Heard a thought provoking sermon by Robert Morris at Gateway Church yesterday. He's doing a series called "Overwhelmed by Grace." Yesterday, he brought up the point that the decision of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden wasn't a choice between evil and good. It was a choice between life and death.The tree of life in the Garden represented choosing obedience to God and submitting to His ways so that we may have life. The tree of knowledge (of good and evil) represented choosing death- rejecting the ways of God. Scriptures started coming to me as I thought about this.
Exodus 20:12, "Honor your father and mother, that your days may be long..."
Deuteronomy 6:24, "The Lord commanded us to do these statutes, to fear the Lord our God, for our good always, that He might preserve us alive..."
John 10:10, "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they have life and have it abundantly."
John 11:25, "Jesus said to her, 'I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live.'"
I am sure these verses only scratch a tiny surface of what God is trying to teach us about death and life. This was a helpful mind shift in thinking about warfare against sin in terms of choosing life versus death. God is good and wants to give us life. Stewardship/obedience is just choosing the paths of life instead of destruction.
For example, when we have harmony in relationships, we have more peace and less stress. This leads to better health and longer life. By choosing reconciliation over strife, we are following God's plan to give us life over death. By making wise choices in terms of our health habits (exercise/eating/ rest), we are choosing life over death. Doing business honestly leads to less conflict and greater trust. This is a less stressful path and one that leads to life versus death.
Naturally, we are all on a path towards physical death due to the effects of one man's disobedience. But thanks to the grace of God, those who choose to follow Christ are on a path of life even though our physical bodies are dying. 2 Corinthians 4:16, "So we do not lose heart. Though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day."
One of the most important scriptures to grasp is Romans 5:17: "If, because of one man's trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ."
Health Care Costs
This Fall is likely to be an explosive time in the debate for health care reform. My wife has endured many health struggles in the last five years so this is a topic I have been following with interest and empathy.
I hope that whatever compromise is made... that the result is not a government controlled single payer system. I'm all in favor of monarchy/one person making the decisions for the masses. But I don't want that until Christ is the King. The lesson of history is that centralized power is bad for people. It would be okay if the leaders/rulers were men and women above reproach in all circumstances with the interest of the people always the primary concern. There are certainly many leaders who fit this description, but unfortunately not enough to make government control the utopian answer.
Some good resources to point out if you are interested in digging into the facts of health care reform:
Rusty Leonard of Stewardship Partners has a frightening chart of government medicare projected costs versus actual costs. You can find the chart on page 4 of his quarterly newsletter.
Government projections are usually rosier than the reality. A government run health care system is likely to put a burden in terms of taxation and strain on future economic growth that will hinder our economy for decades to come.
Mark Perry- economics professor- keeps up a blog called Carpe Diem that has some thought provoking entries on how to deliver effective health care without bankrupting the country in the process.
Finally, the Congressional Budget Office has some good resources on their website concerning the projection of health care costs.
There is no doubt that reform needs to take place. My personal preference is go the route of automobile insurance. Costs under $5000- $10,000 per year are covered out of pocket with some tax incentives (HSA accounts) to cover those expenses. Over $10k per year, there should be insurance for citizens of the United States even if that cost has to be subsidized by states or the federal government.
We also need incentives to line up correctly to control costs- focus on reducing obesity; early detection of cancer and heart disease. I wrote a blog entry on this topic in more detail last year.
Crazy Love by Francis Chan
If you are looking for a quick read, I highly recommend Crazy Love by Francis Chan. He set up a website with short video chapter previews to give you an overview of what the book is about. The book was recommended by a client/friend. It has really challenged me and re-motivated me to live with purpose.
For The Promises of God's Presence and Kingdom,
Ashley Hodge
