"And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.
He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.
But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death."
Revelation 21:6-8
The idea that God is the beginning and the end is kind of cool. He's where we came from and where we are going. It talks about overcoming in order to inherit, and I think that's where trials come in... they are built in to life, this in-between time between God and God. They aren't typical of our experience, but this life gives us a chance to live, understand, and know in a way that we couldn't experience otherwise... in a weird way I think it is our one chance to be truly independent. This place is set up to present bad things in an enticing way. I don't think that is something we could believe for a moment in the actual presence of God. With him there, we'd look at the icing on the cake of dirt and know it for what it was, and we'd always have the answers.
We still can have all the answers, but in this context it requires faith rather than it being as obvious as sunlight. As we learn the difference between good and evil, and develop faith and so many other things, we have this one, unique chance to learn who we are, and to learn what having a body is all about, and the associated danger and potential.
Today, let's take this laundry list of bad things and maybe work on scratching some of them off of our own lists. :) Let's take some initiative since we have all of this freedom and independence and let's choose the water of life over the lake of fire and brimstone. Horrible aftertaste. :) Let's remember that God is the set of bookends to everything we do and are. This is our volume--let's make sure it is a good story with a happy ending. With his help, it can be, no matter what this chapter looks like.
He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.
But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death."
Revelation 21:6-8
The idea that God is the beginning and the end is kind of cool. He's where we came from and where we are going. It talks about overcoming in order to inherit, and I think that's where trials come in... they are built in to life, this in-between time between God and God. They aren't typical of our experience, but this life gives us a chance to live, understand, and know in a way that we couldn't experience otherwise... in a weird way I think it is our one chance to be truly independent. This place is set up to present bad things in an enticing way. I don't think that is something we could believe for a moment in the actual presence of God. With him there, we'd look at the icing on the cake of dirt and know it for what it was, and we'd always have the answers.
We still can have all the answers, but in this context it requires faith rather than it being as obvious as sunlight. As we learn the difference between good and evil, and develop faith and so many other things, we have this one, unique chance to learn who we are, and to learn what having a body is all about, and the associated danger and potential.
Today, let's take this laundry list of bad things and maybe work on scratching some of them off of our own lists. :) Let's take some initiative since we have all of this freedom and independence and let's choose the water of life over the lake of fire and brimstone. Horrible aftertaste. :) Let's remember that God is the set of bookends to everything we do and are. This is our volume--let's make sure it is a good story with a happy ending. With his help, it can be, no matter what this chapter looks like.
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