In the long term Hedonism cannot survive

   My wife and I love to watch "Wheel of Fortune" (we almost don't miss an episode).   At the beginning Pat Sajak goes around and interviews each contestant to find out where they are from, what they do, who they are married to, etc..   I personally use this information to choose who to root for.  We don't bet on it but it makes it more interesting.   I have a few deciding factors that help me decide.  If they are from the Chicago area, a government employee or a lawyer I automatically put them in the "don't root for" category.   One thing that used to put them in the don't-root-for list was if they said they were "proud parents of 2 (or more) fur-babies" (cat's, dog's, rabbits etc).   This phase is being used more and more by the Millennial generation.  In fact, research is showing married couples under 35 are more likely to have pets than children.

    This used to bother me but now I see it as a blessing.   I see our country divided differently today.   It's heathen verses non-heathen.   In a hedonistic society everything is about YOU.  It's all about YOUR pleasure.  It's all about YOUR life.  It's all about YOUR career.  It's all about YOUR experiences.  For non-believers the world is a very scary and short-lived place.   It's all about sucking all the marrow out of life that you can before you are turned back into dirt.   This fear guides all your decisions.   You feel you have to get all your ducks in a row before you can even BEGIN to think about kids.  You need your career in place.  You need to get your 401k fully-funded.  You need to get your McMansion set up and see all the major sites in the world because kids take that away from you.  First they date for 5 years, then they live together for 5 years, then they get married and live another 5 years before they start to the process of making babies.   But then you find your 38 years old and your eggs aren't worth crap or his sperm count is diminished to almost nothing because of all the "stress" you endured working for the McMansion and the career.   For many young couples today pets replace children.  They dote on them, train them, feed them, take pictures of them and show them off to others.  They are cheaper too.   No clothes to buy (unless you feel you need to), no college to save for, no piano lessons or dance recitals to go to.   No nasty notes from the teacher that require you to have meetings with them.   If you need to run off to Bora Bora then it's off to the kennel for them.   Easy Peasy!

    I looked around me and made an interesting observation.   The only young couples around me that I saw having kids were Christian couples.    You see, they are not living in fear of the future.  God has their back and their children.   He is with them all the way.   The Bible says, "Perfect love drives out fear!".  That is what God does in our lives.  He drives out fear much like Jesus drove the money changers from the temple who were making God's house a den of thieves.   They are not living in fear of death for they know there is much more that awaits them after death.  God has promised and has made it known to us by the resurrection of Jesus from the grave.

   But that observation showed me that there in lies the answer to hedonism.  Ultimately hedonism is it's own worst enemy.  The heathens encourage their side to not have children.  They tell them that they can have it all without children and the world will be better off too.   But this means that the heathen eventually will die off and it will be the non-heathen (the Christians) who will repopulate society.    It may take 2 generations but eventually things will change.   Currently our country is still dealing with the most Hedonistic generation to have ever lived: the baby-boomer generation.  This generation is now moving into their end-years and are now in it's final convulsions of trying to accomplish all they can before they take their last breath.  Baby Boomer 1.0 gave birth to Baby-Boomer 2.0 which felt families should only have 1 or 2 children.   Now Baby-Boomer 3.0 is being taught to have 0 or 1 child or not get married at all (most 20 year old are living together instead of getting married).   Eventually the hedonist generation and their ill-thought-views will be wiped from the face of the earth like a nightmare that is soon forgotten. 

    Hedonism is really the source of it's own destruction.   

He stinks!

    One of my favorite verses from the Bible is Mary speaking to Jesus about her brother Lazarus lying in the grave.   She tells Jesus, "Lord!  He's been in the tomb for 4 days now and he stinks!"  ( the KJV says , 'He stinketh!' )

    The story of Lazarus is a deeply emotional one.  There is so much there to unpack for one blog.  First we have Jesus waiting to go back to Bethany after he here's that Lazarus is sick.  By the time he does show up, Lazarus has been dead and buried 4 days.   Mary's first words to Jesus are, "Lord if you had been here Lazarus would not have died!".   Was that a proclamation of faith or was that an indictment of Jesus?   It's very hard to say.   I think it's a little bit of both.  Mary is being nice and venting at the same time it seems.    She had seen Jesus heal many people.  Maybe she even saw him raise Jairus' daughter who had just died.  Why didn't he hurry back in time to help a person who he was close to?   Jesus uses this as an opportunity to teach Mary about his mission and who he his.  He says to her,

 "I am the resurrection and the life!  He who believes in me, though he dies, yet shall he live!"

   He then asks to see where they have laid him.   Jesus already knows where they have put him, but he wants Mary to show him.  When they arrive, Jesus first prays to the Father and then asks that the tombstone be rolled back.

   It is here, that Mary says those infamous words, "Lord, it's been 4 days and surely now he stinks!"
Mary thought that Lazarus was beyond the help of God.   His flesh was rotting and being eaten by maggots.   Death can be like watching a slowly dying fire.  When a person has just died,  nothing changes.  Like the fire, we may still feel the warmth of the flame.  There is still hope the fire could be re-ignited.   But like a fire that has not only been out for a long time but has had water put on it as well we eventually give up all hope in them coming back to life.  Mary was in that place too.  She had lost all hope in Lazarus coming back any time soon.   Jesus then calls out in a loud voice, "Lazarus!  Come out!"  and Mark records that immediately the dead man came out. 

   Who do we think stinks?   Who do we think is beyond the help of God?   Maybe it's a family member?  Or a co-worker?  Or a neighbor?  Maybe it's a politician we don''t like or a famous person who mocks Christianity?   We might case them off as un-save-able and too far gone.   But Jesus stands at the doorway of their tombs and calls them out of their dark dungeons of despair.    He calls US out of OUR tombs.   Places were our flesh is rotting and we have no life in us and all seems to be lost.   He beckons us to come out and be with him.

    Jesus prayer to the Father is also important to look at as well.  First, it shows that Jesus does nothing on his own accord, but only with the Father's blessing.   Second, it shows that both the Father and the Son are in the life giving business.  Too often Christians make the mistake of thinking the Father is against us, and that because his son Jesus is for us, then God the Father kind of goes along with him on saving the world (A sort of cosmic puppy Jesus brings to the Father to bring home with him... "Can we keep him Father?").   But that is so far from the truth.  The Father and the Son work together to bring Lazarus back from the dead.   They are both in the life giving business.  They both love us.  (Jesus said, 'I and the Father are ONE!')

     Later in the book of Acts, Saul the persecutor becomes Paul the missionary.  Shortly after Jesus confronts him on the road to Damascus, Saul is sent to Damascus and Jesus sends Ananias to go and give him sight back (Saul had been blinded).   Ananias says to Jesus, 'Lord, I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm has has done to your holy people in Jerusalem.  And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call upon your name!'.    Does Jesus need Ananias report on Saul to remind him who he is dealing with??   No.  Of course not!   Jesus knows fully who he's dealing with.   He knows Saul even better than Ananias thinks he does.   Ananias is basically saying, "God, this man Saul is too far gone! You can't be serious!"

    How many people do we say are too far gone?   How about Obama?  How about Hillary?  How about Bill Clinton?  How about Trump?    Who is too much for God to change?   Do we pray for them?

   Maybe it's you?   Do you think you are too far gone.  Do you feel un-save-able?  The Bible is chuck-full of stories like yours.   From Abraham, (a liar, an adulterer and a idol-worshiper) to Jacob (who tricks his father, extorts his brother to give him the inheritance) to Moses (a murderer) to Jonah (who runs from responsibility and from God) to David (an adulterer and a murderer) to Peter (a blasphemer who abandons Jesus) to Saul who later becomes Paul (a blasphemer, murderer, violent man).   All are forgiven and shown abundant mercy.   Do you think you stink more than them? 

Listen to Jesus call out your name!  He calls you out of the tomb of your despair and hopelessness!! You will stink no more!