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All tagged death
Every election cycle voters put great hopes in their candidates, as leaders who will bring change or stability or both. Yet, there's no one person who will garner everyone's support because people have such diverse concerns and issues.
Recorded history reminds us of the ups and downs of civilizations and cultures. History is cyclical. Life, in general, is cyclical, just as the seasons within a year. The greatness of a nation or era of civilization is preceded and followed by periods of mediocrity or worse.
The problem is consistency and succession of leaders and their governing power. Even religious and theological views vary because they're tied to ever-changing generations and leaders within each generation.
Thankfully, there is one leader who is enduring, trustworthy, and compassionate. He was not elected by people, nor is He limited by human fickleness and frailty. He is powerful, yet humble. Superior, yet approachable.
A common hook used for selling something is to offer a guarantee. Of course, the hook might come with some catches like time limits or other restrictions. It's the "money-back" guarantees that are most appealing.
You can also buy extended warranties and some credit cards even offer warranties. But remember, guarantees or warranties are only as good the one who issues it, whether it's a person or a company. Are they trustworthy? Will they stay in business?
Another limitation is whatever is being guaranteed. Any item or service, even a life insurance policy is limited because it's temporary. A life insurance policy is only in force while a person is alive and pays out when they die.
But what about a human soul? It's contained within a physical body but it exists beyond physical life. What kind of guarantee is there for life after death and eternity, or is there any? Again, it depends on who issues the guarantee.
People need and want strong leaders for the most part. Sometimes strong leaders do well, but too often authority and power corrupts a person. Then, corruption breeds more corruption and oppression is unleashed upon those who desire and need strong leadership.
The problem is that no human leader can be supremely benign and powerful in a way that is fair and beneficial to all. Even very good leaders, well-respected and loved leaders, die because they are human. This creates a leadership vacuum in their absence.
How can we know if a promise is trustworthy? People make promises that are often more like intentions than true promises. We might "promise" to call someone or pray for them later, but we say promise as more of an assurance of our intention than a true commitment.
Politicians, sales people, and even entrepreneurs make lots of promises, but if we're wise, we only accept these promises with a grain of salt. There always seems to be a loophole, excuse, or contingency that gives them a way out of making good on their promises.
A promise is only as good as the person who makes it. Even then, it's only reliable if the person has the capacity or power to keep their promise.
American culture thrives on excuses and justifications, rhetoric, misinformation, and spin. Actually, all cultures do. It's called the human condition.
We say we want to know the truth, but do we? Can we handle it when the truth doesn't fit our expectations or preconceived notions?
Perhaps that's why we're so big on "money-back guarantees" in America. I'm pretty sure we're the only country that sells extended warranties, paying twice or three times the cost of the item, just for peace of mind if it breaks.
When this quest for guaranteed guarantees carries over to spiritual truth and theology, it causes problems. The western mind (including Americans) prize logic and legal wording when it comes to theology. We like iron-clad truth!
An important part of counseling at any level, for whatever the need may be, is trust. Often, what builds trust is when we know a person identifies with our situation and knows what we're going through.
Peer counseling in self-help groups, even with Christian fellowship, can be reassuring because of shared experiences in life.
In matters of faith, we also need to have similar assurances. This is an important reason for Jesus, God's Son, becoming human to live among us.
Why is it so important that Jesus—God's Son—became human? Is it? Yes! But why? For one thing, people say they would believe in God, if only He appeared in front of them. If they could see Him, they'd believe.
Jesus did just that, but long before any of us reading this were alive.
He experienced life and death on earth for humanity's benefit.
