Dear Fellow Children of God,
In July I had a visit from Kelly Marre. Kelly is the granddaughter of St. John
member, Mary Welch, and also the grandmother of St. John members Olivienne and Ailynn
McNiven. The visit with Kelly was
pleasant, but the topic was unpleasant.
Kelly is working with the United Way as they participate in the Opiod
Taskforce.
I expect you have heard about the drug problem with
heroin and other opioid drugs in the Mat-Su Valley. But, this is not just a local issue. According to the Center for Disease Control
deaths in the United States from opioids have quadrupled since 2000. In fact 6 of 10 deaths from drugs in the U.S.
are from opioids. More than half a
million people have died from this problem since 2000. In 2016 Senator Dan Sullivan held a Mat-Su
Summit on “the opioid epidemic” which included attendance by the U.S. Surgeon
General. After the meeting Sullivan told
the Alaska Dispatch that the “ . . . at-times harrowing stories of heroin and painkiller addiction opened his
eyes to the devastating consequences on addicts and loved ones.” Unfortunately, as bad as the problem is in
our country, there seems to be evidence that the issue may be even worse right
here in our community.
However, this drug issue is not just a problem that affects
only those outside God’s Church. Most of
us know someone, or perhaps more than one person, who has struggled, or been
addicted, or possibly even died because of this problem in their lives. God calls Christians to live holy lives,
lives of faith and love and obedience.
But, God sent His Son to be our Savior because we have not always lived
righteous lives. We have all sinned
against our Lord. Even Christians,
called to holiness, have struggled with this issue of opioid addiction.
It would be nice to just ignore the opioid crisis, the
addictions, the deaths, the families torn apart, and hope the problem goes
away. But, God calls us to “'Love
your neighbor as yourself.'” (Mark 12:31)
What
can children of God do in the face of this “epidemic?” It is always best to start with our own
lives. God gives instruction about struggles
with sin in Paul’s first letter to the Christians in Corinth. Corinth was a wealthy city full of life-styles
which pursued the desires of the flesh.
Because of the temptations faced by Corinthian Christians they were
instructed, “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.” ( 1 Corinthians
6:19-20 )
In other words, we are so valuable to God that He purchased
us, body and soul, for eternal life in heaven.
God sent His Son, Jesus, who died to pay the price our sins deserve. Such sacrifice is ultimate love. Because God loves us like that, we want to love
Him, AND we should love ourselves.
Because God saves us through faith in Jesus’ sacrificial
love, we are told that our bodies are temples of the Spirit of God, the Spirit Who
creates that faith in us. One of the ways
we take care of God’s temple is to take care of our bodies, to live healthy lives. Then, as the Holy Spirit lives in us by faith,
we have strength and ability to serve the one who died for us. When we don’t take care of ourselves, when we
give in to unhealthy, or sinful behavior, we hurt the bodies Jesus died to
save. God calls for us to honor Him with
our bodies. That also means that we stay
away from harmful behavior with addictive substances, including opioids.
But, if your own life is “clean”, can you then ignore others
who struggle? Years ago I received a
phone call in Jacksonville, FL, from a pastor in Nebraska. His son had a drug
problem and had run away to our town.
The father was aching in his heart for his son. I found this pastor’s son and put him on a
bus back to Nebraska, though I’m not sure if he made it. If one of my children, or grandchildren, or
nieces or nephews had a problem, I would hope that a loving a faithful
Christian would have compassion and help them.
As Jesus says, “Love your
neighbor as you love yourself.”
There are more problems in the world than one Christian person
can deal with. But that does not give us
an excuse to do nothing when others suffer. In addition to taking care of ourselves, we
can be there for friends and family who may struggle with this problem. There might also be opportunities to help
others, for example volunteering at the United Way.
Being a Christian is not easy. Life can be and is messy. Christian life is messy too. But, in the middle of this world we have One
who cares about us enough to come to our mess and to sacrifice His life for
us. Trusting Jesus and sharing Jesus, we
can love others and help our community.
A Child of God, Seeking to Make a Difference for Others
as Jesus has Loved Me,
Pastor Jonathan
******
ABOUT ‘THOUGHTS FROM THE
PASTOR’ - I am sending these e-mail messages, hopefully weekly, to
all St. John members and friends whose e-mails I have. (I am regularly
adding new names of friends and members – in case you are just receiving this
e-mail for the first time.) However, if you do not want to receive this
e-mail, please let me know, and I’ll gladly leave your name off my list for
this message.
******
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