May 6th, 2021: Don't Trivialize Death


Alberta made the headlines this week. It has nothing to do with its natural resources, breath-taking beauty, diversity, people's hard work, or innovation. Alberta has the highest Covid-19 infection per capita in Canada. It is the first prize that none of us really envies.


We could just take a moment to think beyond the number of people who are sick and dead. We might disagree on how we deal with the virus. However, we might want to seek God's counsel in dealing with our lack of understanding in dealing with suffering and death.


Death in itself is not part of God's design for His creation. When we trivialize death, we undermine the seriousness of sin. Physical death is painful. Spiritual death is another story. As we learn about what has been happening in our Western civilization, we become more involved in our spiritual extinction. There is a duality of death that we have encountered: the death of innocence and purpose. We have then decided to face this duality with our self-created singular objective: our determination to seek the Death of God in all aspects of our human existence. Look and around tell me that I am wrong. Not!


Psalm 19: 13

"Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me! Then I shall be blameless, and innocent of great transgression."


Philippians 4: 8

"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things."

 

Popular posts from this blog

Sept 4th, 2024: Praying in Images

Image
It has been a rough few days. Living in immense pain does not allow us much energy to think about anything. I ended up praying in images, and not many words came out of my mouth. Most of the images were of people I know. God knew that I was praying for them as their faces came to my mind. I did not need to mention the circumstances or situations of their lives—He knows. My heart was at peace as I ended my days with these images. He will take care of my body, and I know this because I was able to get some sleep. Tomorrow is in His hands.
Read more

Aug 31st, 2024: Confession

Image
Dealing with pain sometimes affects our ability and flexibility. A physiotherapist friend gave me a set of home exercises to help with that. They are simple yet intense at the same time. Dealing with our human brokenness sometimes affects our ability to see and hear God. Our commitment to spiritual disciplines must be at the core of our relationship with God. One of the disciplines I have been trying to embrace more fully is confession. It’s not just about recognizing where we have gone wrong; it’s about how we have chosen to live our lives independently from God. It’s about whether we truly want God to be part of our lives. The absence of meaningful confession will damage our freedom to experience intimacy with God. "Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy." - Proverbs 28:13
Read more

May 18th, 2020: Why Forgiveness?

Image
  A young man called me last night and he was tormented by his relationship with his mother. It is not because she was a horrible mom. It was unresolved grief that is caused by his dad's suicide a few years ago. Emotionally, he blames parents for his father's death although he knows intellectually that it is not right. I knew the father a bit because his mother and her family came to see me for help when they first arrived in Canada. He was a brilliant physician and who was quite loved by people of a small northern town in Alberta. He was awkward in some ways and very uncomfortable in social conversations. This young man has had many conversations with me ever since the suicide. His father's death has been a major topic of our time together. Most of our conversation yesterday was about forgiveness. We were talking about forgiving people who never ask or haven't got a chance to ask us to forgive them. The question is whether we can forgive without being asked. His father...
Read more