Because He Lives

Some of you are familiar with the Gospel song written many years ago by Bill and Gloria Gaither. The refrain goes, “Because He lives, I can face tomorrow. Because He lives, all fear is gone. Because I know He holds the future, and life is worth the living just because He lives.” The story behind that song is inspiring.

 

 

 

In the late 1960’s, while expecting their third child, the Gaithers were going through a traumatic time, two young children and now a third. Bill was recovering from a bout with mononucleosis. Bill’s sister, Mary Ann was going through a traumatic divorce. A close friend accused Bill and Gloria of using their ministry just to make a few bucks. All this plunged Bill into a deep depression. Gloria remembers this also as a time of fear and sadness in society. This was the time of the “God is dead” movement. Drug abuse and racial tension were increasing. The thought of bringing another child into such a world was taking its toll. But after a simple prayer by one of Bill’s close friends the strength of the Holy Spirit seemed to come to their aid. Christ’s resurrection, in all its power, was reaffirmed in their hearts. They were assured that the future, left in God’s hands, would be just fine.

In July 1970 a healthy baby, Benjamin, was born. Inspired by the miracle of their son’s birth, “Because He Lives” poured out of the Gaither’s grateful hearts. The song clearly affirms the hope believers have in Christ. We can face tomorrow, with all its uncertainty, as we realize that God holds the future and makes life worth living.

 

 

“Because I live, you also will live…” said Christ to His disciples. What does that say to us and our lives? First, we are loved. We have that on the authority of Scripture. This is the golden thread that runs through the Bible. Psalm 8, “When I consider the heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and stars which thou hast ordained—what is man that thou art mindful of him or the son of man that you pay attention to him—for you have made him a little lower than the angels and crowned him with glory and honor.” The birth of stars and galaxies—creation alone was not enough. Creatures for relationship were essential for God’s being. So we’re the pinnacle of creation, made in God’s image, and God loves us.

Comforting words come from the Old Testament which captures Isaiah’s record of God speaking of his people, “Can a woman forget her nursing child, and not have compassion on the son of her womb? Surely they may forget; yet, I will not forget you. See, I have inscribed you on the palms of my hands.” (Isaiah 49:15-16) In a world as immense as ours and as complicated, it is easy to think of ourselves as having no value, cogs in a machine, numbers in a computer, faceless, nameless, and unnoticed by the universe at large. Christ reminds us that Somebody in this universe not only notices us, but loves us. What many people need to know is not only that they can believe in God, but God believes in them. We’re not merely a nameless, faceless blob of protoplasm taking up space in the universe. The God of all the universe sees us, notices us, listens to us, and believes in us.

Not only does Christ love us, Christ is always with us. “I am in my Father and you are in me, and I am in you.” We don’t have to go to a mountaintop to find God. We don’t’ have to peer through the Hubble telescope. All we have to do is to listen for the Divine whisper from without ourselves. Pastor John Ortberg tells about some friends of his who have a daughter. When she was five years old, this girl told her parents, “I know Jesus lives in my heart, because when I put my hand on it I can feel him walking around in there.” Out of the mouths of babes come words of wisdom. Christ lives within us. That is good news because, as the writer of I John reminds us, “Greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.” (4:4)

Go with God,

Pastor Qualley