Saturday, April 3, 2010

Interesting Reading

Today is Saturday, the day before Easter Sunday, Resurrection Day!  The single most impacting event in the history of the world happened a little over two thousand years ago.  Jesus died on a cruel cross, was buried in a tomb, and then rose from the grave showing the final victory over sin and death.

Either you believe or you don't believe.

If you believe, your faith is fulfilled through the passion of Christ as he died to give you eternal life.  It is a sure thing.  It is a done deal.  There is nothing left to do, except to follow and enjoy the abundant life of love and purpose that the Father in heaven provides for his children.

If you do not believe, your faith finds fulfillment in things and philosophies and secular events.  The things of this earth shall pass away, however, and your faith will fade as well.

It is not by coincidence lately that a co-worker has allowed me to read several books by Mitch Albom, a noted author and musician/pianist.  The first Albom book I read was For One More Day, a powerful book about loss, forgiveness and hope.  If you had one more day with a loved one (who has already passed on), what would that day be like?  Read this book to think about the possibility of how this day might turn out.

The second Albom book was The Five People You Meet In Heaven.  This book explores the continuum of relationships and the web of events and people who impact our lives along this journey on earth.

The book I am reading now (and have almost finished) is his first best-seller, Tuesdays With Morrie.  The author (Mitch) spent much time with his former professor (Morrie Schwartz), as Morrie was diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease).  In amazing prose and beauty of thought, the process of aging and dying is detailed with powerful lessons of life.  One quote by Morrie, as he faced the inevitable:  "It is in dying that you find life."  He found the truth that the things of this world fade quickly in the face of the eternal.  In Christian terms, it is in dying to self that we allow God to give us life!

These books were not written as spiritual guides or as Christian literature, by any stretch of the imagination.  However, I found great parallels to my faith and foundations of life in all these novels.

They reminded me of supernatural truths.  This weekend, we think of the celebration of the truth that Jesus rose from the dead, after his death on the cross at Mount Calvary.  His pain was intense, his sorrow unbearable, but he was steadfast in his love to pay for my sins and the sins of the whole world.  It becomes personal, as each of us makes a decision to accept God's great forgiveness through the sacrifice of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  The depth and power and love of God is immeasurable.

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