There is a great Charlie Brown picture that has been surfacing on facebook, where Charlie says to Snoopy: “Some day we all will die!”, and Snoopy replies: “True, but on all the other days we will not!”
It is true we live with the knowledge that we will die. In my work, I see death on a regular basis. It is easy to focus on dying and forget about living well. Somehow I have to find a balance, and Snoopy says it well!
I’m still in the land of Easter, and have been thinking much about the resurrection.
For Christ-followers, this is central to our faith, for it is a risen Christ who brings us hope for eternity.
What I had not paid much attention to in the past was this wonderful in-between time after the resurrection, where Jesus appears – hundreds of times – as a risen Christ, before he ascends to heaven. These encounters are recorded in history books and give much reassurance to the doubting mind.
This Easter weekend, we watched the movie “A Case for Christ”, chronicling the story of journalist Lee Strobel, who was a staunch atheist, and who set out to prove the invalidity of the resurrection after his wife converted to Christianity. I was impressed by the quality of this movie, and the wrestling of Strobel, who loved his facts, and wanted to prove Christianity wrong. In the end, he comes to faith. I was deeply moved, and highly recommend this film, now on Netflix.
So the question surfaces for me, “How then shall we live?”
Every day is a gift, I say it often, and believe it well. Every morning as I wake up I realize that I am alive! Most of me works, and I am grateful that I am mobile, that I can speak, and for the most part have a functioning brain. I don’t take these things for granted anymore, and even though I purpose to take care of this body, I know it is fragile.
I love the words of the prophet Micah who says that we are to act justly, to love mercy, to walk humbly…
