Where to Find God in the Month of April - The Christian Online Magazine

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By now, most of you have probably seen, heard, or read something concerning Christianity. In America, the preaching and teaching of Christianity is hard to miss. On my way to work this morning, I passed six churches within a four block radius. If you glance at your calendar for April, you will even find Christianity mentioned there. Check out the dates of April 9, 12, 14, and 16. Those will be days where Christians are going to remember the life, death, and the return to life of Jesus, the founder of their Christian spirituality. If the remembering is done correctly, not only will these Christians think about the life-death-return to life path of Jesus, but they will also reflect on their own. Or, they will be left to think about their own personal hesitance to take such a path of life.

The other day I was commenting to someone on the subject of death and dying. As you know, death and dying are two completely different experiences. Death is the instantaneous occurrence of leaving this earthly life that is preceded by a process of dying that could last an almost interminable period of time. I have heard often that death and public speaking are the two greatest fears that most people tote through life. Neither of these bothers me much, however, dying is a much different story. Dying is hard; it often requires sacrifice and courage, and it also inspires the necessity for a ruthless trust in God. Yet dying is what the Apostle Paul—one of the greatest thinkers of Christian spirituality—persuaded Christians to do every day. Dying daily is the Christian life.

When is the last time you heard about a Christian conference entitled: Come to learn how to die daily? You probably haven’t. Dying is not the most exciting thing to talk about, and such a topic might not bring in the kind of response and recognition for which these conferences are hoping. Dying seemingly extracts the beauty and strength from life and gives nothing much in return. Why then would both Jesus and Paul encourage it and talk about it in the same breath that referred to Christianity as abundant life? How is dying translated into abundant life, and what do they really mean by dying? Is their concept of dying the same as ours?

Physically speaking, all of us are slowly dying. There is no choice in the matter. All of us are a day older and a day closer to physical death than we were yesterday. The other form of dying does offer us a choice, and this is the form that we are to embrace intentionally as a way of life: Dying to selfishness. We will never equivocally grasp Jesus’ resurrection if we never meditate on His death and previous life. All three stages were for a reason, and each stage complimented the other. At any moment, Jesus could have put a stop to any of it—all the daily dying—by seizing opportunities for selfishness, greed, and privilege. Here are a few things that would have resulted had Jesus not died to selfishness daily:

He would have given in to Satan’s temptation in the wilderness and chosen easy power over his calling to be the Author of Christian spirituality.

He would not have prayed as often as He did, living with a ruthless trust in God.

He would not have sweated drops of blood and followed through on the journey to His excruciating death.

He would not have remained silent before Pilate’s questioning and been able to confidently say: You have no authority over me except that which has been given you from above.

He would have never asked God to forgive his murderers as He was dying.

We would not know the grace of God as we do.

We would not know God as a forgiving Father who loves us as we are and not as we should be.

The list goes on an on. By dying daily, Jesus created beauty, an eternal beauty in all of us. Our daily dying is the same kind of seed. Choosing to forgive the slanderous co-worker, to follow your beloved vocation rather than a lucrative career, to love people rather than trying to change them, to listen to constructive criticism, to create a conference titled Learn How to Die Daily rather than a more attractive one called How to Get Rich Quick, are all the beginnings of yet more beauty.

As you make your way through the month of April, remember the significance of Jesus’ decisions to your everyday life. Remember that acts of obedience and a commitment to dying are the way to resurrection, the experience of beauty, and a life with no limits and futile anxiety. Remembering these things certainly doesn’t make dying any easier, but then again, living isn’t that easy either. If we listen close enough, we can all hear God say that by choosing to die, we are actually learning how to live the way in which we were originally created.

Sean K. Mitchell is a fundraising consultant and a creative writer. He is also the author of The Financial Pilgrimage, a book that helps Christians embrace a fresh approach to financial decisions and Christian living. For more information on the book or to contact Sean, visit www.seankmitchell.com.