17 April 2022
Let's pull together some recent themes on this blog.
Jesus wasn't afraid to die. His flesh was resisting it fiercely, as we know from His time praying that night in the Garden of Gethsemane. You can bet His human mind tried every possible trick to get Him to turn aside from the path to the Cross. However, His real self was committed to that path. Indeed, His primary concern in waiting so long was that it wasn't His time to die (John 7).
We should follow His lead on that. It shouldn't be fear the turns us away from our friend, Death. It should be the firm conviction that it's not the Father's time for us to come Home. Don't go Home without a summons in your heart.
Yes, you'll know. That's the testimony of the saints. I'm hardly the only observer to note that, everyone I knew whose faith was strong, they always knew when they were about to die. In fact, the same goes with every personal catastrophe. If you are paying attention, the Lord will warn you; that's how things have been in my life.
The way it works is that you should get into the habit of prayer in the background of your awareness. You should be constantly asking the Lord what He wants from you at the moment. Everything you do, in terms of what you do and in the timing, should be aimed at His glory. Be always doing your very best to obey your convictions. Keep stopping internally to ask.
This becomes the reason for staying alive, and for everything you do during life. It's not wrong to be aware of worldly consequences of things, but don't let such knowledge rule our choices. The world will never understand, and that's okay. The only reason you really need for anything is that your convictions demand it.
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