What's Better Than Life? - A Short Meditation
Yesterday, I found something better than life itself.
"Because your steadfast love is better than life,
my lips will praise you." - Psalm 63:3
Hello, my friends. This is obviously an article drawn from my personal faith in Jesus, but I hope that admission right up front won't be a reason for my as yet unbelieving friends to "tune out."
As I've said in the past, and continue to maintain, one benefit of interacting in an online community like Steemit is that we get to meet friends from a vast variety of backgrounds. I believe that there are things that I can learn from each of you, no matter how diverse our beliefs.
I've been struggling a bit recently,
trying to make ends meet, while watching myself grow older. Lately, it has seemed to me that I can almost literally watch myself age in real-time. I look at my hands, and they are not the hands I remember. The face in the mirror is no longer that of a vital young man.
Problems of Aging
Photo courtesy of Swaraj Tiwari and http://unsplash.com
I've been re-reading the Psalms lately.
If any of you, my Steemit friends, find yourself at loose ends, may I suggest reading the Psalms? They are filled with heart. They expose the deepest hopes and fears of people who struggle with life, even as you and I do. The Psalms record every level of this roller-coaster ride we call life; not just the peaks, but also the deepest dips and the most terrifying bumps.
When I came across this verse yesterday,
I was riveted. Here I am, worrying about my life, contemplating its not too distant end, when this phrase simply leaped out at me:
"Your steadfast love is better than life."
Wow, seriously? Better than life?
What's the worst thing that could happen to me? Why am I spending any energy at all thinking about the problems of personal and family survival and aging? Even if I die, I have the steadfast love of Jesus to rely on. I can absolutely count on him to be always acting in my best interests. His love is reliable and unchanging. He takes my every bump, each misstep, every error of mine in stride.
What's Better Than Life?
Photo courtesy of Ben White and http://unsplash.com
I have found Jesus,
who I believe to be God himself become man, to be the most wonderful, reliable, loving friend ever. The unswerving love of God has sustained me this far in my life, and I have no reason to expect that to change, ever.
My believing friends, I encourage you to continue to believe and to grow in your faith. And my friends who have not yet come to know Jesus?
As I often do,
I encourage you to read the book that John wrote. If you've grown up apart from faith, you may have been relying on bad information. You know, "Things other people say about Jesus," or "Ideas I have about Jesus," information you've picked up here and there.
Why not go "straight to the horse's mouth" for a change? Read John's book, an account written by one of Jesus' contemporaries, someone who lived, ate, worked with Jesus. Then see what you think.
~FIN~
You are why I'm here on Steemit!
I have very eclectic interests and hope, over time, to write about them all.
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I am glad you found god in your experience. I am not a Christian but I do admire people like you who find their way to god.
Jesus is the gate, the pasture of sheep is heaven. You cannot enter the pasture without going through the gate, otherwise, you are a thief jumping over the fence trying to enter into heaven. It is good that you put faith in God but I suggest you go further and look to Christ as your savior. Try reading the text and take it for exactly what it is. You will find what you are looking for. Need only knock and you will be answered.
John 10:9 - 10:10
"I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture."
"The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly."
@creatr I do believe in Jesus but not as god I am actually Muslim but I do love Jesus and I am doing a lot of research on him because what I believe is that Jesus came to teach the world about love and god. He was an inspiration and I try to be more like mary. I believe he was not crucified and he shall return when the world has forgtten god and people have gone or became evil
Jesus was not God, but rather the embodiment of God. God was in him, and he is in us, us in him, and him in God. I hope you do not take this to offense, for it is out of love I say this. And I do not judge you, for I respect some muslims more then Christians for preserving Old Testament practices better then some Christians. But Muhammad was a false prophet. He led his people to desolation through war. He did not perform any miracles. And he was unable to predict his own fate when he was poisoned by a jewish women. Jesus taught us to "turn the other cheek", Muhammad went against what Jesus taught by acts of retaliation. Although Moses did go to war, these where with nations that where literally practicing child sacrifice. It was acts of temporary war that God commanded. Moses also performed multiple medical miracles such as the discovery of anti-venom, microorganisms, and quarantine.
Hi again, @masyl, and thanks for telling me more about yourself and what you believe.
I'll echo my suggestion from the article and encourage you again to read John's book. Why?
I don't think you can respect someone (Jesus) who says the things he did if he was lying. He was so clear about claiming to be God that the leaders of his day had him killed. There are many other examples of the way he made that claim. Here's a good short article that describes many of them: Article: Is Jesus God? Did Jesus ever claim to be God?
Thanks again for reading and commenting!
will definitely check it out. I am open to reading anything on the topic because I love to learn. I do have some school friends who are Christian and living in a Christian area a lot of the people are really nice. I respect your beliefs and I am sure that you respect mine seeing that you are god conscious thank you for the reading pieces. I am trying to figure the differences between most religions and this will be helpful
Hello, @masyl! Nice to "meet" you here on Steemit.
I appreciate that you've stopped by, and your very gracious comment. If I may ask, what are your most important beliefs?
Thank you again for commenting. :)
This is wonderful. You did well with this. Age is real but so is life everlasting. With that being said, we appear older but are youth is still very much so with us. Even at age 100, are souls (in terms of infinity) are still in infancy. Keep spreading the word. God bless.
Hello, friend @jacobcards. Thank you so much for reading and commenting.
Yes, as Jesus said,
It's great trying to wrap your head around the idea of "never perishing." :) :) :)
I know ! :D It has filled my life with joy and holiness. I do feel suffering at times, but to trade a lifetime of suffering for an eternity of God is well worth the trade. The future is bright my friend! :D
The future is extremely bright, indeed, by God's kindness.
I write about it often. I hope you'll have a chance to read some of my older articles about the New Heavens and the New Earth. Just click on the "Table of Contents" link in the middle of the page at the bottom of this article. ;)
I'll be writing more about the future God has for us, God willing... Stay tuned! ;)
Im gonna check them out right now! I preach the word daily on my page as well! I hope to see many more in the steemit community adopt God as a main focus point! Its the only thing that can save us. Thank you! Keep up the work.
Thank you, friend @jacobcards. :)
Gave you a follow as well :D
Amen!
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muy bueno encontrar la gracia
I love reading Shakespeare's sonnets for the poetry but they don't compare to the psalms for their poetry and wisdom...as for going forward, well, as Wiersbe says, whatever begins with God's grace will always lead to his glory. And in your case, it's all good, my friend :)