken with a sense of humility and gratitude. Oftentimes, mirroring can be seen as an appreciation or a sign of love towards another. One longs to be “like” that person, but not in a begrudging sort of way, but in a sense of respect and familiarity. Like “The Call of the Wild,” mirroring could become dangerous, filled with raw emotions, mostly volatile in one’s nature as the mirrored behavior may overtake one’s personality so profoundly as if to denigrate such behavior into symbolism or worship, reminiscent of a fan. As with all things in life, some are good emotions, most are bad, I suspect, because human nature is ultimately doomed to repeat the same mistakes, over and over again. Another more dangerous aspect of mirroring lies in narcissism. One tends to take on the behavior to imitate oneself in gestures, speech, and attitude. How is this possible? Just look in the mirror. We do it every day when we shave, put on make-up, pluck eyebrows, nose hair, color hair, mustaches, and beards, put on clothes, et cetera. The list goes on forever. We are figments of our own imagination. We would like to be seen as we see ourselves in the mirror when we are at our best. The trouble is, is doesn’t last long and eventually, self-mirroring just doesn’t play out as we think it does. It you don’t think so, try wrinkles. 

     Mirroring becomes crucial in the life of a child. It becomes increasingly apparent that “bad” mirroring is destructive to a child while ”good” mirroring is necessary for emotional maturity. One becomes what one sees. Children are like sponges. They absorb every single move their parents make. From the very beginning of childhood, rearing is integrated with mirroring. The child “assumes” the behavior of the parent. This is critical in the formation of the child. Parents are often so busy in their own respective lives, they often forget that every gesture, every word, every attitude is ultimately imitated. Whether one chooses to accept this phenomenon or not, it happens in the formation of the child. They ultimately become exactly like their parents or the exact opposite. Seldom, is there an in-between state. Furthermore, it’s the responsibility of the parent to fully understand that their behaviors not only have consequence with their children, but ultimately who their children pick for a mate. The mirroring is reflected upon itself and repeated ad nauseam. Quite simple put, if you’re a jerk, your kids most likely will be jerks as well and, pick jerky friends and mates. 

     Mirroring can be inspirational. For example, one could take on the attributes of another musician, ball player, or Professor. This type of mirroring could be beneficial in the sense that for the greater good, one could mimic, or perhaps even surpass the person who is being mirrored. On the other hand, mirroring could be used as a weapon by the person mirrored, knowing that if others are mirroring the said individual, he/she could entrance one or many individuals for the sake of mass control and obedience. Gullibility is at the very forefront of mirroring. It’s inescapable. Someone must lead and others must follow. This becomes particularly troublesome when mirroring is targeted towards politics and religion. This is also evident in the media, the Hollywood elite, and people generally in the spotlight. Everyone wants to be someone else. To be fair, people of power and fame are typically mirrored, but this also readily occurs on the elementary, “soccer field,” middle-class America types, as well. So, the question should be asked, why mirror, at all? Is it inevitable? Do we succumb to ourselves because we think others have more merit than we do? Is it based on a valueless culture? Who decides? Who cares? 

     Perhaps mirroring is not exactly the proper forum for humans to interact with each other. Perhaps, to emulate is a better terminology when taken into its proper perspective. Some would ask, well, who would be someone that humans would emulate? There are many human beings that have come and gone which if one considered who to emulate, one might pick from a variety of lists of people that have influenced the world since the beginning. Obviously, there is a certain prejudice depending upon culture, socioeconomic, and geographical backgrounds. One could pick from many great examples but these would all fall short of the only Person who should not only be emulated or mirrored, but followed. Now, that’s a different word isn’t it? Not a fan, but a follower. A follower is different than someone one who should be emulated or mirrored. A follower demands action on the “playing field.” One can’t just sit “on the sidelines.” One commits. There is a sense of giving and humility. One serves. One gives. One obeys. Willingly, one becomes a participant in something greater than themselves. How does that come about? It’s not an act of volition. One doesn’t just simply decide to humble oneself for the sake of others despite who the others are and what they represent whether it be power, fame, glory, or poverty. Submission is the great act of the follower. One cannot see that in mirroring or emulation. Another attribute is forgiveness. In submission, the follower must forgive others who have mistreated them, not because of their worth, but because of the worth of Jesus. That is precisely what it means to follow Jesus. There are many fans of Jesus. There  are few followers. One worships Jesus, not by mirroring or emulating, but by following. One can hopelessly mirror another, over even emulate them. What Jesus asks of us, in love, is to come and see; to follow Him. All He asks is to make a choice. 

Morir en la Raya

“To keep one’s promise until the end.” Have you ever thought of keeping your promise to someone? Perhaps, the banality was so trivial that it wasn’t thought of for more than a moment until the person you promised to turned the corner. Or perhaps, it was more serious, a promise kept, yet forgotten in the scores of other promises not kept. Or maybe still, it was a promise that was thought to be honored but with time, it grew lacking in its strength and washed away in the unfolding of life’s idiosyncrasies. Some promises are more serious. For example, there is a certain judicial component which, if broken, has due consequence. Hence, the promise is met with a certain obligation but not necessarily, a desire to fulfill. Other promises are ones of affection, a promise of love toward another, until, sadly, a “better one” comes along (a promise, I mean). Promises are made to be broken, says the great adage, but are they? After all, a promise strongly suggests that one keeps one’s word. But, truthfully, words are in a sad state of affairs these days and often go by the wayside with such rapidity. Are promises sometimes forced upon another? Well, in a manner of speaking, yes. Some promises demand satisfaction. For example, if one is to be betrothed in certain cultures, the promise is honored and dare not be broken without dire action taken. In sum, promises come in all shapes and sizes, but so don’t words. See, promises entail wordage that begets trust and faith in an action which, if not met, results in betrayal. For example, one promises to pay back a debt owed, yet it never comes to pass, leaving bitterness and resentment towards the offended party and shame upon the other. Should one go throughout life without making a single promise for fear that one just simply may not meet up with their end of the bargain because, quite frankly, one just doesn’t care enough to honor the tenets of the promise in the first place. After all, it’s just a promise. 

     In my recollection, I became party to a promise, one which, to this very day, gives me great hope and admiration because the promise is still being kept nearly 16 years later. No, this is not about a friendship, although, in some ways, it’s exactly about a friendship. It was one of those promises that was made on the spur of the moment. Other promises has been made, but this one was different. This wasn’t a promise to each other, but to someone very dear to us. This promise was crafted in humility, as if God, Himself, had placed the thought between us and once unveiled, it could not be undone. The promise was set in motion and all at once it was deemed inevitable that it would come to fruition and, to fruition it came. The promise grew from its infancy stages to what it is today, a masterful work of art. The debt of gratitude owed to the one who came before us is immeasurable and the promise is eternal in the sense that as long as we participate in it, it will thrive because God ordained that it would. There are too many instances where we could have failed, yet it was not meant to be and the promise flourished in all its grandeur and beyond our wildest imaginations. See, the promise was for someone else’s dream, not ours. That original dream had been broken and we took it upon ourselves to rescue it and bring it back to its rightful glory. Now, that’s a promise kept. 

     That is one example of what a promise should look like. A promise kept. However, there’s another story that speaks to a much greater promise. The promise God made with us through His Son, Jesus. This promise, covenant or testament affirms God’s promise to reconcile the sinfulness of humanity with Himself. After all, God created us in His image. He loves us more than we love ourselves. The problem lies in sin. We chose to turn away from God and go at it our own way. Since God is just and holy, He couldn’t just let us “slide,” so He sent His Son to become man so that He could die in our place, bear our sin, reconcile us to the Father, and be with Him forever in heaven. That is God’s promise for all those who would freely choose His Son as Lord and Savior. The choice is ours. The promise is His. God won’t go back on His promise because God doesn’t lie. He’s holy, set apart, and good. Once God promises something, It’s for eternity. He never changes. This is the kind of promise one can count on. As a matter of fact, as a Christian, God expects those promises made by His disciples to be kept as well. This is called the process of sanctification. As we incline toward holiness, we are less inclined toward sin. It’s a lifelong process but God takes it very seriously. And that, is a promise. “Morir en la Raya” means God’s faithful promise to us is eternal. If one would so choose, come and partake of His promise. 

The Persecutor

There is pure evil which lurks in the mind of the persecutor. The primary goal is to harass or punish in a manner designed to grieve, injury or afflict so as to cause suffering because of a particular belief or lack thereof. The persecutor comes in many forms. One in particular is so evident that there is an immediate response given upon the offended party. Another may not be so evident as one needs to investigate the thought behind the thought to fully recognize the vicious assault. Yet another, may be so subtle and sinister that even after the execution has been delivered, one is left in the aftermath of total destruction and despair. Still another, may come in the form of friendship or a giving hand, that the betrayal itself warrants hatred as much as the heinous act itself. Not never knows who the persecutor may be. Outwardly, it may seem as the enemy. Other times, often enough, it’s the purposeful act of a friend. No one is immune and no one is without fault. In one way we all have been victims and perpetrators of persecution. It’s understandable if one would object this point of view because we intrinsically see ourselves as good. What is “on the table,” so to speak, is a question to be answered. Are we capable of being persecutors or not? If one sees the historical perspective, even in the “best case” scenario of a religious person or persons, if honest, one can clearly see evidence of persecution by those individuals as well. What’s even more dastardly is that the persecutor invariably invokes a “just cause” as to the reasoning behind the persecution. There is merit behind it. “For the greater good of all,” this persecutor would deceive the masses to be complicit in the persecution. Thus, the frenzy begins and the zealots rise up in arms with the persecutor to commit atrocities in the name of reason and truth. Mindless, meek, unwilling participants are cajoled into hysteria and robotically are cast into consensual acts of unspeakable crimes against humanity. We all know the persecutor. Is it just possible that the persecutor “lives” right next door?

     And what are these goals that would so harm an individual, a group, a country, a race of humankind? For example, oppression comes to mind. The systematic degradation and deconstruction of a human being by way of lies, conniving, conjecture which leads to suffering, torture, murder, and even suicide. Another might be suggestion; an opinion based on “fact” where the persecutor would convince the individual towards inferiority, shame, and guilt leading to anxiety, worry, and fear. There is a determined effort on the part of the persecutor to undermine by twisting and distortion of truth so that the lies so well fabricated and crafted become ideals for individuals to blindly follow to their graves. Could it be so evident the the persecutor be hiding in plain sight? One might never see it coming until it’s too late and the damage is irreparably done. What could have possibly been avoided. Sometimes the persecutor is so convincing, so charming, so witty, so similar that the lure of the doublespeak seeps into the soul like a wisp. How not to be deceived? Carefully crafted, the persecutor offers what is not his to give. The die is cast, the trap set, and off to deconstruction the feeble individual is thrust into maze of unwilling insanity. These are the best laid plans of the masterful persecutor. Lest one think that one could not be entrance, think again. There have been myriads of individuals who have “drank” the  venomous elixir concocted to utterly convince one of the promises of power,  concupiscence, and majesty. Dare one not bow to the persecutor’s charm?

     It has been seen. It has been shown throughout time that the persecutor has only one agenda: total destruction and annihilation of said individual or individuals en masse. There is other purpose for the persecutor is so doomed. There are moments of victory but ultimately, the victory is fleeting and time will vanquish the remaining vestiges to the strongholds of the persecutor forever. It’s only a matter of time. There is no solace in that, however, because while the persecutor is allowed to continue the path of destruction, unknowing individuals are lost and perpetrated upon. There is no consolation in knowing that the persecutor will ultimately succumb to his own persecution. The scourge of the many has already been delivered and the vanquished are in torment. Some say the persecutor is x. One cannot clearly define nor clearly believe that the persecutor could actually exist. There’s too much evil is such an individual for it to be possible. Yet, history is not in favor of that possibility. The persecutor in fact does exist and has existed. Could it be possible that one cannot even dare to speak his name? Beware, he does exist and he’s coming after you! 

An Epiphany

     It has been talked about for the last 2000 years. Some have been waiting for His return. It’s called the end times. In the book of Revelation, the Apostle John writes about the return off Jesus, not as a meek, humble child, but as the King of kings and Lord of lords. Sure, this is the hope of every Christian who has ever lived; that the promise of Jesus will be fulfilled soon. Some have been expecting Him to return in their lifetimes since Christ died and was resurrected. They’ve been waiting and waiting. There have been many who have tried to predict His coming by reading from the Old Testament, some from the New Testament. These predictions have always been false and have never come to pass. Even, Jesus said that no one new the day, nor the hour except the Father. And, when the time came, it would come like a thief in the night, in a blink of eye. Be prepared, He said. Every generation hopes that they would see the coming of the Savior before they died. Are their those today who think we are the end times? Perhaps. 

     It could not have been predicted that the events of these last years have come to a head. Seemingly, humankind is in decline and people are more than ever divided throughout the world. It’s not that The pandemic brought it upon us, but that it uncovered a much greater evil, ourselves and how we treat each other and the planet. The last century taught us of countless millions who died under oppression and tyranny. The new century brought to light the underpinnings of great social unrest in many of not all  societies where people have dared to speak up against governmental despotism to denounce racial injustice that’s been happening for many hundreds of years throughout the whole world. The rise of secularism has provoked intense hatred and anarchy with little tolerance for any truth except the truth of indifference. The world is in a tailspin and a free for all and we are just at the beginning or are we? 

     Hope, that four letter word which defies the “common good.” It is simpler to be in the herd than to be heard. What happened in such a short period of time in the history of humankind? The is an awakening of all sorts. The horse has been let out and the cries of indecency and degradation have castrated the very souls of the many. People have had enough! In the epic movie, Network, Peter Finch delivers his memorable line: “I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it anymore,” as life imitates art once more. Yes, hope has been craftily buried with the other four letter word, love. It has been replaced with bitterness, anger, and rage. We did it to ourselves? Scarcely. This has been deceivingly coerced. Oh, I know, there’s no such thing as spiritual warfare. Ok. There must be a punchline here, somewhere, but sadly, there isn’t because, well, no one really cares. We are terribly busy with our hatred and want of revenge. Someone is to blame. Someone is definitely to blame. Just ask anyone on the “other” side. 

     What’s the point? An epiphany strangely appeared suddenly. It has come into my head and I just had to tell someone about it. Look around. The world has gone absolutely mad. Everyone, angry at everyone and fueled by everyone. Yes, the pandemic has brought us to our senses. We are all despicable and undeserving. We reap what we sow and right now, we are deserving of all of this. It’s interesting that debate has gone by the wayside while social media has greatly contributed to the mass hysteria there is now! Try to get an honest, unbiased opinion about anything, today. Let me know when you do. The battle for the “talking heads” has demoralized many into boredom and dementia. Sure, the epiphany is pretty doom and gloom, but is it? See, God wins in the end. These troubled times may continue for a while and, if you don’t believe in God, you’re going to have it for a very long time. Let you in on a little secret: the end times are near! I know, get the counselor, get the Xanax, get him to shut up. Well, perhaps you’re right, I am nuts. But this thought never, ever had come into my head before. I always thought those others who predicted the end times in their generations were looney. But, there it is. An epiphany. True or not, it’s my opinion. I mean, do you really see us going on like this before someone pushes “the button?” What will it take before decency and humility creep into us? Just look outside your window or God forbid, you TV. If this is not the end times, we’re getting pretty close. I’m sorry for the naysayers out there. 

     I do not see peace anytime soon. I do not see equality in all human beings anytime soon. I do not see tolerance, let alone, acceptance. I do not see hope or love. I do not see exchange of ideas for the benefit of all. What I do see is complacency. I see greed. I see ambivalence. I see social destruction. I see waist. I see totalitarianism, not democracy. I see poverty with those who have it, seen as lost and forsaken. I see misery. I see ineptitude for the sake of elitism and privilege. I see a lost race of humans on the path to extinction. Correct me if I’m wrong. Do you see something different? We are a race in disgrace that’s misplaced. Call me a crazy but, I think my epiphany is looking better. The end times? Who knows.  

Grace

     Daunting, as time marches to its mindless beat, we question what’s life all about? Tragically, there’s no time to defend one’s point of view as the slippage of time inevitably leads one to fade to black. As one journeys into time, the older one gets, time becomes irrelevant as the curse of death is imminent and necessary. For one cannot die if one has not lived even for the briefest moment (in utero, as well). How ghastly those seconds transform into minutes, then hours, days, months, and subsequently, years. And, what have we to show for it? What will be the legacy left for the future generations, as if the individual really cared that much. After all, we all die alone. Death is peculiar in that way, isn’t it? From the moment those of us who can, begin to reason and it becomes a feverish race to the epitaph. All the accomplishments dwindle to memories of what once was. We capture those treasured memories in pictures as if we could ever scroll back time to our former youth. Sadly, it doesn’t work that way. We are faced with the inevitable, sometimes drowning ourselves in quiet desperation or a good bottle of wine. Have you ever seen the lack of glow in a person who just died? The body, a corpse, could be compared to a box of wood. Lifeless, arbitrary, indifferent, it just ceased to exist, yet there it is, a memory of what once was a living being. It’s strange. I have seen so much death in all my years as a physician that it’s hard to make a connection anymore between what was once a living being and a box of wood. Within a millisecond, things change dramatically and one is left wondering, was it ever alive before or is it just the memories that keep it from dying in our minds? It’s surreal. One moment, a living embodiment of the image of God, the next, emptiness, material, void. The question must be answered, but what is the question to be asked? Is it different for each and every person or is it the same? I bet, if one thinks long enough, one can come up with many questions about life and death, what are we doing here, et cetera. But what is the true, honest question to be asked? In my opinion, the necessary question always pertains to whether one believes in God or not. That’s it. One might try to evade the question, but guess what, one cannot evade God. The essence of life and death is God. The reason for our existence is God. Everything in the universe, all that exists, all thought, all science, all anything basically “boils down” to God. One can try to avoid God. Throughout history, many multitudes have tried. In this present moment, humankind is moving away from God at an alarming rate. Sure, there are statistics that capture, perhaps, 70% of the population of the world believing in a god. I would suggest that of those 70%, how many truly have a relationship with God? Even among professing Christians, how many have true faith in a personal God? I suspect the odds would be even lower. Now, what is the connection between life, death, and God? Obviously, if one has to ask that question, the answer is nothing!

     A more challenging question lies in those who profess to believe in God and what their opinion is regarding their view of life and death. If life, then ultimately one dies. If death, on the other hand, does one ultimately live? As of recent statistics, there are 7.6 billion people living on this planet. More then half of those, supposedly believe in God. Of those that do believe in God, more than half believe in a personal God. If so, then life after death has many options, but ultimately two, if there is a personal God. Why personal? See, because He cares about His creation. So He won’t annihilate it because He created it. If He is personal, one of His attributes, being consistent, would be love. If He loves, He is good. Therefore, He has an interest in His creation and the human race He created. Free will seems to be the spoiler, however, since humans can freely choose not to want to be with their creator. For those who decide not to be with Him, God would never impose His will on His creation. Why? Well, otherwise there would not be free will, right? So, it is our choice to be with God, or not. This happens in life and in death. See, God won’t exterminate His creation after death. He loves His creation and He is holy and good. To annihilate His creation would not be consistent with God’s attributes since when He created humans, He deemed it very good and, by the way, God doesn’t lie, otherwise He wouldn’t be good or holy. Therefore, God determines a place (yes, a place), where those humans who choose not to be with God can be there for eternity. For those who want to be with God, well, there’s a place where those who choose to be with God, go there for eternity. 

     There’s a catch. There’s always a catch. Sin. Now, one can choose not to believe in sin and that’s fine. Your choice. But God makes His choice as well. See, God can’t exist in the sam place with sin. Why? Well, as I said, God is holy and good. Sin is wickedness, and rebellion and an affront to a God’s holiness. So, there’s the rub. One can choose to acknowledge that one is a sinner, the turn to God for help or one can just keep on sinning, choosing to be placed forever away from the presence of God in eternity. It’s not the degree of sin that keeps one away from God, it’s the amount. Yes, one sin is enough or eternal banishment. Why? It’s a sin against an infinite, holy, and good God which requires an infinite punishment. Do we all sin? Yes, it’s in our nature, from the beginning. Now the question arises, now what, who can be saved? Well, here’s the thing, it depends on which god you believe in, doesn’t it? There are many religions and many gods. Which one is the right god? If one makes a “wrong choice of god,” poof, eternal banishment. So who decides? Is it better to just not believe in anything and when you die, you just go to ground and don’t have to think about eternity? Well, it depends on your worldview, doesn’t it? Many are happy to live the blissful lie, because, let’s face it, not all religions are the same. Fact is, they’re all quite different. All of them can be wrong but not all can be right. Only one can be right. Pick one. Go ahead, and, roll the dice. What have you got to lose, except, maybe, eternity apart from the true God who loves you. 

     So, how to choose? Well, it’s been said before, but worth repeating: Jesus is the only Person who claimed to be God and proved it. Sure, there are vigorous debates, since he lived 2000 years ago, that He is in fact, God. But, that’s really not the gist of this particular story. For the sake of argument, let’s say Jesus actually is God and is in Heaven. The whole issue of Christianity bases it’s whole theology on this fact. If Jesus,is dead, no Christianity. Simple. Let’s suppose that He is who He says He is. Then He’s the only way to Heaven. And that means, spending eternity with Jesus, who is God. Now, some of you may ask about the Trinity. God the Father, God the Son (Jesus), and God the Holy Spirit. This, again, is unique to Christianity. No, there are not three gods. No, they’re not parts of God. The simplest way to understand it is there are three Who’s and one What. There are three eternally distinct Persons within the Godhead, but only One God. Sure, try to wrap that around your mind. There are many, many heresies concerning the Trinity and I’ve read enough books to know that this forum is not the proper one to spend thousands of pages on it. Suffices to say, that God is one What and three Who’s. This is important because the concept of grace come from God the Father. Grace shows us that God exists. That’s called common grace or general revelation. Even the wicked can see God’s handiwork even though they choose otherwise. Efficacious grace is different. It’s special revelation that can only be imparted to those who put their faith and trust in Jesus as Lord and Savior. Why? Well, Jesus hung on a cross and bore the sins of all humankind so that we could be with Him, for those of us who believe He did that. He reasoning: love for all. I don’t see anyone else claiming to be God who hung on that cross, do you? So, if true, then, efficacious grace is imparted to those who God determines would choose Jesus as Lord and Savior. There’s a question among many theologians as to whether grace irresistible or not. That’s another story. We, as humans, get to decide whether we accept God’s grace or not. What is grace? An unmerited favor. We don’t deserve anything from God. Our default position is to be away from Him for eternity. He  believes otherwise and bestows grace upon us. By the way, what ever common grace one has while alive, if one chooses to be apart from God, even that grace is taken away forever. That’s called Hell. So grace is given to us by a holy God through His own good will as we merit nothing from Him. Some say, I didn’t ask to be created. Not your call. The clay doesn’t ask the Potter why it was made. By the way, God also imparts mercy in His graciousness. What is mercy? We don’t get what we do deserve! That is the infinite love of a gracious God. 

The Cancel-God Culture

     Remarkably, objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotions and personal beliefs.  Values, or “things” that people think about, are not grounded today between objective right or wrong, but in individual ambiguity. A great deal of gratitude must be given to the “Age of Enlightenment” in furthering the distance between man and God. Seemingly, in post-truth philosophy, man “wins” and God becomes irrelevant. The ever increasing push towards what is ultimately important to every individual such as power, fame, money, and concupiscence, takes precedent over the common good of humankind as a whole. Euphemistic language has been replaced with bolder, autocratic statements concerning  judgments regarding certain people in our society who may be deemed as intolerant, racist, homophobic, Latinophobic, Islamophobic or misogynistic. There are some slurs, however, that still seem to be acceptable. For example, calling someone “white trash,” hillbilly, right-wing nut, white privileged or Nazi seems to be acceptable and in alignment with freedom of speech. It’s odd that one cannot yell fire in a theater because that’s against the “rules,” yet  preventing Ben Shapiro, for example, from presenting his viewpoints at a private university adroitly aligns with the concept of the “fire yelling scenario,” considered as such by most universities in this country. Freedom of speech, at best, has become selective. The right to be heard has become a distortion of so-called truth in this post modern age. This was the argument that was presented to me recently at a friend’s home the other day. And, in trying to present the more conservative point of view, I was castigated as being  “intolerant.” It was just a matter of time before the conversation might have degenerated into hostility. Unsurprisingly, this tactic is used by both liberals and conservatives to make a point. This is not new. This tug of war has been fought for thousands of years. One group deems another group intolerable and vice versa, then resentment, hatred, and ultimately, hostility begets insurrection and anarchy. This is happening presently in America. One could bury one’s head in the sand but sadly, the gathering storm is approaching faster than ever. The deconstruction of the fabric of our civil liberties, such as freedom of speech is perversely being eroded away. The fact is, a majority of the country doesn’t even see the degradation of our society from a moralistic point of view. God is dead, all over again. Sure, there would be differing viewpoints on what has been expressed in this paper, but that is not the point. Thank God (excuse me), that there be different viewpoints. My concern is civility. 2500 years ago, Greeks like Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle voiced their opinions which changed the course of human history. Sure, others have greatly contributed to philosophy and epistemology whose names should be mentioned, but is beyond the scope of this short story. The point being, their views were allowed to be debated and discussed. Differing points of views ensued and the result promoted the advancement of thought and culture. Presently, there is only one view that is being promoted by social media, governmental types, Hollywood, and mogul conglomerates and it speaks to the deconstruction of Western Civilization thought and culture. To question another opposing view to their agenda begets name calling and silencing,hence, the cancel-culture. This again, is not new in this country, alone. Throughout all ages, there has been consistent, calculated suppression of opposing thought. Specifically, this has been principally media controlled by governmental authorities; case in point, Rwanda. Yes, it can happen here. 

     So far, freedom of religion is still being protected for religious institutions but not for individual citizens. Religious intolerance will be legislated soon enough. The principal target: Christianity. Christianity has been increasingly viewed as an intolerant religion. Strangely, some of the worst offenders are often Christians which act against the tenets of Christianity and the views of Jesus, the Christ. Oftentimes, the name of Jesus is used arbitrarily, loosely, irreverently, and with curses and hostility. Consider,  for example, Salman Rushdie, who had published a book, Satanic Verses, which irked the Muslim community to the point of placing a proclamation of death on him, and the media did not necessarily denounce Muslims and their stance towards Mr. Rushdie. The point being, in particular, Christianity is being ever increasingly singled out as intolerant and hateful without much backlash from anyone. I perceive persecution of Christians is not too far off in the distant future in this country. For 1700 years, Christianity has been relevant to the formation of Western Civilization. Unfortunately, with the good, came abuse and hatred by even Christians, themselves. This does not necessarily erase of the the tenets of Christianity which are based solely on the teachings of Christ. Sadly, many Christians and most non-Christians have no scholarly understanding of Christianity and have placed all Christians into “one basket.” Moreover, there are sects or factions of Christianity which have “secondary, non-essential” issues that divide the faith and cause potential and continued abuse. This, by no means, minimizes nor degrades the essence of the truthfulness of Christian beliefs. Many “bad apples” does not a bad religion make. The Jesus I follow,and have studied for the last 9 years (gaining a Master’s degree in Christian Apologetics), is not the Jesus portrayed by the overwhelming majority of non-Christians and many Christians, as well. As with all objective truth, a worldview of reality, has to be thoroughly examined. 

     Jesus does not make any excuses for His position with respect to human sin and eternality. If, for the sake of argument, His claim to be God was in fact true, then what He said is the truth, and ALL that He said is true. Jesus specifically stated in the Gospel of John: “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). If His claim is true then the narrow gate to heaven is through one Person, alone. There is no other way. If, on the other hand, His claim is false, then all of Christianity is false and 2 1/2 billion people are delusional. This is the objective truth in Christianity. There is no other or greater truth more necessary or implicit than Jesus claiming to be God. Now, here’s the rub: there are many, many other religions which profess their worldview of reality, but none of them coincide with the truth claim that Jesus attests to. This is where the difficulty lies. This is where Christianity and Jesus, for that matter, are viewed as intolerant. So, if one does not believe that Jesus is God then hell is one’s final destination. Who said it? Jesus said it. In fact, Jesus talked more about hell than anyone else in the Old or New Testament. He did not speak about universality where all “good” people go to heaven by a works-based faith. There are no sufficient, good works to get one into heaven. Furthermore, in Christianity, there is no annihilation of human beings after death. God would not destroy His creation, so He made a place called hell, originally created for Satan and his minions, but now also for those who choose not to believe and follow Jesus. It seems unfair, doesn’t it? Well, we are good, aren’t we? I mean, hell should be reserved for Hitler, Stalin, and such, not for me? Some others simply detest the idea and just don’t care. They don’t believe it and they’ll just live the way they want to live. They’ll figure it out in the afterlife. It can’t be that bad. I mean, if there is a God, He won’t be that judgmental and mean. 

     The Cancel-God culture doesn’t give a ..... about God, let’s face it. God isn’t even an afterthought. There are no more atheists, just naturalists. Live and let live. This is all we’ve got. We are going to party hard and make the best of it, while here. What’s mine is mine and what’s yours is mine. Greed, envy, jealousy, lust, pride, and idolatry have become the gods of today. It’s simple, they don’t send anyone to hell. Humankind is deserving and entitled and we are going to destroy everything in our path if we don’t get our way. There is no truth. The Western Civilization is a mockery of value systems and Christianity is the root of it. “Enlightenment” has turned in entitlement. The only god is one’s sense of individuality. The common good has been replaced with the common hood. No one has any rights because the whole system was based on a set of laws created by privileged “white” European people who have been raping the land and people of color for hundreds of years. And now, you want to throw Christianity at me with a middle eastern man who claims to be God and is intolerant of every other religion, LGBTQ, women’s rights to abortion, and whatever else? These are the hotbed issues of our society. We all are equal and we all have a say. Doesn’t seem a bit Orwellian, though? Are people all equal but some are more equal than others? And who is to say what “values” are deemed appropriate or not? Is that the role of government? Just more “white” men deciding on what’s best for the “common good?” These are the holy types we vote into office every four years while they get richer and the people get angrier. Does government have the best interest of the people? Some anarchists would not think so, as they are systematically destroying cities in America without any punishment because, who’s to say they’re right or wrong? It’s all relative. 

     So, one has to decide just how offensive or intolerant, or even accepting of our present culture one wants to be before there is true insurrection and civil war. Eventually, civil liberties will disintegrate and society as we know it will vanish back to the days of feudalism and segregated territories. You think I’m kidding or being sarcastic? If the insurrection is not from within, it will surely come from without, but in the form of hundreds of missiles. The ultimate fate of humankind is dim. The lights have run out and we did it to ourselves when we cancelled God. There’s a consequence for sin, if one believes in such things. God is patient and long-suffering. Eventually though, and this has been proven throughout history, every empire must fall and so will this one. Again, we all are to blame. Every single one of us. No one is good. Not one. That’s why God. He made the rules, we didn’t. We just didn’t stick to them. We couldn’t because we are not good. If you think we are good, check out the last century. Over 100 million people were systematically massacred by many dictators. We have butchered and mutilated each other since the humans graced this planet, and we know it. So, here we are in the 21st century and what have we learned from a moralistic, value point of view? Not much. There should be a slogan: “Intolerance begins at home.” Let’s face it, we are all intolerant of each other. There is no “safe zone” for a human on this planet (yes, Antarctica as well). We will not fare well as a species unless we commit to God. In my humble opinion, Jesus give us the best possible option. If one bothers to really investigate and seriously read the tenets of Christianity and who Jesus is and why He is the only way, one might be surprised to find out He makes perfect sense. But, that’s just my humble opinion. Call me intolerant. 

Brain Fog

     All of us lie. The truth is, we lie all the time. If you think you don’t necessarily lie as much, you’re lying to yourself. As a matter of fact, the most lying done is not to another, but to ourselves. What do we lie about? Everything. We lie about every lie we didn’t tell. Lying is so commonplace that truth becomes arbitrary, incomprehensible, and foreign to us. Basically, lying is just commonplace and accepted. Most people don’t trust that one is speaking the truth because they’re probably lying. Lying is so prevalent in all cultures that the relevance of not lying is just as odd as aliens coming to visit from a foreign land. Lying is necessary to obtain just about anything we want in life. The expectation of lying is ordinary, actually, it’s mandated. Truth has become so obtuse that there is no recognition of truth because it doesn’t appear as a lie. We are much more comfortable with lying than telling the truth because truth has lost its objectivity. Lying replaced truth by relativism. Lying is the perfection of relativism. There is no truth so it must be replaced with a lie. People trust liars because through the lies they can relate to their own lies. Some excellent examples of perpetual lying can be found anywhere where people congregate. It can be small groups or large. It doesn’t matter. We are so used to lying and convinced that lying is acceptable that if we were to speak the truth, we would be castigated, sometimes ostracized from acceptable, societal norms. “He’s a liar!” The explicit mantra of the present day. This is not news. People have been lying since the beginning. Lying became the common habitat of most, if not all humankind. 

     Some of the worst offenders and perpetuators of lying have been religious leaders of all kinds, governmental leaders, educators, the judiciary, the elite, the social media moguls, the media, business tycoons, health care providers, sports figures, and Hollywood dignitaries. But, let’s be “honest,” it’s not just them, it’s all of us. “They” are just more visible in the spotlight so their lies can be readily seen when their lips move. Everybody lies and with great ease. The poor are not immune. Neither are the “wicked.” In fact, one might think that the “evil” people are the ones that most lie about everything but in fact, it’s the “good” people that do the most lying. At times it can be frustrating because we think that everybody else lies and we don’t. That’s a lie. We are very poor judges when it comes to our own lying. We think we tell the truth when others correct our own lies. It’s interesting because, from a human point of view, there is no one to be the ultimate arbiter of who is lying and who isn’t when we all lie all the time and with impunity. So, who is to say, then? Some say the courts, the Supreme Court. They are the justices that would not lie. They always tell the truth. Truth be told, there hasn’t been one Supreme Court in any country who has never lied. If one needs examples of this, please refer to any history book in any country. We like to think that the United States is immune to this, but that would be simply a lie. Some reflect on religious leaders to be upstanding and incapable of lying because they represent God. But, if true, which God, and how do we know that is the true God who exists, if He exists at all? Can we rely on any human to say that he/she has the truth from God? 

     Jesus stood in front of Pontus Pilate. Pilate asked Him: “You are a king then! Jesus answered: ‘You say that I am a king. In fact the reason that I was born and came into this world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth testifies to me.’ ‘What is truth?’ retorted Pilate.” The irony of that question has plagued humankind for 2000 years. What is truth? Is truth simply the quality or state of being true? And what is true? That which is in accordance to reality? And what is reality? It is simply the way the world or things actually exist. So then, we come to explain truth,from a perspective of philosophy, metaphysics, epistemology, empirical knowledge and many other belief systems. So, it begs the question, can we necessarily know what is truth? And which philosopher is correct in his/her assumption of what corresponds to reality? Again, these arguments are not new. For thousands of years, humankind has been searching for truth. And the question is, who,has the answer? 

     If one follows the Person of Jesus, the Christ, one may have the answer of truth. It certainly cannot be found in the religion of Christianity, per se. All the sects of Christianity have been at times, pervasive in this regard. The focus must be on Jesus as a Person and not as a religion. It’s not Jesus plus something else, just Jesus. So, how are Jesus and truth related? The answer can be found in the New Testament where many of the sayings of Jesus were recorded by the four evangelists. Jesus commits to being truth. He declares that truth is a Person and not an idea. He claims this because He believes Himself to be God. Now, the truth of His claims can be disputed. Throughout the last 2000 years, many have denounced His claims as erroneous and absurd. In Mere Christianity, by C.S. Lewis, he posits that either Jesus is a liar, a lunatic, or Lord. So, if His claims are true, then He is who He says He is and He is God. If He is God, the He is the personification of truth. If He is not who He says He is, then Jesus is lying in a mass grave somewhere and billions of followers have been duped throughout the centuries and there is no convincing evidence of truth from any human being. After all, no other human has ever claimed to be God and proved it by rising from the dead and performing signs or miracles. Sure, there is much to unpack, here. Claiming to be God is fraught with problems if one is only human. Proving to be God is much more difficult. What is interesting about the claims of Jesus lie in the receivers who were with Him while He professed this claim. Before the resurrection, these historical followers generally doubted who He was. In fact, when Jesus was handed over to the guards of the Sanhedrin, His followers not only abandoned Him, but denied they were ever with Him. After His death on a cross and subsequent burial in the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea, the followers (apostles) believed they had seen the risen Christ. In fact many others saw Him as well for forty days after His death. What’s interesting about this is that something changed in the apostles. They became ardent supporters of Christ and were martyred (except for John, who was exiled) for what they believed in. Moreover, Paul, who was a fierce opponent of the Christian movement, in fact, had Christians killed, became an apostle and one of the leading persons to spread the gospel to the west. James, the brother of Jesus, who thought Him insane, became an ardent follower of Jesus and was subsequently martyred. There are extra biblical references which corroborate the crucifixion of Jesus and the subsequent change in behavior of his followers or those who were not followers, yet became so because they believed they had seen the risen Christ.  

     There are even many today who believe that Jesus is truth and have died for him, not by committing acts of violence, but acts of humility. Back to the lies. We all lie. Everyone of us. Humanity is evil and depraved. There’s not one that’s good and the truth is not in us. So, let’s stop lying to each other and face the reality of a broken world. Are we duped into this brain fog where everything is fine and the world is a great place to live in because this is all we’ve got so let’s make the best of it and who cares when we die, where we go, whatever? There are many who have come before with great knowledge and have asked these very same questions. Are we any different than all those who came before, who asked: “What is truth?” Or, are we better off just living in our quagmire of lies because, in the final analysis, it really doesn’t matter. There is no God. There is no eternity. There is no heaven. There is no hell. Just, imagine. You decide how to lead your life, in obscurity with your brain fog and your lies, or in truth.