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When discussing God with a non-Christian the question often comes up, “Why would a loving God send anyone to hell?” That question seems to make perfect sense in a society where personal accountability and responsibility are things of the past; where if you show up for class you expect to get a passing grade; or if you participate in a race or game you expect to get a trophy in spite of your lackadaisical performance; and when there are disastrous consequences for your unwise choices and actions you can always blame someone else – even God. The real question is, “Why would anyone choose hell instead of heaven?” Each of us is trapped in a world ablaze with sin. It seems like a wall of flames block our every exit. But a loving God provides everyone with one way out of danger to safety. When someone refuses to take that exit and continues to search for another way out until the flames finally consume them, who’s to blame? Is it the loving God who provided the safe exit, or the stubborn person who refused to take it to safety?  Nearly everyone is familiar with John 3:16, “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.” But the next verse also describes God’s loving desire that everyone who accepts His grace and mercy will be spared from hell. It reads, “God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.” That is the real action of a loving God.

In the next few days we celebrate the coming of Jesus, God’s Son, into the world as an infant born in a stable in Bethlehem more than two thousand years ago. His earthly life, death and resurrection form the escape route from judgement and hell that a loving God has provided for us – all of us. All we have to do is accept His mercy and grace and then follow Him into eternal life. It is a person’s refusal of God’s salvation that sentences them to hell, not the desire of a loving God.

Make no mistake; Jesus is coming back again. This time He will judge those who have refused His sacrifice and offer of salvation. “’Fear God,’ he (the angel) shouted. ‘Give glory to him. For the time has come when he will sit as judge. Worship him who made the heavens, the earth, the sea and all the springs of water.’” (Revelation 14:7) Our decisions and actions have consequences both now and for eternity. I have made the wise decision to follow Jesus and I pray you have done the same. Have a blessed Christmas celebration!

The only relatives I have left are my brother-in-law Tom, his wife Trudy and their family. They live in another state. We keep in touch but have not seen each other since Carol’s memorial service. Due to medical expenses I sent them an email that I couldn’t afford to exchange gifts this year. With her permission, I want to share Trudy’s reply.

“Hi Jim, please don’t worry about Christmas gifts for us. We are blessed in ways that have no bounds. I thank God every day for allowing me to have another Christmas with my family and friends. Last March I was taken to the hospital by ambulance with complete heart and organ failure. They did CPR on me for an hour and 15 minutes, broke two ribs. I had to have temporary dialysis and pacemaker. Spent 3 days on a ventilator and they told the family that they didn’t think I would have any cognitive ability If I came out of the coma they had to put me in. It was a miracle that God in his infinite wisdom just happened to put my heart and kidney doctors in the hospital ER when the ambulance brought me in. So in the grand scheme of things, we are truly blessed to have our family and friends who are still with us and appreciate and miss the ones who have gone on. We love and miss you and will talk to you soon. Trudy”

I knew she was rushed to the hospital and I prayed for her recovery but I didn’t know the details until now. The odds against those two doctors being in the emergency room at the precise moment her ambulance arrived are off the chart, but God’s timing is perfect. Over a year ago, Tom was hospitalized for tests and treatment when he suddenly   went into cardiac arrest. Trudy sent me a text that they had just called a “code blue” and then put him on a ventilator. The next evening at a meeting of our Iron Men group, I asked for prayer for him. After the meeting I sent Trudy a text that 30 men had just prayed for Tom. Five minutes later she replied,“God heard you. He is off the ventilator and will be coming home in a few days. Please thank them for their prayers.” The fact that a medical response team was immediately available was no coincidence. It was God’s timing at work.

As I write this, I can close my eyes and remember clearly three times in my life that God’s perfect timing literally saved my life. Without going into detail here, I can assure you in each case there was no other possible explanation for what happened. It makes me wonder how many times God has imposed His timing to protect me from unknown dangers. That phone call or text as I was about to go out the door or that slow moving freight train that threw me off schedule just long enough for the danger to clear along my route. When you pray, never forget to thank God for His perfect timing and protection.   

Waiting in the examining room for my eye doctor I took a close look at charts showing all of the intricate parts that make up an eye in order for us to see. Each of us has two of those miraculous functioning cameras that give us a three dimensional view of the world around us. It got me to thinking about all of the other parts of the human body that miraculously functions in other ways. It was then that Psalms 139:13-16 came to my mind. “You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!  Your workmanship is marvelous –how well I know it. I was woven together in the dark of the womb. You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. You saw me before I was born. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.”

If you have visited my blog regularly, you know that I don’t get political, but you also know how strongly I feel about abortion. My heart aches for those millions of little innocent victims. I was 30 years old when abortion became legal and political in 1973.We were told that Roe v Wade would only apply to cases of rape and incest (when the mother was impregnated against her will) and only be performed as early as possible during the first trimester. In less than a year, a mother could choose to terminate a pregnancy any time for any reason including while the child was being born. Life and death decisions should never be political or beyond a Christian’s ability to speak out about them.  

I read three accounts recently that literally made me weep. One was about a woman who said she made peace with her unborn daughter before she had her aborted. Another woman sang a lullaby to her unborn son before having him aborted. The third really tore at my heart. It described a baby who survived an abortion and was placed in a metal pan where he or she cried until they finally died from neglect.

I‘m sorry if this blog post made you uncomfortable. May we never become comfortable or complacent about the taking of innocent life. I made a vow to God when I began this blog nearly two years ago that I would always be open,honest and transparent in everything I write. I have done that to the best of my ability and this post is no exception. Even if we disagree politically, I hope we can agree that the best time for a woman’s choice is before and not after conception.  

I want to share with you what is going on in my life this week, because I believe our life story as Christians has power to encourage and help others who face similar situations.I finally found an experienced eye surgeon in my city who takes my insurance. Yesterday I had an appointment with him to schedule cataract surgery on my right eye, which has gotten so bad I can’t drive. After a whole bank of tests he told me that I have severe glaucoma that has already permanently damaged my peripheral vision. He gave me some eye drops to reduce the pressure in my eyes and prevent further damage. I will see him again on Friday and if the drops are working, he will schedule the surgery and bring my right eye up to the same level as my left. Then he hit me with the harsh truth that because of the peripheral damage I will not be able to drive again even after the surgery. My independence is seemingly lost for good.

I’m reminded of the experience I shared with you last week about feeling my way around during the power outage. Was that God’s way of warning me to take better care of my eyes?   If left untreated, glaucoma can cause sudden and permanent blindness. With continued treatment my sight will remain good enough to do virtually everything except drive. Because of the cataract, I have already experienced a loss of independence these last few months, so now I will work on long term solutions. In the meantime, a wonderful brother in Christ who lives near me and is retired has been driving me to medical appointments and other places I need to go. Several other Christian friends have volunteered to run errands for me. GOD IS GOOD.

Blessings and trials are inevitable parts of the Christian life. Old age just presents a different set of challenges, but it is still a life of blessings and trials.  The key at any age is to concentrate on and praise God for the blessings and then allow the Holy Spirit to get you through the trials. I am praising God that I can continue my blog and view the beauty of God’s creation. The Holy Spirit is already helping me find inexpensive transportation options that are available to seniors in my area. I’m confident He will also find suitable assisted living quarters for me when that time comes.

If we follow Jesus Christ in faith and obedience, we can look forward to His blessings and His strength and provision to get us through every challenge or trial we will face. Then, at the end of our tour of duty here on earth, we will experience the blessing of eternal life in God’s full presence while leaving behind the pain, hardships and trials of this life.     

On December 7, 1963, (55years ago) Carol and I stood before the altar of a small Baptist church in Baldwin, Missouri, and repeated our vows to each other from the book of Ruth.“Whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge; thy people shall be my people and thy God my God. Where thou diest, I will die and there will I be buried; the LORD do so to me, and more also, if ought but death part thee and me.” (The KJV was all we had back then.) Carol died just six weeks before our 51^st wedding anniversary, so this was the fifth anniversary I have spent without her by my side. At first it was a sad, lonely occasion, but now, instead of mourning her loss, I celebrate all of those years she was there with me and all of the experiences we shared along the way. When those we love die, our love for them and the memories we created together do not die with them. I love the song Precious Memories. Every time my friends have a wedding anniversary, I congratulate them and then remind them to continue to cherish every precious moment together. It is so easy to take those moments for granted and think they will go on forever.

As Christians, we should continually thank God for His mercy and grace and for the relationship we have with Him through the life, death and resurrection of His Son. But it is also important that we thank Him for the people He has put in our life and for our relationship with them. We must never take our blessings, especially our relationships, for granted. Our continued appreciation will give them the value and priority they deserve.

Memories of a loved one are not a replacement of having them with us, but those memories are a blessing from God designed to help get us through until our great, joyous reunion with them.