"For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord’s.
For to this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and living."
Romans 14:8-9
This kind of seems fatalistic at first, like accepting the horribleness of the world and suffering through it in order to get some kind of reward after this life. ... And I guess some deaths might be like that, but I don't think this is that kind of a lesson where God is saying he wants us to suffer our whole lives. Instead, he tells us "thine adversity and thine affliction shall be but a small moment" and asks us to "endure it well" (D&C 121:7-8). ... I think he is telling us, as we tell others to give them hope: "It gets better" and "This too shall pass." He's saying that we don't have to worry about endings, because he has new beginnings for all of us.
Enduring it well doesn't always, or probably even often, mean suffering without complaint as a martyr, because God would rather we work on making things better... finding the good around us, and working to help others.
I love the idea of God being able to save us and be our Lord whether we are alive or dead. That means that he can always reach us, even beyond mortality. We can be the Lord's, always, and are never beyond the rescue of his salvation.
Today, let's live unto the Lord, and know that if we stick with him, he will never leave us and will be our rock and eternal reassurance through every change. Let's hang in there and look forward to some new beginnings.
For to this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and living."
Romans 14:8-9
This kind of seems fatalistic at first, like accepting the horribleness of the world and suffering through it in order to get some kind of reward after this life. ... And I guess some deaths might be like that, but I don't think this is that kind of a lesson where God is saying he wants us to suffer our whole lives. Instead, he tells us "thine adversity and thine affliction shall be but a small moment" and asks us to "endure it well" (D&C 121:7-8). ... I think he is telling us, as we tell others to give them hope: "It gets better" and "This too shall pass." He's saying that we don't have to worry about endings, because he has new beginnings for all of us.
Enduring it well doesn't always, or probably even often, mean suffering without complaint as a martyr, because God would rather we work on making things better... finding the good around us, and working to help others.
I love the idea of God being able to save us and be our Lord whether we are alive or dead. That means that he can always reach us, even beyond mortality. We can be the Lord's, always, and are never beyond the rescue of his salvation.
Today, let's live unto the Lord, and know that if we stick with him, he will never leave us and will be our rock and eternal reassurance through every change. Let's hang in there and look forward to some new beginnings.
No comments:
Post a Comment