1. society

The Common Good
The Sanctity of Human Life
April 5, 2015
Main Text: Gen. 12:1-5 “The Call of Abraham”; Jer. 29:4-7 “The Exile's Commission” Going with the purpose to
bless...those guys?
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“Then God said, 'Let us make man in our image, in our likeness'...So God created man in his own image, in the image
of God he created him; male and female he created them.”
– Genesis 1:26-27
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“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have
eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”
– John 3:16-17
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“It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick...I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
– Mark 2:17 (Matthew 9:12-13)
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“For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.”
– Luke 19:10
Are you a “the cup's half empty” or a “the cup's half full” kind of person? Ultimately, what is our view toward the world
in general and specifically human kind? Certainly the world is fallen, corrupted by sin, and all people have sinned and
fallen short of the glory of God (Rom.3:23). Paul even instructs Timothy to “have nothing to do with” those
“treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure” (2 Tim.3:4-5). Yet, while we were still sinners “Christ died for the
ungodly” (Rom.5:6) – and we could go on quoting proof texts on both sides. Obviously this is a tension to be
managed rather than a problem to be solved. We still must ask, what do we have in common with the world?
Christian author Andy Crouch wrote about the value of the common good in an article in Christianity Today. He
says, “Seeking the common good in its deepest sense means continually insisting that persons are of infinite worth—
worth more than any system, any institution, or any cause. “
The common good can help us avoid two modern temptations—one on the left and one on the right. “Leftists tend to
be concerned about ‘humanity’ as a collective,” Notre Dame sociologist Christian Smith told me via e-mail. “If some
heads have to roll to improve humanity’s lot, so be it. A commitment to the common good opposes that entirely.
Each and every person has dignity—the good society is one which allows the thriving of all persons, especially the
weak and vulnerable.”
And yet, Smith pointed out, “the common good” challenges the libertarian stream of conservatism as well:
“Individualists only want to see each individual live as they please, as long as they don’t obstruct the ability of other
individuals to do the same. They don’t think anything is ‘common,’ except whatever minimal infrastructures are
needed to create equal opportunity.”
Crouch continues...
First, the common good can give us common ground with our neighbors. We may not agree with them—indeed,
Christians don’t always agree with one another—about what exactly human flourishing looks like. But the common good is
a conversation starter rather than a conversation ender. It can move us away from pitched battles over particular issues
and help us reveal the fundamental questions that often lie unexplored behind them. In a time when many conversations
between people with different convictions seem to end before they begin, we simply need more conversation starters.
But equally important, the common good allows us to stake out our Christian convictions about what is good for humans
—and to dare our neighbors to clarify their own convictions. “In the simplest sense,” Bradley Lewis said, “the common
good is God. It is God who satisfies what people need, individually and communally.” Adopting the language of the
common good means owning this bedrock Christian belief and proclaiming it to our neighbors. If we are not offering our
neighbors the ultimate common good—the knowledge and love of God—we are not taking the idea of the common good
seriously.
-Andy Crouch in “What's So Great About the Common Good?”
In the Biblical account of creation, God creates the world in six days, and humans were created on the sixth day. Each day is
good, but the sixth God says is “very good” (Gen.1:31). Humans are the pinnacle of creation, the zenith of created order,
charged with ultimate responsibility to care for and rule over creation (vs.28). More than that, people are created in God's
image, somehow holy or set apart like he is, filled with his breath (same word for “spirit”) of life (Gen.2:7). Many have tried to
explain what that means, to be created in God's image, but one thing is certain, unlike anything else in all creation, humans
are un-commonly good.
A stranger in a strange land...Blessing for the Common Good
In the call of Abraham (Gen.12:1-5) two things stand out. First, in contrast to the then-recent world history of selfishness,
violence, and cursing (particularly in Canaan), God sends Abram to be a blessing. God uses the word bless, or some form of
it, five times in two verses (vs.2-3); God will bless, cause to become a blessing, and all will be blessed. God promises to bless
Abram, protect him, provision him, and purposes to make him into a blessing for all those around him and far into the future.
God is a God of blessing—it is somehow central to his character, and therefore ought to be reflected by his people.
The second thing that stands out is the powerful, personal presence of God in bringing about this blessing. In three verses
God uses the first person, singular pronoun, I, six times. He says, “I will show...I will make...I will bless...I will make...I will bless...I
will curse...” There is no doubt, Abram is not alone, God is going to make this happen! The irony is that God's presence isn't
often felt by Abram—he only talks with God a few times—and God often does the work of blessing in spite of Abram. Abram
often struggles for faith, acts out of fear and gets in the way of God's plans. God loves those Canaanites!
A table in the presence of my enemies...Exiled for the Common Good
First, the Northern Kingdom of Israel is gone. Now Judah, the last remaining Kingdom of God on earth—with it's historic
capital, Jerusalem, the city of peace, the city of David—is gone. Utterly destroyed, it is first starved, then raped, pillaged,
tortured, slaughtered, and burned to the ground. The glory of God is gone, for there is no temple. The promises are empty,
for the land is occupied. And you've survived—bruised, injured, mentally disturbed with horrible memories and nightmares,
bought and sold into slavery, nearly marched to death to Babylon, and finally exiled with them, the enemy, the pagan, the
unrighteous, the infidel Babylonians.
And into this mess God commissions you to build, settle, plant, marry and produce. How? And on top of all that, you are
tasked to seek the “peace and prosperity” (Jer. 29:7) of this unholy city and for those whom you can't even say their name,
who've committed atrocities, who are guilty of genocide! You’re commanded to pray for them!? Why? Because in some way
our fates are bound together; “because if it prospers, you too will prosper” (vs.7). “Because this man, too, is a son of
Abraham” (Luke 19:9) and “even the dogs under the table eat the children's crumbs” (Mark 7:28). Does God love those
Babylonians only for the common good?
As a last note, these two texts, about the sojourner Abraham and the Jewish exiles, have something else in common. The
people of God in here operate from a position of vulnerability. Each has moved, left behind a homeland, and exists as a
foreigner, with diminished rights and privileges. Perhaps there is some wisdom in maintaining this kind of humble attitude for
the ability to operate for the common good (Phil.2:5-8).
Questions for Discussion:
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People are created in the image of God. What do you think this means? Is this something we can lose? Does this ever
change?
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How can we live daily with this same value of others in mind?
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What does it mean to you that God is, in some fundamental way, a God who blesses. Who does God bless? Why?
What about inequality and unfairness?
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Would you have wanted to be Abraham's neighbor? Why? How has God blessed you? What ways can you, like
Abraham, be a blessing?
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It is one thing to agree to an attitude of humility, quite another to enact it. In what ways can I be/act/live humbly and
with vulnerability toward those around me, my neighbor?
The Common Good
Being Provoked to Engage
April 12, 2015
Main Text: Isa. 6:1-8 “The Call of Isaiah”; Matt. 28:16-20 “The Great Commission”—going because God told you to, or
going because you see the world with the heart of God.
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“When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a
shepherd...”– Matthew 9:36 (Mark 6:34)
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“At that time some Pharisees came to Jesus and said to him, 'Leave this place and go somewhere else. Herod wants
to kill you.' He replied, 'Go tell that fox, 'I will drive out demons and heal people today and tomorrow, and on the
third day I will reach my goal.' In any case, I must keep going today and tomorrow and the next day—for surely no
prophet can die outside Jerusalem! O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you,
how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were
not willing!'”– Luke 13:31-34 (Matthew 23:37)
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“Remember that even Jesus' most scathing denunciation—a blistering diatribe against the religious leaders of
Jerusalem (Matthew 23)—ends with Christ weeping over Jerusalem. Compassion colored everything He did.” – John
MacArthur
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“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you
should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.” – Philippians 2:3-4
Few of us would say Christians should radically reject the world to live in a desert monastery or set up a utopian
commune (images of Amish?) to defend against the evil outside (Waco?). These extremes have been tried in the
past, usually to little or short-lived success. Furthermore, how do we, as members of the Kingdom of God—something
wholly other and different to our normal experience—live in the world but not be shaped or overcome by it (John
17:14-16)? And what do we mean when we talk about working for “the common good”? Are we talking about socialism
or the right of some to “take things away from you on behalf of the common good?” (Hillary Rodham Clinton) How
much can one work together with others who believe differently and have a completely different definition of what is
good?
“There is an ancient idea that we have lost, but can and should find again. It’s called simply the common good. It goes
back many centuries, but the need for a new dialogue about what it means and what its practice would require of us
has never seemed more critical...The common good has origins in the beginnings of Christianity. An early church
father, John Chrysostom (c. 347–407), once wrote: “This is the rule of most perfect Christianity, its most exact
definition, its highest point, namely, the seeking of the common good . . . for nothing can so make a person an
imitator of Christ as caring for his neighbors.”
– Jim
Wallis
Perhaps best of all, the common good is a matter of choices, not just ideas. And those choices are often local, not
grand social schemes. My decisions about where to live and what to eat and buy, as well as what to grow and create,
whom to befriend and where to volunteer, whom to employ and how much to pay, aren’t just about my private
fulfillment. They will also either contribute to others’ flourishing or undermine it.
– Andy Crouch
A commitment to the common good could bring us together and solve the deepest problems this country and the
world now face: How do we work together? How do we treat each other, especially the poorest and most vulnerable?
How do we take care of not just ourselves, but also one another?
– Jim Wallis
We are a people called and sent to the world, to love our neighbors. We can do this from a sense of guilt or righteous
indignation (to get it right). We can join a group or participate in a program (its what is expected/popular). What are our
motives?
Isaiah 6—being touched by God
In this famous call of Isaiah, God commissions him to be a prophet to a corrupt and wayward Israel. I have often wondered
why this call doesn't come at the beginning of the book, in chapter one, rather than it's literary place in chapter six. After
reading it again, I begin to think that perhaps the author is using a literary tool to show us the heart of God and what he sees
and feels as he then comes to Isaiah. Chapters one through five describe a little of the sin, corruption, and injustice that is
present in Israel and how this deeply hurts God and moves him to bring justice, which will also punish his people and bring
about more pain and suffering. There is a clear vision of the lostness in the present world and of the terrible judgment that is
about to unfold.
All of that is then contrasted in chapter 6 with this vision of God's holy, powerful, exalted and utterly real presence. Yet, there
is great irony in the seraphs' words of verse 3, “...the whole earth is full of his glory.” Really? Isaiah knows this and is painfully
aware of his own sin and participation in the world's corruption, and he knows that he and all of Israel have become something
completely opposite of the Lord Almighty. But then, through the loving grace of God, he is touched, cleansed, forgiven (sin
atoned for) and healed (guilt taken away). The Lord, full of compassion and out of great desire to reach out, communicated
and re-connected with what had been lost. He asked a question in an almost humanly painful cry of loss and disillusionment,
“Whom shall I send?” Isaiah hears and listens, is moved to respond, and is provoked to engage in response to God's love,
compassion and concern for the plight of his beloved yet broken people.
Matthew 28:16-20 – living a common commission
At the end of Jesus' ministry, before his ascension to heaven, he gives the disciples what we call the Great Commission. To
be a Christian is to be a person sent. I don't know about you, but to me, this task is overwhelming—I can't go everywhere (all
the world) and teach everyone everything (I haven't even learned it all myself)! But upon second look, I don't think the
disciples, themselves, were completely comfortable with it either. Even after all Jesus did, said, and showed them, some of
them doubted (vs.17). It’s not even apparent that they all left Jerusalem (leave that to Paul!), much less went to all the world—
according to Acts it took major intervention by the Holy Spirit and area wide persecution for the gospel to spread. Too often
we can end up focusing on the easiest, quickest way to say we're accomplishing this goal—baptize them all (missionaries in
Africa!), but is that really all this commissioning is about?
Looking at the flow of the text, there seems to be an emphasis on teaching and discipling, with, in, and through Jesus (not
alone). Certainly committing your life to Christ through baptism is necessary, but the greater work, the greater calling and
commissioning, would seem to be to disciple—teach, train, talk, walk, influence and live with one another. If there is an order
to it, a lot of that work would seem to take place before baptism, “go and make disciples...[then] baptizing...” The point is,
fulfilling this great commission, not only can, but must involve Christian people entering into the nitty-gritty, daily, and diverse
—dare we say common—aspects of people's lives. Being a disciple is more than preaching, more than spiritual disciplines
(although that is a key part), and more than Sunday worship. Discipling and being a disciple have a lot to do with the
traditionally “non-spiritual” parts of life (if there is such a thing), the “local choices” Andy Crouch talks about, which is where
faith and the Christian life intersects with this idea of the common good.
Questions for Discussion:
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Should Christians retreat into our own communities, whether social groups, schools, or teams (etc.)? Why or why not?
How open or closed (to outsiders) should they be?
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How aware are you of suffering and injustice around you (globally)? Are there any examples of injustice from your
daily life (close to home)?
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Environmentalists have done a good job of teaching our individualistic society that we all have a “carbon footprint”—
that as individuals we have a measurable impact in the community. What is our “sin footprint?” Are we involved in
creating injustice or suffering, either directly or indirectly? Do we see our role in it? Are there ways we contribute to
problems either by what we do or perhaps do not do?
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How much do we live with a daily reality of God's judgment? In what ways would an imminent reality of God's
judgment, whether on you or those around you, impact your daily life?
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To what extent do you serve or volunteer out of guilt (God told you to)? What are some ways God has touched you
with compassion for others? When have you felt compassion for someone?
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What are “common, ordinary” areas of your life that you don't usually think of as religious in nature? What room or
opportunities might exist for the great commission here, for you to live into those in that place with the authority and
power of Jesus?
The Common Good
Pointing the Way
April 19, 2015
Isaiah 40:1-9; Matthew 3; Mark 1:1-11; Luke 1:76-80; 3:1-22; John 1:1-34
God is the Common Good
In our discussion of the Christian’s call to advance the common good for all people, let’s narrow the target of what “the common good”
actually means.
“In the simplest sense, the common good is God. It is God who satisfies what people need, individually and
communally.”
– V.B. Lewis, Associate Editor of the American Journal of Jurisprudence, “The Common Good in Classical Political
Philosophy”
“If we are not offering our neighbors the ultimate common good – the knowledge and love of God – we are not taking
the idea of the common good seriously.”
– Andy Crouch, Executive Editor of Christianity Today, “What’s So Great About the Common Good?”
We all know that ultimately the greatest good we can do for someone else is to point the way to Jesus, but we live in a culture that tells us
in no uncertain terms to back-off, be quiet and leave people alone. Pointing the way to Jesus can smack of exclusivity and condemning
judgment – things that are verboten not just in our culture but also in our Christian walk. So the tension builds between the urge to dialdown the message to keep from offending or to rush in full-steam ahead, heedless of society’s perceptions.
John’s Witness
Perhaps the witness of John the Baptist “crying in the wilderness” can give us insight. His counter-cultural lifestyle seemed to draw
instead of repel people. His bold call to repentance seemed to offend only the pseudo-religious. His message prepared his listener’s
hearts for the hope found only in Jesus.
The Prophecy: Isaiah 40:1-5
In this prophetic chapter, Isaiah starts with a word of comfort to God’s people. The original context was the Israelites’ captivity in
Babylon, their punishment for ignoring God’s commands. But now, God tells Isaiah to comfort his people with kind words and let them
know that the time of “warfare” has ended and their sins have been removed. Then we hear a voice calling, “Clear the way for the Lord in
the wilderness: make smooth a highway in the desert for our God.” All four gospel writers apply these verses as prophetic allusions to
John. (Matthew 3:3; Mark 1:3; Luke 3:4; John 1:23)
For Discussion:
• Is there any way in which these prophetic words of comfort and kindness in Isaiah 40:1,2 carry forward to us as God’s people
today?
• How does God’s comfort and kindness to us make us ready to hear the voice calling us to action in the following verses? Share
ways that God’s comfort and kindness have moved you to action.
• If we are called to “clear the way in the wilderness and make a smooth path in the desert,” what is the wilderness we are to clear?
Where is the desert that needs a smooth path? Does Jesus’ teaching in the parable of the sower have any bearing? (Matthew
13)
• How can we prepare a path for Jesus in someone’s heart?
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Isaiah says that when the path is cleared, the glory of the Lord will be revealed for all to see. To what do you think Isaiah is
referring? (John 1:14,15; Matthew 5:14-16; 2 Corinthians 3:18)
Matthew Henry, 17th century Welsh minister and Bible commentator, wrote:
“The prophet (Isaiah) had some reference to the return of the Jews from Babylon. But this is a small event, compared with that pointed
out by the Holy Ghost in the New Testament, when John the Baptist proclaimed the approach of Christ. When eastern princes marched
through desert countries, ways were prepared for them, and hindrances removed. And may the Lord prepare our hearts by the teaching
of his word and the conviction of his Spirit, that high and proud thoughts may be brought down, good desires planted, crooked and
rugged tempers made straight and softened, and every hindrance removed, that we may be ready for his will on earth and prepared for
his heavenly kingdom.”
John’s Inspired Mission
Before he was born into this world, John was designated as the forerunner of the Messiah. When he was born, his father, Zacharias, said
he would “go on before the Lord to prepare his ways, to give his people the knowledge of salvation by the forgiveness of their sins,
because of the tender mercy of our God, with which the Sunrise from on high shall visit us, to shine on those in darkness and the shadow
of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.” (Luke 1:76-79) That’s quite a lofty mission for someone as down to earth as John the
Baptist. How specifically did John get people ready to come face to face with their Savior, and can his approach translate to our age?
Considering some specific facets of John’s ministry may give us an answer.
A Counter-cultural Lifestyle: Matthew 3:1-4
John’s lifestyle was nothing if not counter cultural. So much so that Jesus asked people if they went out to see John like some sort of
freak show. His camel’s hair clothing and grasshopper diet were definitely not mainstream, and he lived in the wilderness, outside the
power base of organized religion. Whether people came because of curiosity or with more pure motives, come they did. John’s lifestyle
cut against the grain of the norm, and it drew people to him.
• In what ways do you tend to blend in with the world around you? Does that improve or hinder your ability to point the way to
Jesus?
• Are Christians called to be “counter cultural?” If so, how can we be “counter cultural” in a way that draws rather than repels?
A Call to Repentance: Luke3:7-9
“John said to the crowds coming out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming
wrath? Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you
that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not
produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.”
No sugar coating, no equivocating, no diplomacy – just the acid tongue of a true prophet. It was necessary but also costly. Eventually
John paid with his head.
• What relevance does this kind call to repentance have in a discussion about making hearts ready for Jesus?
• Will such a bold call work today in an age when we shy away from “hell fire and brimstone?” Why or why not?
• Isaiah 40:9 says, “You who bring good news to Zion, go up on a high mountain. You who bring good news to Jerusalem, lift up
your voice with a shout, lift it up, do not be afraid; say to the towns of Judah, “Here is your God!” Do we sometimes turn down
the volume on God’s message because we are afraid of the response? If so, what are we afraid of and how can we find courage?
A Challenge to Relationship: Luke 3:10-14
In a preamble to the teachings of Jesus, John calls his disciples to share their clothes and food with anyone in need, to be honest in
business, to treat each other with kindness. He taught his disciples that the way they lived with each other mattered.
• How can we tap into people’s relational needs today as a means of drawing them in?
• What do we have to offer those struggling with relationships that the world does not have?
In the end, John’s message and ministry gave way to the one whose “sandal he was not worthy to untie.” John “was not the light, but he
came to bear witness to the light.” We are called to do the same.
The Common Good
An Uncommon God
April 26, 2015
Main Text: Isaiah 40:6-31
“I am not afraid of death, I just don’t want to be there when it happens.”
- Woody Allen
“Everything that gets born dies.”
- Morrie Schwartz
“No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don't want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination
we all share. No one has ever escaped it.” Steve Jobs
Bad News and Good News: Isaiah 40:6-9
You know the old line, “I’ve got some good news, and I’ve got some bad news.” Well Isaiah could have coined the phrase.
First a voice tells Isaiah “Call out.” So he asks, “What should I call out?” The answer comes back that Isaiah should remind
people of their mortality. “All flesh is grass. . . and grass withers.” He is supposed to remind us that everyone on the planet
has one thing in common. We are all going to die. The bad news completely closes the chasm between rich and poor, haves
and have nots, ins and outs. It crosses every race, every gender, every age. No one is immune to death.
Mercifully, Isaiah’s message continues. Against the bleak backdrop of death comes good news to be shouted out from the
mountaintop: “Here is your God.” The fact that this good news is laid right next to our common problem is no accident
because the good news answers the bad. God is the answer to death, the common fate of us all. But our God is far from
common.
Our Uncommon God: Isaiah 40:10-31
After shouting out the message that God is the good news, these verses square us face-to-face with the all-knowing creator,
revealing a mighty warrior, gentle shepherd, powerful sovereign – a God with no equal. Throughout the passage, repeated
questions underline God’s matchless nature, “Who can you compare to God? Who is like Him? Who is his equal?” The
questions flash like lightening against the darkness of our minds, so tempted to create our own idols or become our own god,
as if we could somehow answer the common problem for ourselves.
On a recent trip to New York City, I experienced Times Square for the first time. The influx of images mesmerized me.
Scraped clean by the steel and glass jutting upward, the sky was replaced by high rise come-ons luring me to join the faithful
at the altar of luxury and wealth. Don’t get me wrong, I loved New York City – the energy, the lights, the tastes, the sounds.
But I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was standing at the gateway of man’s temple to man.
Then I read in Isaiah, “Do you not know? Have you not heard? . . . It is He who sits above the vault of the earth, and its
inhabitants are like grasshoppers.” God is calling me back to reality – not the reality of the seen, but the unseen, the reality of
the “creator of the ends of the earth whose understanding is inscrutable.”
Questions for Discussion:
• Search Isaiah 40:10-31 for things about the Lord God that you would share with someone else as good news, as a way
to “promote the common good.”
• Share with the class times you have experienced God as a warrior, a shepherd, the sovereign ruler of your life.
• How is your everyday life affected by being connected to God as the all-knowing creator.
• How would you describe the temptation to idolatry in today’s culture? In your life?
• Ask someone to read Isaiah 40:21-27 for the class. Discuss how this passage (or any others that come to mind) might
help steel us against the temptation to create our own idol or become our own god.
From Death to Life:
On October 5, 2011, Steve Jobs died of complications from pancreatic cancer. His New York Times obituary began like this:
“Steve Jobs, the visionary co-founder of Apple who helped usher in the era of personal computers and then
led a cultural transformation in the way music, movies and mobile communications were experienced in the
digital age, died Wednesday. He was 56.”
Six years before his death, Jobs gave a commencement address to graduates at Stanford University. He told them about his
initial diagnosis of pancreatic cancer with the following comments:
“About a year ago I was diagnosed with cancer. I had a scan at 7:30 in the morning, and it clearly showed a
tumor on my pancreas. I didn't even know what a pancreas was. The doctors told me this was almost certainly
a type of cancer that is incurable, and that I should expect to live no longer than three to six months. My
doctor advised me to go home and get my affairs in order, which is doctor's code for prepare to die. It means
to try to tell your kids everything you thought you'd have the next 10 years to tell them in just a few months. It
means to make sure everything is buttoned up so that it will be as easy as possible for your family. It means to
say your goodbyes.
I lived with that diagnosis all day. Later that evening I had a biopsy, where they stuck an endoscope down my
throat, through my stomach and into my intestines, put a needle into my pancreas and got a few cells from
the tumor. I was sedated, but my wife, who was there, told me that when they viewed the cells under a
microscope the doctors started crying because it turned out to be a very rare form of pancreatic cancer that is
curable with surgery. I had the surgery and I'm fine now.
This was the closest I've been to facing death, and I hope it's the closest I get for a few more decades. Having
lived through it, I can now say this to you with a bit more certainty than when death was a useful but purely
intellectual concept:
No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don't want to die to get there. And yet death is
the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death is very
likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life's change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new.
Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be
cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic, but it is quite true.”
Steve Jobs’ comments are poignant because of his early release from this life, but they are included here because they
fundamentally touch the truth. Death is life’s change agent. It does clear out the old to make way for the new. The apostle
Peter says it this way:
“Since you have in obedience to the truth purified your souls for a sincere love of the brethren, fervently love
one another from the heart, for you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable,
that is, through the living and abiding word of God. For, ‘All flesh is like grass, and all its glory like the flower
of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls off, but the word of the Lord abides forever.’ ” (I Peter 1:22-25)
Questions for Discussion:
• What is the importance of death in bringing new life? (Romans 5:10; 6:1-11)
• How are we born again through the living and abiding word of God? (1 Peter 1:22-25; John 1:12-14)
• What does Peter seem to be saying about the connection between being born again and loving each other? Does
being born again have any bearing on seeking the common good – the most good for all? (2 Corinthians 5:14-17)