Wednesday, March 27, 2013

The Tale of Two Models

We all need life-support. God's Second Law of Thermodynamics insures that we will be one day stone, dead cold. So we anxiously run around town looking for some life-support machine to plug into. Though there seems to be countless models, there are basically only two. The first is the World Model with many variations on the same theme. The guts of this machine is the same no matter how it is dressed up on the outside. It comes in all colors and has something for everyone from the straight-laced to the wild. You will find something you like and something to give your life to. You will find you can plug into this machine, its portable, and stylish. Everyone seems to have one version of it or the other. There is one major design flaw in this model you need to know about. It has limited battery capacity, has to be recharged regularly, and more and more frequently to get the same power level. The quality of this machine is not too good either. It tends to promise a lot more than it can deliver  and tends to be in the shop a lot.

The other life-support machine was given to you (its in stock with your name on it). There is only one model style. It is called the Eternal-Jesus model. It has unlimited battery power, and no need to recharge, ever. It is also portable. You can take it with you everywhere. Maintenance only consists of user error, like a cord that is not firmly plugged in or something fairly simple. There are no design errors in the machine itself. It gives a person total freedom to roam throughout the world. It is implanted internally as opposed to the much more bulky World machine which has to be carried externally. And with the Eternal-Jesus model which keeps body, soul and spirit completely integrated (unlike the World model which tends to fragment the system often) it is the only machine that functions in the rarefied air of eternity, after our death.

"For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul? For what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?" (Mark 8:36-37) Why would anyone who is hooked up the the Eternal-Jesus machine exchange it for the World model? What advantage or profit is there in this for one's soul (psuche). Paul highly recommends the Eternal-Jesus model over the World model. In Phil.3:7-8, Paul writes, "But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be a loss in the view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish in order that I might gain Christ...." This is the clear choice Jesus is presenting to the crowds that day. The cost we count is whether we want to be hooked up to a failing life-support machine that will one day shut down, or whether we want to accept the gift of the Eternal-Jesus machine that is good not only in this life, but in the one to come. It is time to make a deal.

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