| Why We Live and Breathe © Betty Sue Eaton |
| For the past three weeks, my church has been studying the Bible and a book written by a renowned author and minister on God’s purpose for our lives. The book presumes that we have gained whatever age we are presently without knowing why we are alive and what we are to do with what time is left us here on earth. Many differing opinions have been posed as to what God’s will is for us, and lively discussions have followed the author’s directives as he interprets them from his own point of view. Some of the attendees to these study groups, as I, have their own belief for what He has put us here on this planet to accomplish in His name. From my own experiences and writing for Life After Loss, I have come to believe that my purpose is to seek out those who are suffering the loss of a loved one and try to bring comfort and solace to them in His name. I reason that since God has called so many of my family and dear friends to be with Him, because He has allowed me to survive instead of them, He must be preparing me for this ministry. I believe that in placing me in this particular position, He must be trying to teach me the lessons of humility and empathy to be more effective in my ministering to those grieving souls with whom I come into contact. I have learned those lessons through great grief and pain of loss very well. However, those are not the real lessons that God wants me to learn. According to the Bible, His Word, I am placed here for Him to love and cherish, even as I have loved and cherished my lost loved ones. We are created and given life so He can love us, and so we can love Him back! Had not Adam and Eve eaten the forbidden fruit, we would have all been living eternal lives in a state of ecstasy, untouched by loss, pain, or disappointment of any kind. But that is an "if only", and "if onlys" are empty guesses. God’s promises, even to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, were, and still are real and profoundly important to Christian lives like yours and mine, not to be taken lightly. Our eternal life with God depends on our taking them very seriously. During times of loss in our lives, we question why we are allowed to live when our loved ones are taken from us. I have asked myself that question far too many times. There is one answer: God still has a purpose for us that has as yet been unfulfilled and He will not allow us to go home to be with Him in heaven until that purpose has been accomplished to His satisfaction. He gives us a finite time on earth to do that, and our days are numbered even as the hairs on our heads. How can we expect to go through life without pain or loss when even He had to lose His Son, Jesus Christ, for the redemption of the sins of Adam and Eve and ourselves as well? That was Jesus' purpose in living. I believe that our purpose in living is to do His work, obey His will, and as He tells us in the Bible, to care for the widowed and children, comfort the sick and grieving, love our neighbors as ourselves, and always love Him, for such is the stuff that Heaven is made of. If you have lost one of your loved ones, either in time past or recently, those commandments do not change, nor does God. He is alive today and will always love you and bring you comfort and peace. Since He does not make empty promises, we can rely on them, trust His promises to see us through our losses and bless us eternally when we go to be with those loved ones whom He has called home to be with Him in Heaven. If you are grieving a lost loved one, my prayer is that God will comfort you and bring you peace that surpasses all understanding. ~ Betty My 2¢ Worth by Ferna Lary Mills Listening to a radio program this week, the orator was speaking of our purpose in living, echoing many of the same principles Betty mentions in her column this week. The speaker then made this profound statement: If God only intended for man to be saved, He would save us on Monday morning, kill us on Monday night, and we would be back in Heaven before Tuesday morning! Now, since it doesn't happen like that, there MUST be a bigger reason for us to exist. I believe Betty says it extremely well. Because you still live and breathe, you should spend some special time in prayer to discover your true purpose. So, where do you go to find the purpose for the pottery, but to the Creator of the Pot? He will show you the "why's" as He opens your eyes to all of the things that make you special and able to fulfill that purpose ~ His purpose. In the meantime, it will amaze you how much healing will take place in your heart when you simply keep your focus on His face. |
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| A Christian Grief Ministry |
Life After Loss |
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