God Brings Life from Death!
I have a confession to make; I have always loved monster movies. Since the time I was young I have been captivated by Frankenstein and the Werewolf. When we would visit my grandparents in Southern California my brother, my uncle, and I would stay up late and stare at a little black and white TV my uncle had in his room, watching late night monster movies. We watched many varieties, including Godzilla, Dracula, and The Thing. These classic films made in the sixties and early seventies became instant favorites. They now look dorky and simplistic, but as a kid I loved them.
If I had to choose a favorite of all my favorites I think it would be Frankenstein. The whole idea of Dr. Frankenstein robbing graves for body parts and sewing them all together is rather morbid. Dr. Frankenstein, using his laboratory to experiment on bringing life from death, was fascinated by the idea of prolonging aliveness. He was desperate to show how ‘science’ could control the destiny of humanity. As we all know this experiment went awry. In the movie, Dr. Frankenstein was successful in bringing life from death, but the new person was not normal and turned out to be far more dangerous then helpful. In the end of every Frankenstein movie the creature dies. (Except in the old classic where the Werewolf finds him frozen in a glacier, somehow revives him and befriends him.)
Bringing life from death; extending life beyond the expected life cycle; defying the natural progression of aging. These have always been the pursuits of mankind. We have continually strived to be the ones in control of the uncontrollable. But, unfortunately, there are just certain issues in life that will always be beyond our control. We want to live forever young; we want our destinies to be in our realm of control; we don’t like the idea that someone else holds some kind of power over us. Dr. Frankenstein is alive and well today. Well, at least his ideas are.
Right now, today, there is a laboratory in Arizona that has cryogenically frozen a famous baseball player after his death, with his head and body stored separately. I am not joking. This famous player wanted it this way. He wanted to be ready in the event that ‘science’ could cure his decease, reattach his head, and bring him back to life. Or maybe ‘science’ could figure out a way to attach his head to a healthy body and restore life from death. Dr. Frankenstein lives!
We, as moral and spiritual beings, and having God’s laws written on our hearts, have always understood that life and death are ultimately in God’s hands. We have an innate understanding that God is both the giver and taker of life. He brings life and He brings death. This is not a difficult truth to understand, that is unless you’ve had a loved one taken from you, or a family member nearing death’s door. This is also why we believe in the sanctity of life. Not only is every human being valuable and significant because we are created in the image of God, but we understand that He alone should be the giver and taker of life.
But has God ever performed the miracle of bringing life from death? Has God ever performed a Frankenstein? Has He ever plugged the electrodes into a human being and revived the systems that make up human life? In the realm of physical life we know the answer is ‘yes’! There are over a half dozen accounts in the Bible of God resuscitating physical life back into a corpse. There are also hundreds of stories throughout the centuries of how people have been brought back to life after death to take them from this planet.
But even more exciting is the fact that God is still pulling off spiritual Frankenstein’s. He, on a daily basis, is bringing spiritual life where was once spiritual death. The Bible says that while we were “dead in our trespasses” that God brought back to life and made us “alive together with Jesus Christ” (Ephesians 2:1-5). Resuscitation has occurred in our hearts toward God. Where there was once indifference, estrangement, and even hostility toward our Creator He has brought about life. We can now know Him, love Him, and experience Him in an intimate manner. His Spirit confirms with my spirit that I am His child. We have fellowship. We have union and life together! God has out done anything that the good old doctor Frankenstein could have even imagined.
Our job now is to immerse ourselves into this relationship of life. God’s desire and design in bringing spiritual life from spiritual death is for us to respond to Him with love, devotion, and obedience. His plan is for us to dive deep into this new life. Since we now can love Him with our whole heart, which was once dead to him, let’s choose to love Him. Love Him in prayer, love Him through meditation upon His word, the Bible, love Him through worship, and love Him though loving others. Let’s exhibit the life that He has brought from death. This new life was not meant to be neither shallow nor hidden. Let’s jump in and make this new life both deep and public. Let’s grow deeper, spending time in scripture study, prayer, and worship. Let’s love others, both the lovable and the unlovely. This is why we have been brought back to life!
I think I’ll go to my Netflix account and order a good old fashion monster movie for this weekend. How about Frankenstein Meets the Wolfman! That’s a good one!
I love being your Pastor, see you on Sunday.
Pastor Phil
