Faith Words: For Us, the Living

Mom's still asleep but soon she'll rise and start her day. She'll go thru the regular, familiar routines all the while wondering how to go on now that Daddy's gone.  She'll cry and then she'll sigh and take the next breath, the next step.  That's what we do, the living, the ones left behind. We take the next breath, the next step and keep on living.

In his Gettysburg Address, Abraham Lincoln said, "It is for us, the living, rather to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they...have, thus far, so nobly advanced."  He was speaking of the unfinished work of the soldiers who had died in the battle of Gettysburg.  But isn't there still unfinished work?  Aren't we still fighting the battle?

Dad spent his life in many pursuits but in the midst of all of them was his dedication to the good works God had set before him.  Not only did he serve his fellow Christians, but he also fought nobly to save others, to set them free from the bondage of sin.

Lincoln spoke of a "new birth of freedom" for our nation, looking forward to a time when we recognize all people as equal, no matter their race or origin with the hope that our nation would never "perish from the earth."

Peter spoke of a new birth, too.  In 1Peter 1:3-4, Peter reminds us of that with these words:

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!  In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade - kept in heaven for you."

Praise God!  Dad received that new birth and living hope and is now enjoying that imperishable inheritance.

The work is still unfinished.  And it's up to us, the living, "to be dedicated here" to keep up the good fight, to share the good news of the new birth and living hope we have through Jesus Christ.  Please, God, give us the enduring strength and courage to continue the work while we live and pass that inheritance along to generations yet to come!

Faithfully,

Patrice

Matthew 28:19-20 (NIV)

Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of  the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.  And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.