God Made Us for Heaven – Focus on That
November 13th, 2022
Jesus Christ: Yesterday, Today, and Forever~
I write this pastor’s column on the day of the election, November 8, not knowing the outcomes. The people of the world, and I mean people all around the world, are filled with anxieties of one kind or another. Most of that anxiety is personal and familial, and some of it is societal.
Anxiety began in the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve sinned; out of fear they hid from God and didn’t answer Him immediately. They were afraid of what God might do to them – kill them – because that’s what God said He’d do if they would touch the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Of course, God, always the promise keeper, did eventually take their lives, just centuries later.
At its core, anxiety is caused by the fear of death. If we had no fear of death and what lay beyond it, we’d have no fear for ourselves other than physical pain. For example, if I knew that when I died, regardless of when, that my death would be physically, emotionally, and mentally painless; that heaven waited for me in all its splendor, and that there was no more good I could do on earth toward my eternity in heaven, then my anxieties would cease. Frankly, I’d feel like I was five again and its Christmas Eve, just longing for the big day without a thought about anyone or anything else.
Alas, we frequently take for granted our faith in Jesus Christ and His triumph over sin and death. We shouldn’t, because that lack of faith is the key to our anxiety. It’s the key to any election or national anxiety too. Imagine all those poor people the world over, who don’t walk with Jesus. When things don’t go according to their plans, anxiety about many things and ultimately death, set in. Let me give you an example of how this works.
Things didn’t go my way on election day
Our country will fall apart because people aren’t doing what I want them to do
Our country eventually falls apart
We all live a dystopian nightmare until we die.
Now here’s an example of how things work for the person who seeks to know, love, and serve Jesus Christ intentionally every day.
Things didn’t go God’s way on election day
Our country will fall apart because we abandoned God
Our country eventually falls apart
We return to living like the people in the Bible lived: off the land without electronics, with God being number one, and family being number two. We live with so much more love and peace than we did before everything fell apart.
The difference between the peace of mind of a true Christian and everyone else, is simply staggering, don’t take it for granted. Share your faith in Jesus with an anxious and troubled world, because they won’t have any until they are living under the reign of Jesus Christ: the Lord of Lords, and the King of Kings; who will come to judge the living and dead, burn the world by fire, create new heavens and a new earth; end sin, suffering, death, and anxiety.
May Almighty God Bless You,
Fr. Thomas Nathe
