“By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him? My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth. And by this we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before Him.”

[These are a few random notes contained within my sermon; this is not a presentation or outline of my thesis]

“Love is defined and bound up in the person of Christ and His laying down His life for us; And it is His work, on the cross, that teaches to love, motivates us to love, and binds us up in duty to love.”

“We offended God through our sin, failure to worship, failure to give thanks, our failure to walk righteously, and our abuse of His gracious gifts of life and liberty. And though God is the one offended, HE is the one who stoops to reconcile with us, though we were yet enemies and fully guilty under Divine justice. And not only does He stoop down to reconcile with His enemies, in order to satisfy His Divine justice and demonstrate His righteousness, He sends that which is most precious to Him, His own Son.”

“God is holy, righteous, and just, and He cannot overlook sin and remain a just being. And to satisfy His divine justice and yet still redeem fallen man from sin and our misery, the holy and righteous God in the Person of Christ descended and became sin for us on the cross.”

“Have you considered how vile it was for Christ to submit to death, and to bear our sins on the cross? Let me give you an example: think of an upright, chaste woman being propositioned by a filthy pervert on the street. See how she recoils at the thought of such vileness! Infinitely more so, see the Son of God, perfect and holy, upright to a measure we can never understand, having our sins placed upon His back. The scripture says He BECAME sin for us. All manner of wickedness, adultery, murder, lying, stealing, blaspheming, hate, rebellion, homosexuality, uncleaness – things that EVEN WE SINNERS utterly abhor and recoil at, He became…in our place…there is no greater evidence of God’s love for us than His becoming sin on our behalf, and His death on the cross.”

“The apostle here is stirring our affections and our DEVOTION to Christ because of HIS love towards us. Because of His great love, we love. Because of His great service, we serve. Because of His great humbling and submission to both God and man, we are to be humble and submissive. As chapter 2 verse 6 says, we are to ‘walk just as He walked’.”

“‘laying down our lives’, is not in the heroic, battlefield type of ‘laying down your life’. Sure, there are many stories of bravery where soldiers forfeit their lives for the sake of their fellow soldiers. This is a wonderful and commendable thing, no doubt. But just because someone lays down their life doesn’t mean that they have the Spirit of Christ dwelling in them. What we see in the text, however, is that John goes on to give an example of the point he just made (READ 17-19). This is a level of extreme care/concern/love. It means that we deny others nothing, even if it costs us our life! We hold back no material good or service to those in need, even to the point of our death.”

“Brethren, consider this deeply: the opposite of Love is NOT hate as we understand it; rather, it is indifference. It is selfishness. It is only noticing your own personal needs, not even paying attention to the needs of others.”

“The Law says ‘love your neighbor as yourself’? And how do we love ourselves?–by clothing, feeding, nourishing, watching our diet and health, exercising, making every effort to live as long as possible and in the best means possible. So obedience to this command is: though it cost you life, liberty, house and home to care for a brother in need, the prospect of death does not hinder you from loving others as yourself.”

“It is the cross is what motivates us to love, springing us into action, and binds us to love others. And the gospel does this in several ways:

1) Loving others gives us a picture of Christ. It is not simply a duty or an obligation (though it is) to love because He loved, but it is a communion with Him through a more deeper appreciation and understanding of His glory in the gospel. Loving leads to adoring, to worship, to greater communion with God, which is the highest, chiefest good. In contrast, NOT loving others diminishes our capacity to see Christ, know the gospel by experience, love Him, commune with Him. Failing to love alienates us from the gospel and what Christ saved us to do, and it brings God’s displeasure upon us.

2) The cross is the attraction that fuels our love for others by pulling us away from ourselves. What should consume our thoughts and affections is not following a list for how to ‘love’, but the glory and grace of God revealed at the cross! Christ GAVE HIMSELF, to the point of death, FOR SINNERS! This thought, properly and consistently meditated on, forces us to look outside of ourselves to something greater.

In contrast, NOT loving others; not mimicking Christ, leaves us vulnerable to being seduced by selfish ambitions and self-righteousness. When we lose the foundation, the cross, and yet still try to love, we will be seduced by our own corruptions and desire to please the flesh. A natural man may yet love, but not out of any beauty that he sees in it, not out of and love for Christ and a desire to glorify Him, but for his own self-righteousness, or because he sees them to be a bridge to heaven and he cannot get there without it. The gospel as the foundation for our love pulls us out of ourselves, our work, and our self-righteousness by declaring that we were enemies of God until Christ was formed in us.

“Our infatuation with the cross should lead us to love, and to love deeply. When we do not love, we declare that we have MISSED THE MESSAGE of the gospel. [Repeat] WE have MISUNDERSTOOD THE GOSPEL, its purpose, its power, its implications, if we fail to love. And what could be more frightening? This is the most important message of all.”

“An inference of application that we can infer from this text is that, understanding the providence of God, the reason we have been given extra food/drink in this life is precisely to care for others. God uses, in His providence, your graces and your abundance to feed/clothe/preach to others. If we think that the stuff in this life is ours for our own wantonness, our own comforts or selfish pleasure, we have misunderstood the gospel and the Christian duty of love.”

“Another application could be considering the hindrances of our love in relation to the gospel. What usually hinders us from loving? Is it not when we see pride in others, a lack of appreciation? Basically, isn’t it when we see the sin in others that we tend to pull back and be indifferent to their needs? But the gospel reminds us that we are to love what God in Christ loves; because He loves, He gives, serves, and is patient despite sin, we are to be as well. Loving our neighbor is not predicated on their receiving it with thanksgiving, or upon them being in some way righteous enough to receive it. If we love how Christ loved, seeing their sin will cause us to love them even more.”

“This passage ends with ‘the truth’: And what is the ultimate truth? Is not Christ the way the truth and the life? Brethren, again, we must run back to Christ and the gospel! To love in the truth is to love and speak the truth. Our deeds are to be such that they adorn the gospel, and are in step with what Christ has done on our behalf. We are to love by deed and by declaring the truth!

“I say this as carefully and sincerely as possible, but serving and loving without bringing the gospel IS NOT truly LOVE. People need the gospel, they need ‘the power of God unto salvation’ more than anything, whether they’re saved or lost. So when you serve, do not assume the gospel; Do not assume that that people know it already. Even if they’re in church; under sound preaching; Don’t assume that they know it or at least don’t need to be reminded of it.”

Today, I’d just like to collect and share the various quotes that I have posted on Twitter –quotes that I have found interesting having come across them while reading.

There are some really good quotes below; so I hope you’ll check them out. Feel free to share your thoughts or open up a discussion on any of them:

“Where lies the power of a temptation to sin but in that it offers some contentment that the heart did not have before?”

“The very first [real] work that shall draw the heart to believe and hope in Jesus Christ will draw the heart from the love of every sin…”

“God, in giving all the things of the world to…wicked ones, His enemies, shows there is not much excellency and good in (earthly riches).”

“Shall the understanding of the freedom of the grace of God carry you on less (in obediemce) than your slavish terror did (legalism)?”

(My own observation that might be pertinent to this post): I don’t get why we chide Catholics for their image worship while our own bookstores (Lifeway) market & sell graven images by the thousands

“many godly keep from gross sins…but they should be humbled for their thoughts, for misspending time, and for not sanctifying God’s name”

“It is no love in God to let men go on in sin, and never smite. God’s greatest curse is when He afflicts not for sin.” – T. Watson

“see the dreadful authority in the Word…see that there is more of His glory in the Word than in the whole creation of heaven and earth”

“Ye will not get leave to steal quietly to heaven, in Christ’s company, without a conflict and a cross.” S Rutherford

“Christ is never sweet till sin is felt to be bitter; nor is He rest till man feels sin to be a burden.” – T. Watson

“The gospel starts by teaching that we, as creatures, are absolutely dependent on God, and that He, as Creator, has an absolute claim on us”

“Where Christ sends the gospel there Christ has His people” (unregenerated elect). -JI Packer

“If you have no Calvin, you have no America.” – http://twurl.nl/jcyled

Islamic theologian: “the only version of Christianity we fear is Calvinism, for it encompasses all of life.” – quote from Edward Donnelly

“As theology grew simpler [over time in US history], technique [in evangelism] became predominant”

“If God was severe to His own Son, how dreadful will He be one day to His enemies!” – T. Watson

“If the fountains of science were [studied] without the salt of revealed [divine] truth, they would become a curse.”

“It is [only] the Spirit of God who makes the same means [preaching/evangelizing] more effective at some seasons than at others.”

“Man unhumbled before God believes that God has no right to give to any what he will not equally give to all.”

“It is reverence, humility, and stillness rather than noise and excitement which mark the nearness of God to a people.” – Iain Murray

“Show me a man in whom holiness and sin are struggling for dominion, and I will show you one who is already born again.” – CHS

“The true convert is reconciled because he is pleased with the character of God; the false convert because he hopes God is pleased with him”

“An invitation to come to Jesus Christ is an invitation to become a worshiper of Him.” – J. Mac

“True biblical preaching will never leave unbelievers comfortable in the presence of true Christians.”

Do you agree with Samuel Miller that altar calls “favor the rapid multiplication of superficial, ignorant untrained professors of religion”?

“securing mass consent in evangelism is only possible where the full biblical teaching on depravity & regeneration is kept out of view”

Obvious but still profound: “Wherever there is faith in Jesus Christ a miracle of purification has been wrought in the heart.” – CHS

“God reveals Himself as the God who requires holiness of all who would be in loving relationship with Him.”

“What is repentance? Admitting that you’re not God;valuing Jesus more than your immediate pleasure;giving up the things the Bible calls sin”

“Happiness is the motive of every man, even those who hang themselves.” – Agree or disagree?

I’m proud to announce the birth of our baby boy, Rylee Chander White, born April 7th, weighing in at 9lbs and 3ounces. Baby and mother are doing wonderful.

Concerning Rylee’s name:

Rylee is named after the great Anglican Bishop, JC Ryle. By God’s providence I came across JC Ryle’s book Holiness as a young Christian. The book had a profound impact on me, the first reading still impacting my thinking and understanding of Christianity even today, and it has become a well-worn manual that I have returned to time and time again.

My wife also, at my urging, has become quite the Ryle fan as well. She greatly admires his practicality and easy-to-read writing style. I would strongly encourage you to familiarize yourself with Ryle if you’ve never read him before. Start with his best work, Holiness, and move on to his commentaries on the gospels, Knotts Untied, etc., which are also excellent.

Rylee’s middle name, Chandler, is after my Dad, Chandler White. Rylee and my dad share the same birthday (April 7th of course), and nobody has had a greater impact on my life than my wonderful father. From the earliest of my memory, my father was reading scripture to me, encouraging me to memorize and internalize it, praying/singing with me, and basing all of his instruction and counsel upon the principles found in the sacred text.

I am blessed and honored to have such a God-fearing father, and it is certainly our desire that Rylee follow after these two faithful men in faith and in practice.

God is so incredibly good –it absolutely baffles me because of the depths of my sin and wickedness. Join me in singing this great Psalm of praise:

Psalm 128

Tune: “Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing”

Words:

Blessed the man that fears Jehovah
And that walketh in His ways;
Thou shalt eat of thy hands’ labor
And be prospered all thy days.
Like a vine with fruit abounding
In thy house they wife is found,
And like olive plants they children,
Compassing they table round.

Lo, on him that fears Jehovah
Shall this blessedness attend;
For Jehovah out of Zion
Shall to thee His blessing send.
Thou shalt see Jerus’lem prosper
All thy days till life shall cease;
Thou shalt see they children’s children
Unto Is-ra-el be peace.

(Words taken from the Trinity Psalter)

• Today is the day my wife is due to give birth to our second child. Obviously, I’m blogging and not otherwise occupied, so it looks like she will be late. Nevertheless, because of the pregnancy I have family in town, and the last few weeks have simply been too busy to blog.
• I am still putting the final touches on my ‘Five Views on Law and Gospel’ review, which will be in 5 more installments. I look forward to the discussion this will generate, and I just ask your patience as I prepare these (rather large) posts. Please be patient; these posts are coming!
• For various reasons, I have held off on joining the black hole that is Facebook. But recently, unfortunately, I caved and joined both Facebook and Twitter (FB is: nnatew24[at]gmail.com). I’m enjoying it way more than I thought I would, and I can now see why blogging has slowed dramatically since I first began in 2005. Facebook/Twitter is a much better way to keep in touch with friends and such regarding all kinds of issues, including theological discussions and articles, and has thus in a large part replaced blogging. So, if you enjoy my blog (all 10 of you that read), you’ll probably enjoy my FB and Twitter posts as well, if not more so because I update them daily.
• Speaking of Blogging, after I finish my 5 Views review I am going to take a step back and re-consider my options here for Shepherd the Flock, thanks in large part to this excellent post by my friend Paul. Go read Paul’s article, please, and deeply consider the points he makes.

I appreciate my readers, the few that there are that put up with me, and I would appreciate your prayers as we prepare to welcome a second child into the world!

Thanks Richard Barcellos for the link.

I might share a few thoughts on this. Check back later for an update.

**UPDATE** – Here are a few of my thoughts on the article:

I’m a little disappointed in these phrases:

“utterly sovereign and micromanaging deity”

“before time’s dawn, God decided whom he would save”

These phrases make God sound very arbitrary in His decrees, too human (I thought of Greek mythology and corrupt, man-like deities). Of course, the writer fails to speak of God’s sovereignty in Biblical terminology, thus I do not see them as accurate, but rather a caricature of Calvinism.

“a rock-steady deity who orchestrates absolutely everything, including illness (or home foreclosure!), by a logic we may not understand but don’t have to second-guess. Our satisfaction — and our purpose — is fulfilled simply by “glorifying” him.”

Again, the tone here communicates a ’selfish’ God who doesn’t care about human illnesses and troubles, as He is apparently infatuated only with ‘glorifying’ Himself. This statement looks at the doctrine of God’s sovereignty while completely blocking out the Cross. Where does the writer tell us that God orchestrates the cross, as Acts 4:27 teaches? Where is God’s love and condescension to mankind, deity clothed in flesh, to suffer and die as an atonement and substitute made necessary because of sin?

But I must say, I absolutely love the Al Mohler quote:

“”The moment someone begins to define God’s [being or actions] biblically, that person is drawn to conclusions that are traditionally classified as Calvinist.”

Conclusion:
Many have made a shipwreck of their faith by looking and focusing on specific doctrines, including God’s complete sovereignty over all the earth, while missing and indeed blocking out the cross and the gospel of Jesus Christ! How can Calvinism be discussed without a mention of the cross?

Jesus Christ and His accomplished work on the cross is the foundation, the focus, and the chief end of the doctrine of God’s sovereignty! Let us never lose this focus, and never fail to speak of these wonderful things anytime we speak of Calvinism and God’s sovereignty!

So, long after I stopped the whole ‘read through the bible in a year’ programs, I came up with my own system of reading that seemed to work for me. And, through some time, I think I’ve refined it enough to stick with it. I have a bible software program that will allow me to evenly distribute a range of scripture-reading over a period of time or sessions, and so this is what works best for me. Maybe it can benefit you as well.

Here are the details of this plan:

• It will get you through the OT once a year.
• It will get you through the Psalms and Proverbs twice a year.
• It will get you through the NT twice a year.
• The readings are broken up into sections of full books, alternating back and forth between OT and NT. This will keep you from getting bogged down in some endless OT genealogy and thus getting discouraged.
• The readings are also broken up by week instead of by day. This way you can read at your own pace, but still stay on track. Some days you may have only 15minutes to read, other days you may have 2 hours. Thus, this will give you 7 days to complete your ’section’, ensuring that you can read at your own daily pace.
• The Lord’s Day and Wednesday are ‘devotional’ days. On these days, this plan takes you through the Psalms and Proverbs at a relatively slow pace, allowing for deep reflection and meditation. Over the course of one year, you will read through the Psalms and Proverbs twice, by reading it only on the Lord’s Day and Wednesday.

I love this plan. It works very well for me, and is not a burden at all. Maybe it can be some benefit to you as well.

Attached are the two plans in PDF form. The first page is the daily reading, broken up in 52 even readings; the second is the Psalms/Proverbs to be read on Lord’s Day/Wednesday, also broken up evenly into 52 readings.

To download or view the plan in PDF, click the link below:

Shepherd the Flock – Weekly Bible Reading Plan

So as Christians, how should we respond to should the opportunity presents itself?

First, we shouldn’t consider it an insult or a direct attack on the freedom and rights we have in the area of religion. This is simply a group expressing their own opinion –they have every right to do so. Now, as we’ll see below, we by all means *should* consider this an insult and/or attack on our intelligence and ability to think rationally, but we shouldn’t be overly surprised or offended that someone wants to express their foolish opinion.

Secondly, we shouldn’t be surprised at such an ad slogan given that most of this country already lives as if there is no God, no matter what is confessed from the mouth. The unrestrained sin and decadence of our culture bears perfect witness that the majority of Americans live as though God doesn’t exist. For if people really believed God existed, we certainly wouldn’t see the rampant sexual immorality, abortion, theft, murder, deception, etc., that permeates our culture (and even our entertainment). Thus, in a way, consider this ad as an attempt to get people to profess what the majority have already chosen to live like: that there are no such standards of right and wrong, good and evil.

Next, forgive me for stating the obvious, but we should have some pity on the poor soul who attempts to define what is ‘good’ after denying the only source and fountain of any logical rationality? Also, “Be good for goodness’ sake”? –that’s a very true statement in that they are being honest in saying that there is no real reason why anyone should be good. Therefore, go out and do good (whatever that is) for the sake of goodness (whatever that is)!

In other words: if you think adultery is good, then go for it! If you’d be happier and your family better off by being $10,000 richer, then for goodness’ sake, go steal it from someone who doesn’t need it as bad as you do, or do whatever else is necessary for the survival and goodness of your family!

‘But you’re misrepresenting us’, the humanist will argue. ‘We do not advocate doing those things harmful to society.’ Well then, let’s go to the website of this ad campaign and see what they have to say:

“We can have ethics and values that aren’t set in stone. Our ideals and principles can evolve over time to reflect our ever-changing and increasingly complex world. Yet, we can be confident of the decisions that we make, not because someone told us what to do but because we relied on our own careful reasoning and emotional reflection. We can live a life that accepts and appreciates the world as it is, without needing to see supernatural explanations behind every event. This is a positive and uplifting way to live.”

So in other words, however it is that you define ‘good’, just be sure that the rest of the crowd agrees with you. If that’s the case, then you’re in the clear.

Thus, if you live in a society where pedophila is deemed ‘OK’ by the careful reasoning and emotional reflecting of those around you, then you are doing ‘good’ in practicing your positive and uplifting way of living.

Thus, if you lived in Nazi Germany, where the entire culture and nation around you was united in creating the perfect human race, and exterminating those who they considered as ‘base’ or ‘inferior’ humans was an end to what was deemed ‘good’ by time-tested society, then your agreement to this and participation in the murder of millions would be considered ‘good’ in practicing your positive and uplifting way of living.

Let’s take a look at some more stuff from this website:

Without a god, why be good at all?

• Because you know you want to, anyway. Unless you were born a sociopath or had your natural sensibilities destroyed in childhood, you have the same general sense of right and wrong, fair and unfair, just and unjust, kind and mean that people have all over the world.

There you have it, folks: Be good because you want to anyway. We can give you no definition of good, no rational behind the concept, no argumentation to convince you that it exists, and absolutely no rewards/consequences for acting one way or another, but be ‘good’ because we say so!

But have you considered, if the paragraph quoted above is true, that all people just ‘want’ to be good anyway, why run such a campaign that encourages people to be ‘good’? Doesn’t that defeat the argument? Are people, maybe by the corruption of religious beliefs such as ‘love thy neighbor as thyself’, rebelling against this good that they want to do anyway? This paragraph kind of undermines the campaign, does it not?

[And isn't it funny how children don't just pursue good on their own? Those of you with small children, like myself, will understand that kindness, sharing, patience, manners, unselfishness, etc., must be relentlessly taught to children by discipline, punishment, reward, etc. Only a fool would argue that children do good naturally.]

My friends, the Bible says that “the fool has said in his heart, ‘there is no God.‘” And one piece of evidence that proves such a statement is true can be so clearly seen in the beliefs expressed above.

This ad and the message of this group make absolutely no sense to those who have a brain. Without the Christian God, and I do emphasis the Trinitarian God revealed in scripture and in the Person of Jesus Christ, we have no ability to define right from wrong, good from evil, order from disorder, etc. Furthermore, without the Christian God, we don’t even have the ability to define logical from illogical, rational from irrational, or sense from nonsense, given that nothing is absolute, nothing is fixed, and there is no standard whatsoever to determine anything from

So do me a favor, all you humanists and atheists: why not run an ad campaign that says: “Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow you may die.”? At least then you could keep your main objective, which is to promote the breaking of God’s law written on your heart –thus silencing your conscience that terrifies you about the coming judgment, and then, with this slogan, you wouldn’t be contradicting yourself and insulting the intelligence of those who actually believe that rationality exists.

Lord, sanctify them with you truth. Your Word is truth.

A few months back I mentioned that my former church, First Baptist Woodstock here in the metro Atlanta area, is hosting a ‘John 3:16′ conference where the specific doctrines of Calvinism are going to be examined by a number of speakers. Jerry Vines and Johnny Hunt are obviously the big names on the ticket, and both of these men have a history with their strong disagreements with Calvinism.

But in my last post I offered a few thoughts and concerns regarding this conference, and I (and others) await to see whether there will be any serious interaction with scripture by those who oppose the doctrines of grace. Let’s hope and pray that the rhetoric is low and the digging into scripture is preeminent!

I will not be attending the conference, but my good friend Andrew Lindsey is there, and will be ‘live-blogging’ the conference via Tim Challies blog. You can follow his progress over at Challies.com, and Andrew’s first post can be found here.

Also, another good friend of mine, ‘johnmark‘, will be live-blogging the conference as well.His first post on the subject can be found here.

Lastly, I would like to open up this comment thread for any and all thoughts on the conference, no matter what your position. I’d love to hear your thoughts on the subject.

The writer, a very kind gentlemen, was doing a piece on Churches that promote Gasoline gift-cards and such to get attention and increase attendance, and he came across my blog article and wanted to inquire further. You can find his article in a few spots, one being at USA Today:

Godly or gimmick? Churches offer free gas

We talked a good bit about the subject, and I tried to be as ‘bipartisan’ as possible by not turning this into a simple doctrinal dispute. That is, lest unbelievers read and assume it’s just an argument about ‘words and names in our own law’, I tried to emphasize that the practice is a matter of integrity, and essentially, the very gospel itself.

Just a short sound-bite of my comments were included in the article, and as quoted, they were:

Nathan White, an Atlanta-area Baptist, was troubled by a church gas card raffle he learned about at a Baptist church in Snellville, Ga. The corporate executive, who plans to become a pastor, thinks gas giveaways are shameful financial gimmicks that undermine the Gospel.

“They are appealing to the natural corruptions in unbelieving people … . The Bible warns very explicitly about the dangers of greed, the love of money being the root of all evil,” said White. “Appealing to the selfish motives of people is not Christianity.”

I went on from there about the high calling of Jesus in the gospel, the nature of true repentance as being the opposite of self-fulfillment, and even the differences between Arminianism and Calvinism, which is essentially the age-old argument over whether salvation is of good works or faith alone.

But to give the full context, let me expound a little further here:

• The gospel of Jesus Christ is about repenting from sin and turning away from the natural desires of our flesh; it is diametrically opposed to self-fulfillment.
• As JM Boice has said: “What you save them with is what you save them to.” That is, if you entice them with something to get them in and signed up, you’ve won them to that, not the gospel, and as soon as the enticement is gone, they will fall away.
• Also, in regards to simple integrity: is there no concern about a church, which obviously depends on giving to meet their financial needs, using gimmicks to increase attendance?

Again, the practice is more than a simple doctrinal dispute. The practice of enticing unbelievers to come to church by appealing to corruptions that are explicitly stated in scripture, is to undermine Christianity at it’s very core.

Nevertheless: what do you think about the article and my comments? Could I have taken it in a better direction, and/or was I too harsh?

For those wanting to know more about my comments and essentially, a fuller presentation of my argument, feel free to ask, or check out some of the following posts:

• Blasphemy in Today’s Churches
• Saved from What?
• Mike Horton on Joel Osteen’s Message: “It is certainly heresy”

It was John Calvin who recommended that we take periodic walks through the graveyard so that we (and our children) are constantly reminded of the reality of death. To me that sounds like very wise advice.

Death in this society is anything but in the forefront of our minds; real death, that is. Of course Hollywood has its glamorous version of death, as does the every-present 24hour news channels feeding into our living-rooms and PCs. But the fact of the matter is that our society’s infatuation with fun, entertainment, wealth, ease, and comfort betray the notion that the digitalized ‘death’ around us is having any sort of real effect.’Death’ has become a video game, a form of entertainment (in news and in show), and is something that happens to other people; it’s certainly not something many of us think can really happen to us.

I must say, thinking about dying is no fun; it’s actually very depressing. Depressing in the Ecclesiastes sort of way, if you know what I mean. But death is a reality, for the Christian and non-Christian alike, and given the great account we must give at the end of days, death is something that should be vitally important to all of us.

With that in mind, the point of this post is to simply remind you (and myself) of this reality so that we do not forget it or neglect reminding ourselves of it. Let us tremble at the Divine response to the rich man who set aside his soul as ‘having its goods laid up’ (he thought he was right with God) while he pursued earthly endeavors: ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ – Luke 12:20

Thus, consider a sad but necessary reality about death can be found in Ecclesiastes 2:

I hated all my toil in which I toil under the sun, seeing that I must leave it to the man who will come after me, and who knows whether he will be wise or a fool? Yet he will be master of all for which I toiled and used my wisdom under the sun. This also is vanity. So I turned about and gave my heart up to despair over all the toil of my labors under the sun, because sometimes a person who has toiled with wisdom and knowledge and skill must leave everything to be enjoyed by someone who did not toil for it. This also is vanity and a great evil.

Do you realize that you could be replaced at any moment? Have you duly consider the phrase ‘he will be MASTER of all‘? Think about where you’re sitting right now. If you were to die, someone else would fill that chair. Someone else would be using your computer. Someone else would eventually fill your job and do what you are doing for a living. Someone else would take your role in your family –whether that be provider, homemaker, etc., maybe even husband or wife, father or mother. Those jobs would fall to someone, somehow, who would master them as you do right now.

If you were to die, someone else would be driving your car, spending your money, wearing your clothes. If you were to die, someone else would be comforting/loving your husband, or your wife, your children, your family.

Who knows whether that person(s) would be wise or a fool? How would they treat your wife, your kids, your family? What kind of work ethic would they display at your job? What would they spend your money on –the money you toiled to get? How would they treat your things; would they use them for good or evil, for selfish pleasures or for serving?

Of course, immediately after your death there would be a time of mourning –3 months maybe. After that things that you owned and the positions in life that you held would slowly but surely fall into other hands. Your friends and family, though they do love you very much, would start to forget you in day-to-day life, and they would get on with their own lives. The world that’s not immediately around you, things like sports, media, politics, culture, etc., would continue on and not even notice your death unless it was of uncommon circumstances.

That’s reality, folks. And as painful as it may be to write/think about these things, it will do you great benefit to consider them deeply. Life isn’t all about us, even in our own personal world and families. Life can and will go on just fine without you.

Depressing? Sure is. But let us not forget that there are treasures in heaven. There are treasures that you will not lose, that others will not take over, that thieves will not steal and moth will not destroy.

That eternal treasure is Jesus Christ. The treasure are the robs of His righteousness that He grants to all those who come to Him in faith. The treasure is not something we earn on our own, or something that is given to us for our goodness –and I believe the vanity of all this life is shown here in Ecclesiastes to demonstrate that very thing. What is lasting you cannot gain in your own power; what is lasting is not to be found in this physical realm.

You are empty; Christ is full. You are naked; Christ will clothe. You are blind; Christ gives sight. You are deaf; Christ speaks. You are sinful; Christ is righteous. You have broken the Law with your deeds; Christ has perfectly obeyed the Law with His. You are dead; Christ gives life.

I pray that you will read this post and utterly despair at the vanity of all this life has to offer and all that you can produce in your own power. Whatever it may be that you’re living in or living for, it isn’t your’s and you cannot keep it. Someone else will sooner or later be master. Then what will become of you? But I pray, once you’ve despaired of even life itself, and have realized that nothing, absolutely nothing is all about you, look to Jesus Christ. Oh, behold His sympathy and His beckoning calls to give you rest. He has defeated death and all the vanity contained within; seek the Treasure that will not fade away…