This life will have unavoidable pain, sorrow and grief. In light of this universal truth, it is an interesting philosophical, ethical, moral, and existential matter to contemplate whether bringing a child into the world is “right, just, or good” in light of the relevant balance of happiness and heartache. Nevertheless, there is a reality that can tip the scales towards a conclusion that it is right, just, and good. The transcendent hope of the universe that provides true comfort despite the hardships of life in our world is found in Jesus’ resurrection and return. These comforting words are found in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 and are intended to be shared. So, I would like to share them with you, and we can share them with many.

The Hope of The Resurrection

In the midst of exhortations to rejoice always (1Th. 5:16-18), Paul affirmed that believers also grieve and sorrow (1Th. 4:13). Jesus’ followers are not insulated from the universal experience of pain, suffering, loss, grief, and sorrow. Jesus’ followers have a hope that provides comfort for the grieving that unbelievers do not have (4:13), but that doesn’t eliminate the reality of pain or despair.

Most of us have attended a funeral, memorial service, or celebration of life where someone made the comment regarding the departed, “They’re in a better place …” The great deception is that you do not need Jesus to get to heaven, or that there is no heaven. According to Pew Research (Dec. 2023), 71% of American adults believe in heaven. Is there some reasonable basis for why they believe the departed is in a better place? God does not want people to be ignorant or uninformed about what happens upon the death of a body.

What makes the hope of heaven different for a follower of Jesus is the truth that Jesus died and rose again (14). The gospel message, that you can be restored in your relationship with God through faith in Christ, rests on the reality of Jesus’ resurrection (1Cor. 15). The evidence of Christ’s resurrection is beyond a reasonable doubt. His followers can have confidence that they too will be resurrected. Whether we have passed from this earth before His return or whether we are alive when He comes, his followers have nothing to fear. Jesus will return with us or for us, and bring believers who passed before His return (14).

I do not fear death. Some methods of dying appear more attractive than others, but death itself does not worry me. When I leave this earth, I know that I will be in the presence of Jesus; and I will be more alive than ever before. To live is Christ and to die is gain (Ph. 1:21-24). It is not a “death wish” in some nihilistic view that nothing matters, but an awareness of heaven.

The hope of the resurrection, and His gospel, is that when you leave this earth, you can spend eternity in the very presence of God with no more heartache, suffering, or despair, only pure contentment in Christ’s presence.

Share The Hope of The Resurrection (1Th. 4:18)

“Therefore comfort one another with these words.”

Comfort the grieving.

Paul understood, God understands, and we need to be aware that people in our midst are grieving the loss of loved ones.
As a follower of Jesus, you should be comforted by the truth that any loved one who responded to the gospel with faith in Jesus will be in God’s presence when they leave this earth; and you will be united with them for eternity in perfection.

Holidays can exacerbate the sense of loss, grief, or mourning. The hope of the resurrection should flow from our lips to comfort others not as a trite expression to silence the grieving, but as the true hope that it is. This hope does not stop grief or mourning, but completely reshapes the experience. So, listen well and then comfort.

What we learn from the saved thief on the cross (Matt. 27:44) is that we are all sinners in need of a Savior, and no matter what we have done, it is not too late to repent and accept the free gift of salvation (Eph. 2:8-9). So, we may be surprised that some who we suspect never received Jesus will in fact be with Him.

Strengthen the weary.

We are to encourage which means to strengthen, comfort, instruct, and exhort about the reality of the resurrection. My greatest comfort lies not in the hope that everything will work out the way I want in this life, but that everything will be perfect in the life to come; and compared to glory with Christ, these present struggles seem like light affliction (2Cor. 4:17-18). That does not minimize the intensity of our struggles in this life, but relative to glory, they are light. That hope strengthens the weary. Since we know that our struggles are temporary, but glory in heaven is eternal, it should lighten our perception of the struggle(s). When you are living for Christ, you are living for eternity and know the comfort of Christ’s hope, and share that hope with others.

Focus on eternity in heaven.

Our hope is to be firmly rooted in the reality of life with Christ, today and forever. This hope comforts me in the challenges that I have experienced, the struggles of today, and the certain hardships of tomorrow. The reality of heaven tips the scales towards a conclusion that it is right, just, and good to bring a child into this world because it is the only way to enter into Christ’s world. The transcendent hope of the universe that provides true comfort despite the hardships of life in our world is found in Jesus’ resurrection, return, and eternity with Him in heavenly perfection. Jesus has not delayed His return because He is slack, but because He is longsuffering and does not want any to perish, but all to repent and receive eternal life (2 Pet.3:9). Today, we are all invited to receive and share the comfort of Christ’s hope.

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas everywhere you go.

Actually, not really for me. I live in Florida, and it was eighty degrees last week. We don’t get snow here, and baby, it’s cold outside looks like about sixty. But Santa does make an appearance on the beach from time to time, and people are generally in a festive mood. At least the weather does cool down a little bit in the “winter.” A few years ago, we lived in New Zealand. Christmas was right in the middle of summer. “Jingle Bells” doesn’t hit as hard when you’re in shorts and a T-shirt. Nevertheless, there are certain indicators that let us know Christmas is right around the corner.

We have expectations for Christmas. We expect stores to start playing Christmas music, people to decorate their homes with lights, and kids to start talking about the presents they want to see under the tree. We make plans for the relatives to come over, and many people get to take some time off work for the holidays. It’s the most wonderful time of the year!

But what did Christmas look like in the beginning? Not the Genesis beginning, but the beginning of Christmas. You know … the time when Jesus was born? In Matthew Chapter One, we have some great insight into the events leading up to Christmas. Joseph and Mary are going to get married, the angel Gabriel announces the pregnancy (yikes!), and the couple takes a step of faith to follow God’s command. Then Jesus is born! The original Christmas.

I’d like to give you five takeaways from Matthew Chapter One about what Christmas looks like. This will help us prepare our hearts spiritually as we rush headlong into this holiday season.

Christmas looks like unexpected surprises.

Mary and Joseph were minding their own business, doing what every other Jewish family was doing, and returning home for the census. And then … SURPRISE! The powerful angel Gabriel appears — surprise! He tells Mary she is pregnant — surprise! Her child is going to be the savior of the world and is the Son of The Most High — surprise!

Now, I’ve had a few surprises in my life but nothing compared to that.

When Lynne and I had been married just over a year, she visited me at the job site I was working at. I was high up on an extension ladder, working on the top corner of the house. She shouted up at me, “I’m pregnant!” I was already slightly off balance, and that wonderful surprise nearly cost me my life. Ladies, if your man is twenty feet up on an extension ladder, wait until he gets down to share the good news. Thankfully, I survived, and now we have a twenty-four-year-old son who’s starting his own family.

It’s helpful to remember that surprises to us aren’t surprises to God. He’s in control of our surprises! Find comfort in this verse from Proverbs: “A man’s heart plans his way, But the Lord directs his steps” (Proverbs 16:9). Or even better, “The Lord directs our steps, so why try to understand everything along the way?”^[1]

Christmas looks like disappointing problems.

Joseph was a good man. He was going to put Mary away privately so she wouldn’t be hurt by the scandal of having a child out of wedlock. Talk about problems. How could this be covered up? What would they do with their lives now? It seemed hopeless. Thankfully, Christmas is all about hope! God turned a problem into a promise, and Mary received the greatest blessing a woman could have.^[2]

This Christmas season, we need to remember that not everyone is having a merry Christmas. Problems happen, and difficulties don’t wait for us to get through the holidays before they start hammering us. When we interact with friends and family this Christmas, remember that they may not all be as excited as we are. Elvis said it best as he was thinking about Christmas without his sweetheart: “You’ll be doing alright / With your Christmas of white / But I’ll have a blue, blue, blue, blue Christmas.”

Christmas looks like new opportunities.

When Gabriel told this young couple that they were going to be the parents of Immanuel, their lives changed forever. Never in a million years could they’ve planned this. There was no way they could’ve come up with a strategy to make this happen. It was the opportunity of a lifetime — from God — and they accepted it obediently. Of course, there was fear, and an awful lot of change, but when God is orchestrating events, His opportunities can make our lives dramatically better. I think what I like most about this “opportunity” is that they didn’t try to force it, make it happen, or manipulate God’s will. It just fell in their lap, and they accepted. They weren’t like the little boy who tried to bargain with God for Christmas presents. In a pre-Christmas letter to God, he wrote, “I’ve been good for six months,” but after thinking about it, he crossed it out and wrote “three months.” Then, “two weeks.” Finally, he gave up, went to the nativity scene, took the figure of Mary, wrapped it in a cloth, and hid it. He returned to his letter: “Dear God, if you ever want to see your mother again, you better get me those presents!”

Christmas looks like special visitors.

“You surprised to see us, Clark?”
“Oh, Eddie … If I woke up tomorrow with my head sewn to the carpet, I wouldn’t be more surprised than I am now.”^[3]

We all love the holidays because we get to see friends and family and spend time with the ones we love. This year, my daughter Liana flew home early from Bible College to surprise my parents, who were coming from New Mexico. What a happy visitation! Now, I know that some people (none of us of course) have family they’d prefer not to visit, or at least not stay too long. Thankfully, unlike cousin Eddie or some of our own dear family members, God has visited us and filled our hearts with “joy to the world!”

“Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.” – Matthew 1:23

Christmas looks like Jesus.

With all the hustle and bustle of the holidays, let this serve as a reminder that Jesus is the reason for the season! When life surprises you with new opportunities, use those to honor Jesus. When you buy those gifts for the unexpected visitors, remember the wonderful gift that God has given us in Jesus. When you walk into the grocery store to pick up the pumpkin pie and hear “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing” playing on the PA, lift your heart in worship to Jesus. When you hang up your Christmas lights, may your heart be merry and bright because Jesus is the light of the world. Jesus is the reason for the season, and HE is what Christmas looks like.

Footnotes

^[1] Proverbs 20:24 (NLT) — I love the translation of this verse. It makes it sound so good, like we’re abandoning all stress and worry because God is in control. We don’t have to have it all figured out!
^[2] Luke 1:42 (NKJV) — Then she spoke out with a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!”
^[3] Chevy Chase as Clark Griswold, reacting to his Cousin Eddie (played by Randy Quaid) showing up unexpectedly at Christmas in the movie “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation,” 1989.

“Thou that hast giv’n so much to me,
Give one thing more, a gratefull heart:
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Not thankfull when it pleaseth me,
As if Thy blessings had spare days;
But such a heart whose pulse may be
Thy praise.“
(George Herbert, “Gratefulnesse,” 1633)

There is a tendency I have noticed in myself: I am quick to pray and ask God for things that I need. In fact, if I were to categorize my prayers, the majority are requests. There is nothing inherently wrong with this; Jesus encouraged us to ask the Father for what we need (e.g., Matthew 7:7-11). When we ask God to do things that are beyond our capabilities, we honor Him because it shows that we believe in his power and ability, and it expresses our reliance on Him. I often encourage our church to honor the Lord by praying for big and great things rather than assuming that such things are “too big” for Him.

However, the tendency I have noticed in myself is that I often fail to stop, reflect, and thank God for the things that He has done, and the prayers He has answered. I am quick to move on to the next need or the next task without stopping to praise God for His provision and His faithfulness.

A Lesson from the Lepers (Luke 17:11-12)

In the Gospel of Luke, we read about a time when Jesus passed between Samaria and Galilee. As He entered a certain village, He was met by ten lepers, who stood at a distance and cried out to Jesus, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.”

These lepers were helpless, and they were hopeless. Their incurable disease not only destroyed their bodies but also made them outcasts from society. Cut off from their families, communities, and places of worship, their lives were characterized by isolation and suffering.

Leprosy is often recognized as a type, or a picture, of sin and what sin does in our lives. Like leprosy, sin leads to a hardening of the heart, a loss of feeling; it causes a person to lose parts of themselves, and it ultimately ruins them and leads to death. Because there was no cure for leprosy, the fact that Jesus healed lepers was a sign that He was the Messiah (Matthew 11:2-5).

Hearing their cries for help, Jesus had mercy on these ten lepers, and He healed them. He told them to go and show themselves to the priests so that the priests could inspect them according to the Law of Moses (Leviticus 13-14), to verify that they had been healed and pronounce them as clean so they could be restored to society.

Quickly, the ten lepers ran off, overjoyed and eager to have their cleansing verified by the priests — but one of them stopped and turned back. While the others ran off ahead, this one returned and “praising God in a loud voice, he fell on his face at Jesus’ feet, giving thanks” (Luke 17:15-16).

To make the story even more surprising, Jesus points out that the one who returned to give thanks was a Samaritan, a group whom many Jews considered themselves superior to. Jesus then expressed His consternation that, whereas ten were healed, only one returned to give thanks and praise God for what he had received.

Pausing to Praise and Give Thanks

This story challenges us to consider our own actions: When God hears your prayers, how do you respond?

Like those lepers, those whose faith is in Jesus have been cleansed from an incurable condition; we have been saved from death and destruction and given a new destiny. Additionally, we have experienced God’s faithfulness through His provision. God hears our prayers and has provided for our needs. How ought we to respond to this?

There is nothing wrong with making requests of God; not only does He invite us to do it, but we honor Him by doing so. However, what we see from this passage is the importance of returning to the Lord, acknowledging what He has done, and thanking Him and praising Him for His faithfulness and goodness.

For those who are celebrating Thanksgiving this week, we have the opportunity to do just that. May this Thanksgiving holiday be a reminder to us to stop and give thanks, and may it spark a habit of thanksgiving in our hearts that lasts throughout the year.

Editor’s Note: This is a republication of Phil Metzger’s October 31, 2019 article.

“And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these” (Mark 12:30-31).

IT’S HALLOWEEN!

On this day, kids will be hurrying home from school, dressing up and heading out to get candy from their neighbors. I grew up doing this, and I loved it every year.

When I got saved, I became aware of some of the other elements of Halloween — its history and some of the pagan practices. I realized that many Christians have strong views against this holiday and what it represents for some. This is my feeble attempt at helping us see this from a different perspective.

Try and see this holiday for what it is today: The one day of the year when many of the families in your neighborhood take their little ones and come up to your door.

It’s the one day of the year when it’s not creepy to slowly meander through your neighborhood while your kids beg for candy from everyone. It’s community.

TRY AND SEE THIS FROM A MISSIONAL PERSPECTIVE.

It’s an opportunity to engage in our community rather than oppose it.

You do not have to compromise the gospel to be kind and friendly on Halloween. And compromise is what this is all about isn’t it? It’s the concern that, by celebrating Halloween, we are promoting evil and paganism.

Consider this: Instead of becoming overly agitated with the fringe elements of Halloween, let’s see it for what it is today for the large majority of people — a day for communities to come together and show some love to our kids (and give away candy, lots of candy!)

CONSIDER HALLOWEEN FROM SOLOMON AND JESUS’ PERSPECTIVE.

“Go, eat your bread with joy, And drink your wine with a merry heart; for God has already accepted your works. Let your garments always be white, and let your head lack no oil” (Ecclesiastes 9:7-8).

“Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:19-20 NLT).

In Ecclesiastes, Solomon encourages his readers to consider this one fact: We’re all going to die. This will either depress you or motivate you to listen to God’s wisdom on how to live. If death is a reality, then what’s this life all about?

And Solomon exhorts us to GO. It’s a command. Get off the couch, eat, drink and put on a nice outfit, maybe even some cologne! Why? Because God wants you to live while we’re here on earth.

In Matthew, Jesus also commands us to GO. Go and make disciples of all nations. Go live out your faith in this world.

In both passages, we see the Trinity at work in our lives. I believe it’s symbolized in Ecclesiastes and made plain in Matthew.

The symbols are these:

Bread/wine = symbols of Jesus’ body and blood
Oil = symbol of the Holy Spirit

Solomon says partake of the bread and the wine and put on the Holy Spirit for God approves of this. Jesus says partake of My death and resurrection and be filled with the Holy Spirit. And as I am transforming you, GO make disciples of all nations.

This Halloween, GO — eat and drink, put on some cologne (and maybe a fun costume) and make disciples of all nations by living out the life of God in you.

Roses are red. Violets are blue.
Stuff about Valentine,
We wish we knew.

All we can say for sure is that there was indeed a pastor named Valentine who became a martyr around AD 270. Beyond that, it’s legend and conjecture. But where facts are thin, people feel free to provide their own. That seems to be the case with Valentine and the day associated with him.

The Legend

The legend connected with Valentine casts him as a champion of marriage at a time when it was banned. Though there’s little evidence to support it, it’s claimed the Roman Emperor Claudius needed to boost enrollment in the legions to reinforce Rome’s hegemony in the North and East. When enlistment lagged, Claudius banned marriage, blaming young Italian men’s desire for a wife and family as competition to a military career. Bishop Valentine ignored the ban and agreed to marry couples who came to him secretly.

Discovered and arrested, Valentine appeared before the Emperor himself. Claudius was impressed with Valentine’s courage and learning, and tried to convert him to Paganism. Valentine returned the favor, attempting to convert Claudius to Christianity. That was a little too much for Claudius to bear. Defying the Emperor on principle in support of an ancient and respected tradition like marriage was one thing. Telling him his religion was wrong and that he ought to convert to what Romans considered a novelty was altogether different. Valentine was sentenced to death.

While in prison awaiting execution, so the legend goes, the elderly bishop befriended the jailor’s blind daughter. Though it lasted just a few days, their friendship was genuine and a source of great joy to the daughter. When Valentine prayed for her, her blindness was cured. That led to the conversion of the jailor and his entire household.

The last night in his cell, Valentine composed a letter of encouragement to the daughter, urging her to continue in the faith. He signed it, “Your Valentine.” The next day, February 14, he was led from his cell to the executioner’s block along the Flaminian Way and beheaded. He was buried nearby.

As typical for some martyrs, his tomb became a shrine, the day of his martyrdom became a memorial, Saint Valentine’s Day.

Martyrs were heroes to the Church of the early centuries. When being a Christian was risky, the stalwart faith of those who refused to renounce Christ at peril of death became a comfort to the pressed and an example to aspire to. If their lives, prior to execution, maybe hadn’t been all that exciting, their story was embellished to make it more compelling.

There was indeed a Bishop Valentine executed around AD 270. Why? Well, beyond the fact he was a pastor who refused to renounce Christ, we don’t know. The story of his interview with Claudius and his friendship with the jailor’s daughter may be true. They were attributed to him as early as a couple hundred years after his death.

How Valentine became associated with romantic love seems to date to the late 5th Century when Pope Gelasius co-opted a fading Roman fashion known as Lupercalia, the pagan festival of love which was held near St. Valentine’s Day. Part of the Lupercalia celebrations included young women putting their names in a box. Young men would then draw out a name and the young couple would pair off for a time of amorous attention. The Church rightly frowned on such youthful indulgence and sought to curb Lupercalia’s immorality by replacing it with a more wholesome expression of romantic love via love letters and thoughtful gifts.

Then along came greeting card companies, and the rest is history.

What to Learn

Pope Gelasius’ replacing a pagan festival with a more wholesome celebration was a frequent practice of the post-apostolic Imperial Church. Substituting themes consistent with the Gospel for pagan practices was a way for the Church to communicate with the culture in which it found itself. The idea was, “Why omit these special days people enjoy from the calendar? Their lives are already hard enough. The holidays allow a little joy into an otherwise grinding existence. Why not turn those days instead to communicate the goodness and grace of God?”

Many Christians today are concerned when they discover the pagan origins of some of their annual holidays. They worry about dishonoring God if they observe something that began so far from God. It may help to realize the Church intentionally turned the old days into new days. They saw something like St. Valentine’s Day replacing Lupercalia as the triumph of the Gospel over Paganism, the victory of light over darkness.

In the current social context made fragile by growing tension between men and women, with all the talk about “toxic masculinity” and the #metoo movement, a Biblical view of love and romance is desperately needed. Rather than casting off St. Valentine’s Day as a silly day rooted in immoral paganism, we can use it for the purpose it was first set apart – to cherish the beauty and power of romantic love – realized most perfectly in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.