Deadliest Catch

It’s been quite around the house the last few days. My wife and kids have been gone. So I turned on the TV and caught a portion of a new episode of Deadliest Catch last night. One of the captains had sustained an injury that the crew thought was causing him to cough up blood. When they showed the preview of next week’s episode they showed him being x-rayed and the technician talking to him and showing possible problems…but none of them related to a recent injury. She was talking more life threatening problems such as cancer. I don’t know how it will end. But it was enough to cause this captain to question where he was in life. What would happen if he were gone? What he should have done differently. What were his values?

When I am able to catch glimpses into peoples life such as this I find it so interesting. Because it seems as though people just live how they want to live until something life threatening comes along or they just catch a glimpse of morality.

For those that have embraced a relationship with Christ…there is a vitally important realization that I really don’t think people totally get a grasp of. That realization is that once we enter that relationship with Christ…we have already begun our eternal living. We have begun eternal life. The only thing that is going to change is that our spirit at some point will move from this earthly vessel to the heavenly realm. What you have to ask yourself is…what power does this earthly vessel have? I think we would all answer this the same…the earthly vessel really has no power. The power is in our spirit…which is the same spirit that has the relationship with God. So if our relationship with God is held with our spirit and it is our spirit which will live forever and if that sprit is within our earthly body…then don’t we now have all the God given power and authority that we will have when we enter eternity? I think so.

When you begin to digest this…our fear of death and any separation…that so many people fear and dread…suddenly is gone. That is why Paul could confidently say… “For me to live is Christ…to die is gain.” He could say it and mean it. He knew it was the truth and it should be the truth for all of us. For us to live is Christ….Christ being present on this earth…making a difference…being an example…showing the world what a difference living for Christ can make…yet for us to die is only to gain. Same spirit…only in an absolutely perfect setting. That is what Paul was talking about…and it is what we should be talking about as well.

Philippians 1:20-22 – “I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know!”

Have a blessed day,

RodZ

© 2008 – Rodney Zimmerman – All rights reserved