Saturday, March 14, 1998
Moments of Grace
In the Tuesday, March 3, edition of the Abilene Reporter-News,
Ellen Goodman made a beautiful and insightful description of and
about Alzheimer's.
Her simple analogy, by the use of the two simplest verbs in
our vocabulary, "was" and "is" was perfect.
The person who "was," though inhabiting the same
body, is a totally different entity than the being that presently
"is."
Perhaps the reason the beautifully written article came across
to me so powerfully was because of the current situation of my
own brother, who has been traveling the "sunset journey of
the long good-bye" for more than a year now.
The article and its graphic content would not leave my mind.
I found myself thinking of the "was" of Saul and "is"
of Paul.
Also, the "was" and "is" of Peter and the
other disciples who experienced dramatic change while still inhabiting
the same body.
This led to my wondering if there could be such a spiritual
dementia as Jesus-heimers, wherein the "was" of self
in some strange and wonderful, unexplainable manner, becomes the
"is" of spirit.
Dr. E. Richard Chaffin may have expressed it perfectly in the
closing paragraph of his column on The Cross of March 7.
"It (the cross) serves as a bridge between a broken people
and a holy God. When we place our faith in the power of Christ's
death and resurrection, then we can cross that bridge into eternal
life and peace with God."
Now, there is a "was" and an "is" worthy
of the effort. Wishing you all a Happy Easter.
Jim Johnson
Abilene
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