Victory

I think it is "Christus Victor" on my mp3 player (another Kingsway freebie) which ends with a short sermon of sorts from the singer.

He talks about football team "victories", countries taking over other countries "victories" but he says that these are all temporary, it all changes, beit in a year, or a hundred years, someone else gets their time and so on and so forth.

Only one victory is permanent.  Selah.

It's difficult to express my attitude towards a certain situation at the moment without sounding like I'm "giving in", but I think some people need to let go.

If I was directly affected by it, I would feel differently, sure, but at the same time I think I would need to stop and ask some important questions:

Who is the Master of life and death anyway?  Who has control of this person's life?  Who has already won the victory?

The answer to all of them is the Answer to the problem.  Trouble is, too many people have decided they know what's best and are, effectively, in my mind, telling God what to do, when they should just...let...go and give it to Him.  Yes, it's painful.  Yes, the result may not be what you are praying for.  But who is Master of your life?  Who is Master of their's?

My friend, who had a brush with death, the other week said "What I care about is that God's will is done." I believed them.  But with their mouths other people are saying "Thy will be done" (...but as long as it's mine too)

For someone in Christ, death is not an ending.  It can seem like an ending to those left behind and I can hardly begin to empathise.  But something in my nature is seeing the practical side of all this, that one day, I will see all of my friends again, and I may actually end up kind of jealous if they go before me.

The fear of years and years of loneliness is something I have lived with - but this fear is starting to dissipate.  Incredibly, all this stuff going on in and around the churches, mine and others I've heard of, those critically ill, or had a brush with death, or lost a spouse due to critical illness...has improved my prayer life 100 fold and...given me hope that I can cope for a time that has a high chance of occuring.  And this, in itself, was an answer to prayer...

Late edit approx 16:45:  It's over.  Another spirit gone to be with the Lord Jesus, and another lonely heart on earth.  It's a circle we may never understand and will only be ended once the final victory is won.