"Harmless as Doves"

 "Be not over much wicked, neither be thou foolish: why shouldest thou die before thy time?" (Ecclesiastes 7:17 KJV)

  ""Look, I am sending you out as sheep among wolves. So be as shrewd as snakes and harmless as doves. But beware! For you will be handed over to the courts and will be flogged with whips in the synagogues. You will stand trial before governors and kings because you are my followers. But this will be your opportunity to tell the rulers and other unbelievers about me."" (Matthew 10:16-18 NLT)

 So, having already looked at the peacemaker and results of what that brings with those who are such, we see before us today the exact opposite; those that might stir things up, cause a revolt, or step in front of a bullet, just to prove a point. Matthew Henry relates this to Solomon expecting that there will be something of a revolt, once his reign is done, and someone else takes over, which is pretty much what actually happened. 

 A quick little sharing, of my own thoughts of stepping in front of bullets: I have imagined myself doing so, even placed myself in the exact position in church, where I can be ready, if need be, to distract or take down a would-be character with a gun. I don't really have to do anything, because it really isn't my job to do it; but I do feel that it would be my duty to at least try and do something. 

 I am not saying this is what Solomon is speaking about, because it's not; we are all on an appointed day and hour for when it is our time to go, God will take us when it is time, or He will keep us here as long as He wants to; but we should not do anything to hasten death or take our own lives. 

 The other day I heard someone call in to CSN, sharing how she wanted to know if it was a sin to refuse treatment for something that was going to take her life. She shared how the battle was for her during her last treatment, that it almost killed her, and she had to file for bankruptcy. She really didn't want to go through that again. 

 There are some who believe the reason that Jesus wept, before He raised Lazarus, was because he was going to have to die again, after having been risen from death. The whole point of that, is the thought of death being the door to eternal life, if that is your hope and what you have prepared for; who would ever want to come back from that?  

 There is something else, on a little different topic. I hear this commercial from time to time, I believe it is from the pro-life group that provides sonograms to unwed mothers. In this commercial I hear the person say, "God sees all that the child misses out on, from being aborted." Not to be judgmental, but that last I heard, God sees everything the way it will become; and besides that, He knows the child is with Him...

"For God, who said, "Let there be light in the darkness," has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ. We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves. We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We are knocked down, but we are not destroyed. Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies." (2 Corinthians 4:6-10 NLT)