Tab Youth

11/5/08 – We’re Gonna Live Forever…

Story

I could feel the tears welling up in her eyes as she talked. I could imagine myself in her shoes, and I began to experience the pain she felt. Even though what happened was almost two years ago, it was every bit as real as the breakfast she had eaten a few hours earlier. She could feel his touch, smell his scent, and breathe in all of his goodness. This 70-year-old woman hadn’t been alone for over fifty years, and suddenly, her best friend was taken from her. Actually, it was more of a tearing away. Sure, we all know death is coming at some point, so we should be ready for it, right? Yeah, right! How can someone ever be ready for loneliness, crying themselves to sleep at night, pleading with God for just one more day? This woman had lost her companion, her husband, her protector, and now she was telling me the story. It was hard for her to look me in the eye, and I noticed her stumbling over her words searching for the right ones to describe her emotions. But the words weren’t there. As if the pain isn’t enough, the words don’t even exist to describe the pain. Till death do you part! Yes, indeed.

I wrote this after a conversation I had with a member of this church. I won’t tell you who it is, but it was such a powerful experience for me. I’m a person who runs away from pain. I don’t like to be uncomfortable. I don’t like to suffer. Do I sound like anyone else you know? As I might have told you before, I’ve suffered from depression since I was about 13 years old. I didn’t know what to call it when I was 13. All I remember is constantly being sad for no reason. Sure, 13 year olds have plenty to be sad about (problems with the opposite sex, acne, violence), but I seemed to live with this constant cloud over my life. Sometimes, my eyes would well up with tears sitting in class, and I would feel this overwhelming feeling like nothing has any meaning. Like I said, I like to run from things, but when the thing is inside you, it’s hard to run from it! Depression is like that, the pain from losing a loved one is like that, changes are like that.

Scripture

John 5:28

"Don't act so surprised at all this. The time is coming when everyone dead and buried will hear his voice. Those who have lived the right way will walk out into a resurrection Life; those who have lived the wrong way, into a resurrection Judgment.” (The Message)

Point

So where does God fit into all this? If you’ve ever watched some preachers on TV, you know that they make God out to be this magic genie. Just rub the lamp, and all your problems are solved, right? Or send them a check! I’m gonna be honest with you: If I could be God for a day, that’s what kind of God I’d be. I wouldn’t make people go through death, or depression, or growing up. I’d fix everyone’s problems right away. Like on Bruce Almighty, where Jim Carrey just replies Yes to all the prayer emails. Please give me my husband back: You got it! Please give me my happiness back: Already done!

So back to death: we die a bunch of throughout our lives.

Our Dreams die. When I was eight years old, I knew for sure I was going to play for the Chicago Bulls and be Michael Jordan’s teammate. If anybody would have told me otherwise, I would have told them they were dumb. Then I got older and never grew taller than 5’8”. Needless to say, that dream died.

Our Plans die. I knew for sure I was going to marry my high school sweetheart. I thought we were meant to be. We met in church, her parents loved me, and we kept ourselves sexually pure. God had to bless that relationship, right? Wrong! She broke my heart three separate times: cheating, lying, and then losing interest. Ouch! Those marriage plans died.

Our Hopes die. The lady I talked about earlier. She had hoped that her husband and she would die at the exact same time. Kinda like that movie The Notebook. In a perfect world, right? If that happened, she wouldn’t be going through the agony she’s experience right this moment. I’m sure some days are better than others, but I can’t even imagine how difficult life has been for her since she lost her husband. I hoped that my teenage depression was just a phase, but it’s something I’ve had to fight and struggle with every single day since then.

Application

What this Bible verse tells us is that death is not all there is. Death doesn’t have the last word. Jesus offers us a hope that will never die. That when we die, if we have believed in him (and remember what I said about belief last weekend, it’s much more than just checking a box saying you agree with something), we’ll live forever! One of my favorite musicians is Common. One of his albums is entitled “One Day It’ll All Make Sense.” I’m not sure what Common meant by that, but we can rest assured that, for us as Christians, all the death we experience will make sense. What’s the most often used symbol for Christianity? A cross. An instrument of death and torture. But we find hope in Jesus’ death, because death wasn’t the end for him. Place your HOPE in Jesus, and that hope will never die, but most importantly, YOU will never die.

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