Why does it hurt so much?

Have you experienced the loss of a loved one? Wept in the agony of a life taken away? Agonized over the chasm between Heaven and Earth through which we may not reach except through prayer to God who oversees it? Perhaps you’ve even blamed God for keeping careful watch over the one you so regret losing to the separation of death. The Giver of Life is not the one who steals, kills and destroys (John 10:10), but our Maker has appointed the way of things, and for each of us to die at some point (Hebrews 9:27). If we are careful to learn the lesson of our pain, we find that it is separation that hurts us. Even in the case of those we mourn whose hope of Heaven is assured, we wince and wail at the thought that our prized one is there and not here. Our certainty of their happiness in Heaven only partly assuages the grief that results from our selfish nature. We want them to be where we can see, touch, and hear them. Pain is not without purpose; it serves to direct our attention to some real need. So to what is the pain of our bereavement directing our awareness? The Father has long been bereaved of union with His created children, and the agony of this estrangement would be an alien emotion to mortal man were it not for the occasional parting of our fellows or family members. Every instance of mortality serves as a reminder that we are not where we belong, and that our home is in the presence of the Father.

“The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). Sin is separation, a falling away from God. The contract of Eden was that when Man ate of the forbidden fruit they would surely die (Genesis 3:3). Man rebelled against the one law of Eden’s covenant and was removed from God’s presence, a separation our selfish nature tends to make us forget. The consequence of sin is death – the inescapable result of choosing separation from God was we got our wish. Now, physically separated from God, our souls’ reunion with Him comes at the cost of separation with mortal (literally “death-sentenced”) men. So we who are left behind endure a deep longing for nearness to the one we have lost – to remind us of the deep longing the One who has lost us has had from the beginning. 

Thankfully, God has not left us to suffer without cause or without benefit. As we come to recognize the great empty chasm between us and God, we find ourselves drawn to the remedy for it. The awareness of our predicament comes by the Spirit of the One who bridged the gap by His own sacrifice. The common thread between Eden’s Covenant, the Mosaic Covenant (the Law and the Ten Commandments), and the New Covenant (the Gospel of Jesus Christ) is that sin requires a death (Hebrews 9:22). It is by no accident or miscalculation that we all feel unworthy to come to God; none of us is. But the unattainable price of our sin-bounty was paid by the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ, God Himself in human form (Romans 3:25). 

The lie Eve and Adam bought was that this life is all there is – that “you shall not surely die” (Genesis 3:4) was their reality. We, as their descendants, risk believing that same lie when we live as though this temporary separation is all there is. When we fail to recognize that Earth is a nursery, training academy, and proving ground for what we will become, and embrace it as though our existence will not go on beyond this world, we stand in pre-sentenced judgment and are granted our wish – eternal destruction. But if the pain of our separation serves its purpose, and makes us long for home enough to lean into it even now; if we more than just believe in Christ but believe on Him enough to live out that faith (John 3:18), we have the assurance that we are among His beloved children (Ephesians 5:1), and He will never really leave us or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5).

Our tie to the eternal realm from Earth is prayer (Psalm 102:17, Revelation 8:4). God’s people communicate with Him, and He with them, through prayer. It is as simple as talking to a friend. Won’t you reach across the great divide with the one tool we have to do so, and end the separation that so grieves the heart of God, our loving Father? When you do, you may find that you become the answer to the question, “Why does it hurt so much?”

See also: The Death of a Friend: Permission to Weep

The Truth is We Need Jesus

When we read the Old Testament, we can usually find that its truth, like a perfect crystal, rotates to be viewed in at least three facets. When we look straight at it, we see the black and white history of the writing, exactly as the Lord has preserved it over the centuries. This, in itself is no small miracle, considering all the attacks against so many of its guardians through the years. When the Spirit of the Lord permits the reader to rotate the multi-dimensional truth, what was hidden becomes visible to those to whom He has given eyes to read it. What once was a historical record, now becomes a pattern over which the life of Christ would lay. The third facet illuminates when the same truth is rotated toward the reader himself, providing direction, correction, guidance and communication directly to the reader, as a recipient of a love letter directly from his Father.

In between these three are sometimes found patterns that either allude to or dictate the outcomes of current and future events. It is a true saying that God initiated order in a rotating fashion. What has happened, will in some similar pattern happen again. As God cleansed the world of sin once by immersion in water, so now, He cleanses the world by individual baptism. As Israel became enslaved to Egypt, as they were sustained through the famine, so we enslave ourselves to the sin that accompanies the provision that was meant to sustain us. As God, through Moses, delivered the slaves to the promised land, sparing them from the destroying angel by the blood of a lamb. So in the time of the Caesars, He provided the One, final Lamb, sparing all who would claim Him as their Savior, and will return to deliver those freed slaves to an eternal Promised Land, where we will live with Him forever.


The rotations are found when the pattern is turned over on itself. God gave us paradise of living with Him in Eden. We blew it, so he put us out of Eden and consigned us to labor, scattering us around the globe. God gave us the globe to populate, but we populated it with sin, so He washed it away, but planted the seed of one family. That family grew until God was crowded out, and He burned the rebellious towns with fire. God built His home with us in the Temple in Jerusalem, but we desecrated it, so he demolished it and laid waste everything anywhere near it. God came to us in the person of His Son, and paid an admission price granting us access to the originally intended condition, being together with Him. With that, we arrive at the present space and time. What will happen next depends on the answer to one question. It is the only question that matters in the grander scheme. It is not, "Why am I here?" or "What is my purpose?" but, "Whose am I?" The final rendering of the pattern will be similar to the first renderings. It was not the masses that received the benefit of God's paternity, but the eight on the ark built by Noah's obedience. It was not the masses who escaped the flames of Sodom and Gomorrah, but only Lot and his children. Even Lot's wife was lost to her lack of focus.


The condition of Man is fallen. We are as fallen today as when Adam ate of the forbidden tree. The destination of Man is destruction. God made us for His own companions, to share with Him in person and in relationship. Those not conforming to His original purpose will be disposed of. The need of man is Jesus. God Himself became, in the person of Jesus, the bridge between where we are and where He wants us. All that is required of us is to turn from the distractions of our provisions, back to the Creator who made us.


There will be two groups on the Great Day of the Lord. Those who are horrified and those who are ecstatic. We will not be separated by "good" and "evil" designations, as most of the world presumes. We will not be divided by "gave enough to charity" and "too stingy to deserve salvation." As we each walk to the Judgement Seat, we will not be entering a plea of "guilty" or "not guilty," but quite simply, "redeemed," or "not redeemed." As the reward is announced, and as eternity opens to receive its new recruits, the victory cry of the Bride of Christ will be that same plea, "Redeemed! Redeemed! By Christ's blood I've been redeemed!"


With the condition, destination, and need of Man in mind, and with the understanding that what happened to Jerusalem will happen to the Christian, and ultimately to the global Church of Christ Jesus, it becomes more of a challenge to read an Old Testament prayer from a man who was favored of God, and who was given insight into the many layers of history. Daniel prayed in Daniel 9:4-19:

"O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with all who love him and obey his commands, we have sinned and done wrong. We have been wicked and have rebelled; we have turned away from your commands and laws. We have not listened to your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes and our fathers, and to all the people of the land.
"Lord, you are righteous, but this day we are covered with shame—the men of Judah and people of Jerusalem and all Israel, both near and far, in all the countries where you have scattered us because of our unfaithfulness to you. O LORD, we and our kings, our princes and our fathers are covered with shame because we have sinned against you. The Lord our God is merciful and forgiving, even though we have rebelled against him; we have not obeyed the LORD our God or kept the laws he gave us through his servants the prophets. All Israel has transgressed your law and turned away, refusing to obey you.
"Therefore the curses and sworn judgments written in the Law of Moses, the servant of God, have been poured out on us, because we have sinned against you. You have fulfilled the words spoken against us and against our rulers by bringing upon us great disaster. Under the whole heaven nothing has ever been done like what has been done to Jerusalem. Just as it is written in the Law of Moses, all this disaster has come upon us, yet we have not sought the favor of the LORD our God by turning from our sins and giving attention to your truth. The LORD did not hesitate to bring the disaster upon us, for the LORD our God is righteous in everything he does; yet we have not obeyed him.
"Now, O Lord our God, who brought your people out of Egypt with a mighty hand and who made for yourself a name that endures to this day, we have sinned, we have done wrong. O Lord, in keeping with all your righteous acts, turn away your anger and your wrath from Jerusalem, your city, your holy hill. Our sins and the iniquities of our fathers have made Jerusalem and your people an object of scorn to all those around us.
"Now, our God, hear the prayers and petitions of your servant. For your sake, O Lord, look with favor on your desolate sanctuary. Give ear, O God, and hear; open your eyes and see the desolation of the city that bears your Name. We do not make requests of you because we are righteous, but because of your great mercy. O Lord, listen! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, hear and act! For your sake, O my God, do not delay, because your city and your people bear your Name."

Acknowledge that you are fallen, ask for Jesus' help getting up, and embrace a Father who only wants to love you. All else is distraction.

Prepare for the Flood

I suppose every child of a human mother grows up to have at least one critical point in their lives, a place that changes the course of their life. It is times like these when what a man does, the path he chooses, and the way he takes is entirely dependent upon the things he has come to learn. Before truth can be applied, its foundation must be laid in the heart. As Christians, we have an obligation to share the truth with people who may not seem interested, so that they are equipped for the day when they will be desperate for it.

My Heavenly Father prepared me when I was young for the day when I would cry out to Him when I was old. He placed me in a loving home with parents who prayed for me and with me. He sat me down on the floor with my family and spoke to me while Mother read Bible stories and Daddy prayed and helped us apply truth to our lives. He gave me Sunday School teachers with enough patience to scratch a little groove of knowledge into my distracted mind, no matter how many times I rearranged the felt-board characters into war scenes. Abba orchestrated the lives of several ministers and youth sponsors who would sow countless seeds of scriptural knowledge in my youthful mind, and who modeled practical Christianity before my inquiring eyes. Why? Because the day of trial comes like floods on a shaky house, testing the foundation on which we have built. If the seeds of truth are planted deep inside, that watery flood serves only to stir them up, and under the warmth of the Holy Spirit, they are drawn upon to bloom into obedience, spreading their fragrance of faith, hope and kindness to the everlasting glory of God the perfect Vinedresser.

When I was a boy, I heard a story of a prophet. He teased the prophets of Baal and glorified the God of Israel. He soaked an offering, an altar, and the soil around it in gallons of precious water during a drought-induced famine just to prove God's power. When the test of life came to me, I remembered Elijah's example . When the earth began to quake under my feet, the enemy swarmed around my camp, and all I loved was taken from me, I was able to pick myself out of the dust, tilt up the brim of my soiled hat, sneer at the enemy and say, "It's just another jar of water! You better stand back, 'cause Daddy's taking the stone with Him when He strikes His blow." How could I have taken any stand at all without the example of Elijah, and how could I have known of that victory unless somebody told me?

Again, I heard of a man with a tendency to speak his mind, sometimes before his mind had a chance to stop him. Peter was eager to please, and eager to be with the Lord. When all else were scared, and content to be comforted by the Lord's voice calling out to them from across the water, Peter dared to push the limit. "Have me come to you." What an expression of trust! Peter learned that the wind, though invisible, can steal your focus away. Peter learned that waves licking at your ankles can drop your gaze. Peter learned that the flood of trial can draw you, body and soul, straight down. In my early adulthood, the wind got rough and the waves licked at my own ankles. Because someone took the time to sow the seeds of knowledge about Peter into my life, I was better able to say to the water, "You are a mere annoyance! You are at my feet where you belong, and I will not look at you, because my focus is securely set on my Savior. Although I know the wind is on my cheek, I am entranced with His smile, and I will not take my eyes off Him."

While salvation may begin with the waters of baptism (1 Peter 3:21-22), the baptism that continues to save is not merely the stale water in a cold baptistery (Mark 10:38-39). The many baptisms we must endure, the rains of tribulation, the floods of uncertainty, will all serve to prove what we believe. " See, the Lord has one who is powerful and strong. Like a hailstorm and a destructive wind, like a driving rain and a flooding downpour, he will throw it forcefully to the ground." (Isaiah 28:2) By grace through faith a man is saved. By obedience through understanding he will prove it. "Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord,'" (Matthew 7:22) Many will be abandoned because on the day of their testing they failed to believe and abandoned the Lord. (Matthew 10:32-33) This is the difference between believing in the Lord, which even the demons do (James 2:19), and believing on the Lord (John 6:40) and looking on Him when all else attempts to distract.

Daily, we meet souls without a firm foundation. Sometimes they are closer than we think. Even inside our church congregations tidy little homes with pretty facades and ornate trim keep us from seeing the creaky sub-floors and the sandy foundations. It is our job, as Christ's ambassadors to the world, to share what we know to build others up (Ephesians 4:29, Hebrews 10:24, 1 Thessalonians 5:11) so that when the overwhelming scourge sweeps by, our neighbor can say, "So, this is what the Sovereign LORD says: "See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation; the one who trusts will never be dismayed."" (Isaiah 28:16)

Who will you share your victory with today?

Deuteronomy 11

Bind, or be Bound

Recently, I have been studying a lot about parenting teens. Since my study is more out of desperation than out of a search for enlightenment, I am studying the topic deeply and with a lot of thought. In Dad In The Mirror, Pat Morley, uses Deuteronomy chapter 11 as one of the pillars for the premise of the book. Deuteronomy 11 begins, "Love the LORD your God and keep his requirements, his decrees, his laws and his commands always. 2 Remember today that your children were not the ones who saw and experienced the discipline of the LORD your God: his majesty, his mighty hand, his outstretched arm; 3 the signs he performed and the things he did in the heart of Egypt…" Then it describes some of the miracles performed by God as He delivered the Israelites from Pharaoh, and continues, "7 But it was your own eyes that saw all these great things the LORD has done."

I am fairly certain that none of us, living today, were delivered from slavery to the Pharaoh in Egypt, led through a wilderness, and into a glorious land flowing with milk and honey. However, all of us were similarly slaves to sin and the consequences it held. Now, we are freed, but wandering in the wilderness of Earth. We are waiting for the Promised Land, following the guidance of the Holy Spirit like a pillar of smoke and fire, trusting Him to lead us to the place where we are prepared to receive the blessing of admittance to the New Heaven and the New Earth. Deuteronomy continues, "8 Observe therefore all the commands I am giving you today, so that you may have the strength to go in and take over the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess, 9 and so that you may live long in the land that the LORD swore to your forefathers to give to them and their descendants, a land flowing with milk and honey." That land, which became Jerusalem, was promised to the children of God. He delivered them from their bondage, marched them around for forty years, until He felt they were ready, and then sent them to receive their reward. Fast forward to Revelation 21:2, "I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband." The messenger of the Lord told John to write these words in Revelation 3: 19, "Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent….21 To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne." So the parallel can be drawn between slavery to Pharaoh and slavery to sin; the wilderness of Egypt and the wilderness of our world today; the Promised Land of the Israelites, and the New Jerusalem.

I recently was engaged in a conversation about what salvation is. The question seemed a simple one, but those in my company seemed to have difficulty coming up with an answer. To some, "salvation" is a free pass, sort of a "get out of Hell free" card. It means, that on my journey down the rapids of life, somebody somewhere pulled me onto shore before I reached certain death over a perilous fall that I was fast approaching downstream somewhere. Most can relate to that. It is simply understood. After all, salvation means the condition of being saved. Swiped from some fatal destruction. Put simply in the words of Forrest Gump, salvation means to some, "I’m going to Heaven, Lieutenant Dan!"

Salvation, however, is a little bit more than just being marked to escape the final condemnation. It means being rescued from the bondage to sin and its consequences. In this particular point in history, we are caught between slavery and reward, but our status is "freed." We are freed from the bondage that comes with separation from God. Romans 6: 6 says, "For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin— 7 because anyone who has died has been freed from sin." Paul, in the same chapter warns that we are not automatically made sinless. We merely have the keys to the gates and are free to walk out and distance ourselves from the sin-prison on a daily basis. Romans 6:1, "What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? 2 By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?" In other words, "Why revisit an empty prison when Christ already broke you out?" Romans 6:14, "For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace. 18 You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness." So, being "saved" is more than just being heaven-bound; it is just as much a present-tense state of freedom as it applies to today.

I have drawn this parallel between Israel’s wilderness and our own, to point out that the truth, and therefore the instruction, applies to the parallel, just as it did to the Israelites. We all have our bondage and wilderness experiences, even within our "saved" lives. We backslide and fall away, slipping a chain around our waist, easing a shackle over our ankles, tethering ourselves to "just a small, little" sin. Then, when we become aware of our predicament, we once again claim the mercy of Jesus, and the bonds fall off as quickly as we turn back to Him. Since the Israelites were instructed to share the experience with their children, we should not shirk our own responsibility to do likewise. It is imperative that we share our experiences with those we would teach, most of all our children, but also our brothers and sisters. II Cor. 1:4, "…so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God." If we are called to be ministers of peace, then it is our duty to share whatever wisdom we have learned with those around us who might benefit from it.

Too often we are content living our quiet Christian lives, with silent prayers and discreet ceremony. Far too frequently we bend to the fickle ways of today in the name of political correctness, sharing our testimony with a dose of apology, or devotion with a side of excuse. God commanded his people, Deut. 11:18 "Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 19 Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 20 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates, 21 so that your days and the days of your children may be many in the land that the LORD swore to give your forefathers, as many as the days that the heavens are above the earth."

Why share our failures? Why admit our shortcomings? Far be it from any of us to sit when the Lord sends, or to remain silent when He has entrusted us with a message! The truth of the wilderness is that not everyone makes it into the promised land, not even all the freed ones. Moses did not even get to enter into that land, but was succeeded by Joshua, who, upon reaching the promised land gave this announcement, which seems an appropriate closing:
Joshua 24:14 "Now fear the LORD and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your forefathers worshiped beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. 15 But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD."