Personal Object Lessons - Death

Death

“But God commendeth his love towards us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. For if … we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life” Romans 5 v 8, 10

There is one thing we cannot avoid in life: death. It is a certainty and it is also a topic that most people spend a lot of time trying to avoid. The net result is that whenever it occurs people have great difficulty coping with it, they don’t know how to deal with it. Generally people will avoid talking about death and anything surrounding it. However, death is not a subject to be avoided. Sure, it has sorrow attached to it, but on closer inspection there is also a reason not to be afraid of death as well.

We are all sinners, that is an undeniable fact and we are told that the penalty for sin is death (Rom 6 v 23). Fortunately for us, Christ Jesus has already paid the price for our sins when He died on Calvary. It is only death that brings freedom from sin (Rom 6 v 7). So the fact that Jesus chose to accept the sins of the whole world and be separated from the Father in the pain of the crucifixion was a sign of the love of God towards us. Through the death of Jesus we gained a gift: “the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Rom 6 v 23). The beauty of this verse is that it states the fact that we are all sinners and that death is the price we have to pay for the sin; then the verse continues with the glorious condition that we are already promised the most beautiful present ever received, that of eternal life! Death has no more power over us once we accept this gift of life. Death loses its negative influence in our lives because we know that Christ died and rose again giving each and every person who accepts Him the gift of eternal life (John 3 v 16).

Jesus died so that we could live. He experienced death, for Himself and for us, and by His GRACE (God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense) we do not have to remain in our sin and be separated from God for ever (Heb 2 v 9). Without this ultimate sacrifice we have been delivered from our “fear of death” that could hold us in bondage “all our lifetime” (Heb 2 v 15). Jesus’ death releases me from fear of death, (it will still sadden me to lose people, as I will miss them because of the love relationship I’ve had with them – that is humanity) but because there is that promise, that hope of a different future, then death does not burden me as it often can if I had not chosen to accept the gift of eternal life from God through the death of Jesus.

The death of the Son brings life to the world: we are all able to be reconciled to God, and thereby we can all be saved! (Rom 5 v 10) - what a blessing.

©MHMorgan 2009

Personal Object Lessons - Crucifixion

Crucifixion

“And Pilate answered and said again unto them, What will ye then that I shall do unto him whom ye call the King of the Jews? And they cried out again, Crucify him. Then Pilate said unto them, Why, what evil hath he done? And they cried out the more exceedingly, Crucify him. And so Pilate, willing to content the people, released Barabbas unto them, and delivered Jesus, when he had scourged him, to be crucified.” Mark 15 v 12-15

Christ was condemned to die. The religious leaders of the time despised His popularity and accused Him of claiming to be a king: this was against Roman law and seen as an act of rebellion against the emperor. When Pilate asked Jesus if He was the King of the Jews, Jesus’ only reply was “Thou sayest it” (Mark 15 v 2). During the heated trial Jesus was accused of many other crimes by the religious leaders and He did not answer or refute any of their accusations. The outcome of the trial was dictated by the mob gathered in front of Pilate. Pilate wanted to placate the people so he assented to their wishes.

Crucifixion is a form of death reserved for the most heinous of crimes. The reviled person is tied or nailed naked to the cross and left to hang there until they die. This public execution is designed to humiliate the condemned person as they are open and vulnerable to all who witness the event. The usual Jewish method of dispatching someone who fell outside of the rules, especially for blasphemy, was to stone them to death. The Jewish leaders tried to stone Jesus in the temple (John 8 v 59) but He passed through the crowds and left them there. Crucifixion was a Roman method of death. The two groups, the Romans and the Jews, worked together to eliminate Jesus from their lives.

Before the actual crucifixion came the betrayal by Judas and the denial by Peter: these men were amongst Jesus’ closest companions. Person alienation was swiftly followed by public hostility. After the one-sided trial Jesus was taken to be beaten. Scourging, mocking and humiliation were all part of the prelude to the crucifixion. Once He was beaten, bloodied and bowed Jesus bore the heavy cross and made His way to the site where He was to die. All the way there He was ridiculed and attacked on every side. Each painful step He chose to take because of love. “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.” (John 3 v 16,17)

Jesus chose to suffer, to be the ultimate sacrifice for humanity. He took the pain of sin upon Himself. Our sin separates us from God; when we sin God hides His face and will not hear us. (Isaiah 59 v 2). Jesus paid the price, He endured the pain. By being stretched out on the cross He showed His total love for us. He, an innocent man, was separated from God by the sins of the world. The sense of hopelessness must have cause extreme agony at the reality of separation from God. Jesus lost contact with God, He cried “My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me?” (Mark 15 v 34)

Is Jesus’ crucifixion relevant today? Many people remember the crucifixion by carrying a nail in their purse or wallet. Others replicate the suffering by scourging themselves. Jesus was crucified to save us from our sins. We can remember His sacrifice by rejecting sin and accepting His everlasting love.

©MHMorgan 2009

Personal Object Lessons - Brothers

Brothers – just who is my family?


“A new commandment I give unto you. That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.” John 13 v 34


From the beginning of recorded time there has been the eternal question about individual responsibility for another person’s life. Cain asked “Am I my brother’s keeper?” (Gen 4 v 9) Cain already knew what had happened to his brother Abel because he was the one who had caused his brother’s death.
God responded, patiently, “… the voice of thy brother’s blood crieth unto me from the ground.” (Gen 4 v 10) After a short time in paradise, this episode of inhumanity has been repeated and reflected in different ways throughout the history of our planet. Each day, without fail, there is some dreadful action that deteriorates the life of another human being. Each time any one is treated with inequality the whole family, all of humanity, suffers in some way.
We are personally admonished to never tire in doing good things (2 Thess 3 v13), and to those that do not join in the efforts to unite humanity we must not alienate them but “admonish … as a brother.” (2 Thess 3 v 15). Our relationships must stay strong as we look out for each other and help each other to achieve the best possible situation in life.
We have been given a new commandment: “That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.” (John 13 v 34). These words need serious contemplation, and after each of us have thought it through we need to practically apply the action of love as Jesus has shown and directed. We are to do as He did. (cf John 15 v 12, 17; Matt 7 v12)
The question may still be asked “But just who is my brother, sister, family?” The Jews referred to all men as ‘brethren’. This includes strangers and neighbours. The story of the Good Samaritan addresses this query extremely well ( Luke 10 v 29-37). Matthew 22 v 39 also reminds us that we are to “love thy neighbour as thyself.” The care we should have for ourselves is the same care we must extend to our neighbour.
Christ Jesus Himself is referred to as a ‘brother’ to all He saves (Rom 8 v 29) (cf Matt 12 v 46-50). In times when adversity strikes our lives we rely on our family, on our brethren (Prov 17 v 17). With Jesus as a brother we can be assured that we will safe and loved.
In the simplest of terms we can acknowledge that as we have all descended from a common ancestor then we are all brothers. We are from the same root, we are part of the same living tree: humanity. Therefore, if one person suffers, we all suffer as a consequence.
So the question ‘Who am I responsible to today as my brother, sister, or my family?” can be answered very easily: any man, every man.

©MHMorgan 2008

Personal Object Lessons - Adoption

Adoption

“Even unto them will I give in mine house and within my walls a place and a name better than of sons and of daughters: I will give them an everlasting name, that shall not be cut off.” Isaiah 56 v 5

Many babies are born into families where their parents celebrate their arrival and they receive an individual name and a family name. Other children have different routes into families. They are adopted into the family and take their new names that way. The child does not make the choice – the choice is made for them. The adults voluntarily take the child as their own. They enter freely into the relationship with that child.

As grown people we can also freely choose to be adopted! We can choose our own family. This does not mean that we abandon our other familial relationships; this means that we have the ability, the power, to choose God as our parent (John 1 v 12).

When we believe in God He gives us the right, the privilege to become His child. Imagine that! The Creator of this world gives me, you, and anyone who chooses to believes in Him, the right and the power to adopt Him as our Father. What an amazing situation. God is all-powerful and He gives us power to choose Him as our family. Through adoption we become likened to a child who was produced directly by God (John 1 v 12). We have a re-birth through belief.

God chose us from the beginning of time (Deut 7 v 6-9) but we have to consciously choose Him for ourselves. He will never force Himself into our lives. All He wants for us is to be reunited in peace. If we believe in what He says and in what He has done for us (John 3 v 15-17) then we can accept and freely enter into a nurturing relationship with Him. It takes faith to believe that God made a plan to reconcile His family. He sees the individual worth of each person. He feels love for each person. He sees the everlasting brilliance and potential of you and me. He wants us to be returned to His family. For this end He willingly sacrificed His only Son to open the way for all His other lost children to return home. What a love! What a God!

There is no comparable offer to join any family anywhere in this world. God has chosen you now He wants you to choose Him. What will you do?

©MHMorgan 2008

Personal Object Lessons - My A – Z … road maps for life

My A – Z … road maps for life

“I am the way…” John 14 v 6

We all need guidance and directions and the advice given is specific depending on where we want to go and what we want to do. The world is full of signposts and arrows pointing us every way. The experience of being lost can be terrifying but there is always hope in the knowledge that we are not the first people to walk without aim.

Jesus says, “I am the way…” (John 14 v 6). The way to what? I have to ask, is this the way I want to go? The answer to the direction is in the second part of the sentence… “I am the way, the truth and the life: no man cometh to the Father, but by me.” (John 14 v 6). Jesus is offering Himself as our true guide to the Father. He says “no man cometh … but by me”: without Him we will not make it to God; Jesus is our means of access to God. He is our road map. He is our complete surety of making it to the required destination. How do we know our journey will be successful with Jesus as a guide? Can we trust Him? He says, “I am the …truth” (John 14 v 6).
As children we learned to trust our guardians, our parents, our siblings because we quickly learned what was true and what was false. With truth came trust that we built on over the years. Unfortunately we all experienced some disappointment as we grew up but never from Jesus. Jesus has never reneged on His promises. God the Father and Jesus the Son made a way for us to be reunited for eternity (John 3 v 16 –17). “…whosoever believeth in him should …have everlasting life” (John 3 v16). The Greek word used in this verse for ‘believeth’ is Pistis – to trust, to have faith in.

When we are driving and get lost we stop at the roadside and ask directions, we believe the word of the passer by without any previous knowledge of them. We follow their directions in full expectation of arriving at our required destination. Jesus comes to us with an impeccable history and personal interest in each one of us reaching our destination: heaven (John 14 v 1-3). Jesus advises s not to worry but to follow His directions and we will never get lost.

“I am the way…” (John 14 v 6). The Greek dictionary describes the ‘way’ as a route by which we make progress on our journey. Jesus has made Himself our roadmap for life. A map to show the way from life in this world to life in eternity (John 14 v 2 –3). We have to make a choice to progress on our journey. Progress is best when it is in the right direction. We can choose to trust Jesus – because He has travelled the road before us or we can make our own roadmap. Each person makes their own choice on which road to travel and the destination is assured in all choices. Which way will you choose today?

©MHMorgan 2008