A Cure for Death

My husband and I were watching one of the new shows we are into the other night.  A professor and his assistant were having a conversation that went like this.

"My mother died of cancer of the stomach."
"So you are looking to cure cancer."
"No.  I'm looking to cure death."

Though this show is set back in the 1800s, I feel like this statement is even more true today.  We are all looking for a way to cheat death.  When is comes to researching diseases, we aren't just looking for a cure for that disease; we are looking for a way to keep the person alive.  We believe everyone should live to be a hundred and then maybe pass on.
We also have a desire to stay young, even if it just means on the outside.  We have an infatuation with immortality.  We long to be invincible.  

What if I told you a cure for death has been found, just not in the way the world thinks would be a cure.  According to the dictionary, here is the definition of death:

: the end of life : the time when someone or something dies
: the ending of a particular person's life

: the permanent end of something that is not alive : the ruin or destruction of something

Death is permanent.  It is the end of life.  But over 2000 years ago, a cure was born in a small town, in a manager, to a girl and the man she was going to marry.  2000 years ago God sent his one and only Son to earth to pay for our sins.  

According to Romans 6:23 "The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."  Because we are a sinful person, death is what we get.  There is no way around it.  No one is born sinless, so when we live sinfully we pay for it by death.  This is why Jesus was sent to earth.  With His death our sins were paid for.  All we have to do is accept the gift God gave us through his Son.  

We will of course have a physical death.  Our bodies were not made to last forever.  But we will not stay dead.  Through the gift of Christ we gain eternal life with him in heaven.  Whether we die in this life or are alive to see the second coming of Christ, those who have accepted Christ as their Savior will live one day in heaven forever.

Its amazing how the cure for death is here, and its free, yet so many won't accept it.  Maybe because it doesn't come in the way the world thinks it should.  It came to us in the form of a baby, who later grew into a man who showed us the right way to live, and then gave his life so that we may have life forever.  Thank you Jesus for your gift; the best Christmas gift anyone could receive.   

A Fairy Tale Love

My sweet husband just rolled his eyes at me as I set up my daughters Elf on the Shelf last night.  I placed Bell (the elf) on the girls couch with some friends to read a book.  Only a hardback book would stay open...and the only hardback book I had was...Twilight.  Honestly my husband as no right to roll his eyes; he bought me the book! LOL
I do love my Twilight books because it got me back into my love of reading.  I had lost it in high school and only regained it back in 2009.  I read new books, old classics that I loved, but all of them had some main theme.  Love.  
With all these books and movies out there, its no wonder we long for a fairy tale love.  Yet we are told that this kind of love does not exist.  I know I haven't been alive as long as some, and I've only been married for seven years, but I believe in the kind of love these books and movies tell us about.  I am 100% head over heels in love with my husband.  What I feel for him I have never felt for anyone else and sometimes the intensity of it takes my breath away.  I'm sure people are rolling their eyes at this...but please...hold that eye roll for a minute!
The reason I believe in a love that is portrayed by characters such as Belle and Edward, Darcy and Elizabeth, Tris and Four, is because there was an example of this love displayed over 2000 years ago.  A love that was all consuming, selfless, intense.  A sacrificial love that cost a man his life.  
God loved us so much, that He sent His son down here to earth, to so us the example of God's love, and to give His life over to death to pay the price for our sins.  He then rose three days later so that one day, when we die our physical death, we are able to rise from death and live with Him forever.  What a love.
This is why I believe I can have a love these books talk about.  Because I believe in Christ, my foundation is His love.  When I joined my husband in marriage, it was a covenant made between him and myself; a covenant that represents the covenant between God and us.  
God has called me to love others as He loved me.  God loved me so much He gave his son; He saved my life.  That love is the foundation of my marriage.  
Yes my husband and I have had arguments, yes we have gotten on each others nerves; we are still human.  But no matter what, my love for him is not shaken, because I remember how much God loves me, how much God loves him, and that we are to love each other the same.  Marriage is suppose to represent the relationship between God and us.  
This is why I think some marriages struggle; we try to love based on a worldly concept instead of a biblical concept.  We need to love at our spouse through God's eyes; we need to see them as someone worth dying for.  Believe me, it can make all the difference in a marriage.
You know...now that I think about it...my love story is better than any of those books I read.