Life...Death...and Life again

This morning in church the communion mediation caused me to ponder. The fellow speaking compared death to our birth. It seemed absurd in the beginning...and then it didn't. He asked us.."What if we could know what babies were thinking right before they were born?" They must feel very secure in that warm sack that protects and nourishes them. Then....suddenly they are squeezed...and pushed into a cold bright sterile room, poked and prodded by a gloved hand. Surely, they must desire to return to the known world of amniotic fluid. But...what if they had stayed....they would have missed life! The outside adventures were worth the struggle. Soon an exciting whole new world opens up to them..... a world of colors and sounds and touches.

It is possible that the struggle to die is similar. We are fearful of what we do not know. We feel secure here...we know this world with it good and evil...but still it is familiar. But what awaits us on the other side is worth the struggle of death that we must endure to get to our eternal life. It is painful to watch...if you are the one on the outside...but the promise of a perfect and beautiful life on the other side is worth dying for. We are watching Papa struggle to pass over....and praying for a swift and painless journey. Transitions...we are born physically...we live.....then we die spiritually in baptism to be born a new creature. Finally...we die physically to live again forever with our Father...and our brother. Each transition is preceded by a struggle whether it be physical or spiritual...then ends with a victory....joy....life! Life...death...and life again...forever!