MLK,Jr., helps to put some things into perspective. Though dated...it really isn't dated at all.
Herein lies the answer to the neurotic fear of death that plagues so many of our lives. Let us face the fear that the atomic bomb has aroused with the faith that we can never travel beyond the arms of the Divine. Death is inevitable. It is a democracy for all the people, not an aristocracy for some of the people - kings die and beggars die; young men die and old men die; learned men die and ignorant men die. We need not fear it. The God who brought our whirling planet from primal vapor and has led the human pilgrimage for lo these many centuries can most assuredly lead us through death's dark night into the bright daybreak of eternal life. His will is too perfect and his purposes are too extensive to be contained in the limited receptacle of time and the narrow walls of earth. Death is not the ultimate evil; the ultimate evil is to be outside God's love. We need not join the mad rush to purchase an earthly fallout shelter. God is our eternal fallout shelter.
In the face of all that can frighten us we can "never travel beyond the arms of the Divine." This is meant to assure us in times of anxiety and fear. That assurance is the power of life that enables us to face whatever will come down upon us and try to become the master of our lives. Though today's piece can sound like we are waiting for another time outside of this time, it is really a reminder that the day of promise...the unfolding of God's love...is already at hand and it will be one that can fade away or be destroyed. This promise becomes our resting place (fallout shelter) so that we can face whatever it is that attempts to drive us away from the life we are encouraged to grasp. I don't want this to sound trite. There are many ways that we face the power of death in our lives. The death of the positions we hold, the ones we love, our relationships, the respect we have earned...it can all blow up around us. And yet, in the face of this our God continues to provide us with the place and time to be renewed for life and not let death hound us into limiting our life together.
Connection: Wherever we go today - "we can never travel beyond the arms of the Divine."
When you embrace us with your love, O God, we are given the strength to face all that will come upon us - even the power of death. It is as we are upheld by your love that we begin to make the day something new for ourselves and those around us. Continue to be our foundation and our hopefulness. Amen.
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