Born to Die, day 1

Advent begins tomorrow (Sunday).  The season of preparing for the Christ child… the child born to die.  

What does it mean to be born to die?

Last week I was with some friends who, when they learned that our church plant was closing, wanted to find out “how I was doing.”   I explained to them that I’m doing well.  I had a clear sense when we started this journey, that I was doing what God wanted me to.  I have an equally clear sense that closing is what God wants us to do.  I am not in the same place I was when we started.  I have learned much.  Others have learned much.  People have found faith.  More have learned about Jesus.  The legacy of the Loop continues… just in a different form.  I also believe that at some point in the future, God will invite me back into church planting (but with a whole new set of tools and skills to guide and direct for the next leg of the journey).  

My contentment about this drew us deeper into conversation.  They know many who, like me, have had something “die” without realizing the fulfillment of their original dream.  They know that most who experience this have a deep sense of failure… but we wondered together if too often that sense of failure is wrong.  (They challenged me to write about this, hence this blog post).

Our world sees death as the end.  But our Christian faith sees death as the beginning.  

What would it mean if we (followers of Jesus) could really grasp what it means to be born to die?

During this advent season, this will be my contemplation…