of life and death

I have so much on my mind today that I just need to get out.  I'm going to attempt to make this post as coherent as possible.

On Friday an aunt of mine passed away.  She was suffering from severe diabetes (whether type one or two, I am not sure), and in very great pain.
She had a steel rod in one leg and the other, well, was amputated to stop the spread of severe infection.  Her kidneys were failing, and she could hardly breathe when she died. In the midst the family and friends that were with her in her dying hours was nothing but a great sadness and heaviness of heart.  Hope was only present in the knowledge that her pain would cease.

Without whole-hearted belief in Christ's finished work on the cross, there is no hope.  How can a person bravely face death when all that lies beyond them is impossible to know?  How can death ever bring anything good when all that remains is an eternity in hell?  It is almost tormenting to wonder whether or not my aunt's last breath was taken in fear or in hope.  Did the Lord give her the mercy of repentance in her last days?  This mystery will not be revealed here on earth, that is certain.

There are two things that bring home to a person the reality of how precious and fleeting this life truly is: the birth of a brand new little human being, and the expiration of one aged by time, trial, and experience. I have witnessed both in the last seven months.  Judah's birth shouted God's physical blessing to people here on earth, and my aunt's death proclaimed His sovereignty.  Both life and death work together as opposite ends of the same string (or a bridge), strange as it may seem.  They must be held in tension with each other, or the whole thing will collapse.  It's the same with a person's free will and God's sovereign will, or with justice and mercy, or even man and woman.  God uses these opposites together so that no one person can ever pretend to "know it all".  Such things serve to elevate God's ways infinitely higher than man's.  They cause us to wonder.  They teach us to fear Him.

Somehow or other I have been led to read the book of Job as of late.  I don't know if it's in light of current events, or because my husband is also reading it (either would be a good reason to study it).  I haven't gotten very far, but, even so, I have been affected greatly by the truth that lies therein.  Job says two things in the first few chapters that are truly profound (and entirely convicting!). 
After finding out that all of his livestock, servants, and sons and daughters have been slain, this is what Job does:

Then (he) arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshipped.  And he said, "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return.  The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD."                                                                                                 Job 1:20-21

Job got it right: he believed that God is sovereign and that He would be glorified in all that He had done.    Even in such turmoil, he was able to proclaim, "blessed be the name of the LORD."  This is a challenge to every single person who bears the name of Christ.  Can we have the faith of Job?
Again, when afflicted with excruciating sores all over his body, Job has the opportunity to choose whether or not he should trust God.  His wife mocks him for clinging to his integrity, telling him to "Curse God and die!", but he replies:

"Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?"           Job 2:10

Truly, this faith is astounding.  God is good, and He will always be good. He's not domesticated to fit our list of prerequisites.  He'll always do what brings Him glory, and, doubtless, we will not be able to fathom His ways.

Shall I take from Your hand Your blessings

Yet not welcome any pain

Shall I thank You for days of sunshine

Yet grumble in days of rain

Shall I love You in times of plenty

Then leave You in days of drought

Shall I trust when I reap a harvest

But when winter winds blow, then doubt

 

Oh let Your will be done in me

In Your love I will abide

Oh I long for nothing else as long

As You are glorified

 

Are You good only when I prosper

And true only when I’m filled

Are You King only when I’m carefree

And God only when I’m well

You are good when I’m poor and needy

You are true when I’m parched and dry

You still reign in the deepest valley

You’re still God in the darkest night

As Long As You Are Glorified by Mark Altrogge