Have you ever looked at a tiny human and thought to yourself, "I would die in an unhesitating instant, if it came to that, in order to protect you." ? I was recently struck by that thought, as I trust most parents are, for the first time. You literally don't even have the emotional capacity to process the love of God until you've felt that feeling in the pit of your soul. Jesus, God himself in human form, literally lived out those words for ME. It's a mind'blowing concept if you give it more than a few second's consideration. Jesus did not just step in front of a truck or donate his organs in order to save you, he literally lived an entire human life with full cognizance of the death that awaited him, knowing all along that it was you he'd be saving. His child. God's child for you, and Lord willing for your child as well.

I don't have some lengthy lesson here, that's just a thought that hit me that I needed time to really process in order to share. I may spend the rest of my life processing it.

If you don't have a personal, conversational relationship with God through the sole mediation of his Son Jesus Christ, you are missing out on the greatest relationship of all eternity. If you're unsure of how that all works, I highly recommend you pick up a copy of the Bible (I prefer NIV translation, though there are innumerably many good versions). I literally cannot implore you any more strenuously or simply than that. I built this blog because I made a commitment in my life a long time ago that I would choose to follow the words of the Bible (imperfectly, since we are all still human until we're someday restored to Glory) and to seek after Jesus Christ to the exclusion of all other earthly things and relationships.

I have been blessed in my life to have and to see many good, Christian parents, and in honor of Father's Day and Mother's Day being recently celebrated, I want to say a special thank you to my mom and dad for teaching me early and often about the Bible, because their love means the world to me, but their teaching means eternity.

I have no idea how so many good Christian parents have struggled their entire lives with this concept; that you need to love God more than your spouse, your children, or anyone else this life may give you. I know now how much a person can love their child, and yet God's love is a more perfect form of the mere representation he has given us in creation.

A lifelong friend of mine lost his father unexpectedly back in January. Recently we were catching up on the phone, because I wanted to see how he's doing and to update him on the latest decisions I'm facing in my personal and professional life. His best advice, and I write it here because I want to remember it for as long as the internet exists, is that you should leave nothing undone or unsaid in life if it's important to those whom you care about. For me, that's meant several things, including brazenly declaring my feelings for a few of the most important people in my life, not to mention making potentially life-altering decisions about my career.

My best advice to anyone and everyone is this: don't wait. Undeclared affections may be unreturned, but you will never know until you pluck up the courage and say something. If it's an important declaration that you've been holding on to regarding a family member, say it immediately and often (within reason, of course), and if you have the opportunity to spend quality time with them, do so. There is literally no guarantee in this life that you will die of old age. More importantly than making moves in life though is to make the only declaration that will still resonate in ten thousand years, which is that Jesus Christ is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.

Tertullian, an early Church Father and Christian Theologian from the 2nd century A.D., is one of the first to record the importance of the phrase "memento mori." According to his account and other apocryphal stories,  this phrase was uttered by a slave to remind a triumphant military commander as he paraded gloriously through the streets of Ancient Rome that his victory was temporary, and ultimately life itself was fleeting.

Today, you'll hear my thoughts on life, death, and the recent passing of a friend's dad.

In response to the Robin Williams situation, I posted the following message on my Facebook page:

The response I received from it was surprisingly positive. The more I contemplated what I said, the more I realized I should probably explain it in a little more detail.

People often ask why God created Satan if he knew in advance that he was going to rebel. I think in a way, that question answers itself. He knew. God is an all-knowing, all-powerful being. He never needed to create anything or anyone, but he chose to do so from what I believe was a desire to reveal his own Glory. It must have been very boring to exist before the existence of all things. There was no substance, no matter, and noone to talk to or interact with. So naturally, to entertain himself, God built a chess board.

He created a universe with specific rules, and then populated it with pieces who could be moved and manipulated to do his bidding. It started with simple pieces, such as angels, who are inherently obedient to the will of their creator. Then, however, he went even further, and created an unpredictable piece which can either choose to obey its creator or not. Thus was born mankind.

As he was making the chess board, he also realized that he would need a suitable opponent, because playing a game against yourself is obviously not fun. Thus Lucifer was created, and with him the proud desire to usurp power from his Creator. The game had begun.

From the very first moment when the Serpent entered the garden, humans have been the pieces of a cosmic struggle between Good and Evil. They can be manipulated, coaxed, coerced, and tempted to do all sorts of good and/or evil action. Naturally, we know that round one went to the Enemy. The game didn't end there though. Like any truly gifted chess player, God was thinking further ahead than simply the next move or two. He was looking all the way to the Cross, so he created a Savior to set things right.

I use the term 'created' loosely here. In Christian theology we say, "begotten, not made" when describing Jesus. Since Jesus is God he must, by his very definition, be eternal and un-created. The reason why Satan will never be God's equal is precisely because he was created, and therefore is not eternal. Even though God created in Satan a magnificent opponent, he did not create an equal, as he did with Jesus.

That's why we win. That's why this cosmic game we call life is slanted in our favor as members of God's covenant. Even though we can be manipulated and even destroyed by God's opponent, the game will ultimately end in victory for us, because God has seen every move that will be made all the way to the very end of time.

Finally, I bring you a scriptural illustration:

Job 1

6 One day the angels came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came with them. 7 The Lord said to Satan, “Where have you come from?”

Satan answered the Lord, “From roaming throughout the earth, going back and forth on it.

8 Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil."

9 “Does Job fear God for nothing?” Satan replied. 10 “Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land. 11 But now stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face.

12 The Lord said to Satan, “Very well, then, everything he has is in your power, but on the man himself do not lay a finger.

Then Satan went out from the presence of the Lord.

Just to be clear, our loving God directed the Destroyer's attention to one of his pieces, and then Satan essentially says, "I can break him," and our loving Father's response amounts to: "Ok, I'll take that wager."

We all know what happens next. Job experiences untold suffering, loss, and misery at the hands of Satan. Though he blames God and at times rails against the injustice of his Creator, Job never goes so far as to deny his faith in God. At the end of the book, when God finally responds, he essentially says to our man Job: "Shut up. You can't see the chessboard from my perspective. I will always win in the end"