"A few years ago i was hit by a car and ended up in the hospital. I was feeling very uncomfortable lying on the gurney, but I didn't have any external injuries to speak of so I thought I would be released to return home. When the doctor finally examined me, he was kind but clear saying, "You might not live long. There is serious bleeding. We will try to operate but we may not succeed."
Suddenly everything changed. Death was right there in the room with me. I realized that this might be the moment of my death. I felt shocked, and there were many thoughts going through my mind until I had a further experience. I had never felt anything like it before because in the midst of my confusion and shock I became very calm, very "at rest", and there was a sort of "embrace of God" that reassured me and gently told me, "Don't be afraid. You are safe. I am going to bring you home.
You belong to me, and I belong to you"
I was so amazingly at peace that later that night after the surgery when I woke up in the intensive care unit, I felt extremely disappointed. I asked myself, "What am I doing here and why am I still alive?" I kept wondering what had happened to me. Gradually I realized that perhaps for the first time in my life I had contemplated my death not through the eyes of fear but through the eyes of love. Somehow, if only for a moment, I had known God, felt unconditionally loved, and I had experienced being a lover."
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Jesus, as we enter this week remembering and making preparation for your death and resurrection, my prayer is that each of face the truth that one day we too must die. . .the question we must ask ourselves To whom, do I belong? Father, as we ask this question, I pray at some point we too feel the "embrace of God".
Good Friday (death) was a reality for Jesus, of which Jesus entered determined to follow the will of God, "nevertheless not my will, but your will be done". This is the invitation and challenge for each of us to daily resolve not my will, but God your will be done. As we develop this confidence and experience the embrace of God may we too awake each day wondering "What am I doing here and why am I still alive?"
May your Holy Week journey find you very calm and at rest. May you become amazingly at peace because you know the love of God and you too experience the assurance of God saying to you:
"You Belong to Me, and I Belong to You!"
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Inspired By Love,
Marcus J. Singleton
Lead Pastor
Living Faith Community
Marcus J. Singleton
Lead Pastor
Living Faith Community
Hoover, AL
Our Vision: "A diverse community of faith; inspired by the love of Jesus, committed to becoming and making disciples".
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