Recently I've been distracted quite often by the trappings of this world. A question was posed on social media. "What is the biggest problem you face as a man?" I answered with a good long diatribe of the frustration I have with the world today, the views of the world today, and how as a man raised in traditional values, I feel like I'm becoming almost a thing of the past. I think one of the reasons this displeasure occurs to me on occasion is because the older I get in life, the more aware of death I become. And Death can be an ominous thing. And Death is such a common theme, a morbid theme, studied and read about and focused on so much in a field such as law enforcement. Just yesterday I taught another class on self-defense, and the inevitable questions come up about having to protect yourself from someone who literally might want to introduce you to Death. Nobody wants to think about their own personal encounter with death. Part of my job is actually alerting others to that very possibility!
How easy it is to forget sometimes, that Death has already lost?
This blog post is somewhat a confession of sorts. I realize my own fault, becoming disgruntled at so many things I can't change. But if you'll bear with me a few paragraphs, I do have some good news.
One of the things that spurred my thoughts on today was a certain scene from the Marvel comic series, DareDevil. I watched as the backstory of a rising villain in the series, most likely the notorious Bullseye (I haven't watched enough episodes yet), unfolded in a flashback of the character's tragic past. The character, who in the scene is referred to by his therapist as 'Dex', has lost both his parents, and the therapist has become his mentor over the years. When Dex is a late teen, the therapist has fallen very ill, hooked up to an oxygen tank. The young Dex is worried as they sit through the session, and she goes on to explain to him that Death always wins, but you can learn to make the best of that situation. No wonder the kid was doomed to become a villain in the story, right? I realized right there, the world constantly tries to teach us that message. Think about the hard lessons taught by the world: Survival of the fittest (so only the strongest survive); You Only Live Once (so enjoy life while it lasts); Do what feels good while you can... you get the idea. There just seems to be this push to just accept Death, and that we all eventually lose.
And then I heard my pastor's message this morning, about the changing moment in the history of everything - the resurrection of Jesus! The point was hammered home in a particular song, whose lyrics along with the music crescendo to that moment in history: "When Death was arrested and my life began"!
How's that for opportune words for this disgruntled soul? A police officer, letting the World get the best of him with all its distractions and darkness, magnified by the fact that physical life is getting shorter... and I forgot all about how the moment Jesus rose again, He basically took control of Death - ARRESTED it, forever! How awesome is that? I wish you could've been in my head when I heard these words to music, especially after the pastor's message grabbed a hold of my shoulders and shook some sense back into me. The revelation of the words themselves ARRESTED ME! When someone is arrested, they are seized. Control is placed upon them, and although they can resist, and fight, or flee, and even kill... it is inevitable; their freedom will be taken away.
When Jesus rose from the dead, He defeated it... and He set the rest of God's plan in motion for the rest of history. Death was arrested; it lost its freedom to enslave all of us because of the free will God gave all future generations. The only will you need to have is to accept Jesus' victory and God's love - and that's all He wrote (literally written down to last throughout history), and death is but a mere stumbling block for you and for me. Your new life begins the moment you have the will to choose the Heavenly Father who gave Jesus for us all... all who believe.
If you don't believe the words of Jesus, I challenge you to find out more. Again, Death can be a scary topic; especially if it seems like it's been knocking on too many doors close to yours lately - or perhaps even your own. But I decided a few years ago that one way I can reach the world for Christ is to reveal His light in the darkness around us, through writing. That light is in His word, in the Holy Bible. Read it, I dare you.
The darkness is all around us for sure. Death definitely still has its sting for those that don't believe. What if, just WHAT IF, the words of The Holy Bible are true - and in that one moment in that tomb, Jesus came back and rolled the stone away. I can just envision the image of the grim reaper, and Jesus rolling the stone right over him. Ha! Okay, so maybe it's not quite like that, but I think you get the imagery.
So what do you think? What do you believe? Do you believe in the arrest powers of God? I know I do... here's to hoping I keep remembering :)
