"Life" OR "Get Me Out of Here!"
Sabbath School Class—Life as Discovery and Hope
Introductory Reflection
“Would you tell me, please, which way I can go to get out of here?” asked Alice.
“That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,” said the Cat.
“I don’t much care where . . .” said Alice.
“Then it doesn’t matter which way you go,” said the Cat.
(Charles Lutwidge Dodgson under the pseudonym Lewis Carroll in the novel Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland)
These lines are from the fictional story entitled Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Alice who had fallen into a rabbit hole was led into an amazing world but she was now wanting out. While I haven’t read the novel these lines do raise some important issues. Many today, either by choice or through a chain of circumstances, find themselves in a world that is no longer satisfying and in some cases terrifying. In desperation they strike out with no specific plan in mind other than “get me out of here.” Such a plan is really no plan and doing so can lead to more confusion, anxiety and at times depression. Life can be much more. It was designed to be more. This week’s lesson points us in definite direction. It is not the conventional road to “happiness” but those who have traveled there tell not only of “happiness” but also of an inner joy that is beyond the fickleness of events which happen along life’s pathway.
Reflective Quiz
1. The quality of life is determined by the number of years lived. False
When Jesus said, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” (Jn.10:10) was He suggesting that we would live longer lives?
To get a richer understanding of what Jesus is saying in this verse we should consider the context. He is using the analogy of the shepherd’s care for his sheep as a descriptor of Himself.
John 10:7-10
7 Therefore Jesus said again, "I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. 8 All who ever came before me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. 9 I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. (NIV)
Unlike the thief who only thinks of himself, Jesus gives life to others even if it means a detriment for Himself. The sheep then have a profound sense of security -- . He will come in and go out, and find pasture. Their needs will be cared for. Despite the fact that there were many martyrs their sense of fullness was not dampened by abuse or an abrupt end! Life’s fullness is more about how we live than how long we live.
Life is a gift from God. It has its origin in Him.
Note Gn. 2:7
7 the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being. (NIV)
John 1:1-4
1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning.
3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of men. (NIV)
So when Jesus says He came to give a more abundant life He had the credentials to back it up – He made us in the first place! Our life comes from Jesus! Life is indeed sacred. It is not some function of biology. It is a gift from the very One who gave His own life that we might live.
3. What we do with our own body is our own business. [1 Cor. 6:19,20; Rom. 12:1,2] False
1 Cor 6:19-20
19 Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body. (NIV)
1 Cor 6:19-20
19 Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body. (NIV)
Rom 12:1-2
12:1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God-this is your spiritual act of worship. 2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is-his good, pleasing and perfect will. (NIV)
Did you see the report in US News & World Report regarding: “10 Habits That May Help You Live to 100”? : http://health.msn.com/health-topics/articlepage.aspx?cp-documentid=100233437&page=2
Here are the 10 points:
1. Don’t retire
2. Floss every day
3. Move around
4. Eat a fiber-rich cereal for breakfast
5. Get at least six hours of shut-eye
6. Consume whole foods, not supplements
7. Be less neurotic
8. Live like a Seventh-day Adventist
9. Be a creature of habit
10. Stay connected
Ellen White pulls back the curtain and shares the bigger picture of Christian living – total consecration to Christ,
“I wish I could portray the beauty of the Christian life. Beginning in the morning of life, controlled by the laws of nature and of God, the Christian moves steadily onward and upward, daily drawing nearer his heavenly home, where await for him a crown of life, and a new name, "which no man knoweth saving him that receiveth it." Constantly he grows in happiness, in holiness, in usefulness. The progress of each year exceeds that of the past year. {My Life Today, p.156}
4. To be given more “life” on this earth we must first die. [Jn 12:23-26; Jn. 3:7, 16-18] True
As strange as this may seem, this is true. Note the words of Jesus:
John 12:23-26
23 Jesus replied, "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24 I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. 25 The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26 Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me. (NIV)
What kind of dying is Jesus talking about? Note Paul’s counsel:
Phil 2:1-4
2:1 If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, 2 then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. 3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. 4 Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. (NIV)
5. If Christianity did not have so many restrictions it would be a full life. [Jn. 10:10; Mt. 19:16-26]
Matt 19:16-26
16 Now a man came up to Jesus and asked, "Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?"
17 "Why do you ask me about what is good?" Jesus replied. "There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, obey the commandments."
18 "Which ones?" the man inquired.
Jesus replied, "'Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, 19 honor your father and mother,' and 'love your neighbor as yourself.'"
20 "All these I have kept," the young man said. "What do I still lack?"
21 Jesus answered, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me."
22 When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.
23 Then Jesus said to his disciples, "I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. 24 Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."
25 When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, "Who then can be saved?"
26 Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." (NIV)
Have you ever flown a kite? What holds it up in the air? The string, of course! You don’t think so? Then let go of the string. Obviously the wind has an important part to play but the string plays an important role in positioning the kite so it can take advantage of raging wind. The very circumstances of life which seem to hold us back are actually preparing us to meet some of life’s greatest challenges.
Concluding Reflections
“The Good Life,” as the lyrics of a popular song goes, defies human logic. The life for which we were created is not the one most traveled. Nor is it the creation of a façade, a cover-up if you will, that is no deeper than an external display of happiness. I appreciate the challenging words of C.S. Lewis when he wrote, We must not suppose that if we succeeded in making everyone nice we should have saved their souls. A world of nice people, content in their own niceness, looking no further, turned away from God, would be just as desperately in need of salvation as a miserable world. ‑ C.S. Lewis
Life’s fulfillment is really about transformation. The misfortunes which come from living in a less than perfect world become tolerable because we see the bigger picture. We live in anticipation but we also live in a new kind of fullness provided by Christ’s indwelling presence. So much of what we get out of life comes from this Presence. It changes everything we see and do and what we are becoming.
“The Bible shows that we are an Easter people living in a Good Friday world, not Good Friday people living in an Easter world. That means we are destined for joy no matter how difficult our daily life. Something in us responds to the happiness other people experience, because we glimpse life as God intends it to be! It is an image imprinted in the spirit of Easter morning—pure, powerful, and potent, like the resurrection.” Found in Joy for a Woman’s Soul—Promises to Refresh Your Spirit, in chapter “A Joyful Up-look”, p. 86.
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