First Attempt at Blogging

I hate death. I know that this sounds quite trite, but I really hate death. It's not supposed to be this way. I know all of the theological imports of the necessity, and even the merciful aspect, of death. But, I still hate it.

Death is never comfortable, never quite right. Even when there is hope, there is also grief and loss, even though it's temporary, it's still loss. And it's of the most personal kind of loss: relational. I guess in this aspect, there are many around me walking dead. Broken relationships, a precursor to death. The kind of temporary, yet man-made infinitude of separation.

I hate death...in all its forms.

I will praise the Lord, Jesus Christ, who unites and reconciles under His glorious grace! He who defeated and defeats death, in all its forms. He is the one who equalizes us all, enemy and friend, at the cross. There we find that we are all equally screwed-up in our sin and our self-deception, unable to fix ourselves, save ourselves, comfort ourselves, but where we simply see that we have disowned the One Truth, God Himself.

Thank God for God!! He who stoops down to fix us, reconcile us, save us, make us right, simply by His gracious heart and powerful act of redemption when He offered up Jesus in our place. What kind of God is this? He hates death, too? And in another strange paradox, He defeats death with death. He reconciles us by the death of His Son! I will speak good of Jesus!

I still hate death. But I will not wallow in this hatred, but rather I will speak of the One who has defeated death in all its forms. Jesus, the One who is bringing all things together under His Kingship. The One who defeated death by laying down His own life in all His glory and rising up from the ashes never to die again, to rule over all that is created, bringing life from death. O worship Him, my soul. Let us not again take Him for granted and wallow in the dread, but let us build up His reputation as the Life-Giving King over all.