The Twenty-Second Epistle
Homegoing to Glory
After a Life of Purpose.
DATELINE: Sunday, April 1, 2001.
By Rev. James R. Bingham
Special to corndancer.com
Posted from Memphis, Tennessee
John 21:18
Verily, verily, I say unto thee, When thou wast young, thou girdest thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest: but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not.
Proverbs 28:26
He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool: but whoso walketh wisely, he shall be delivered.
The Justice Project News Update, Vol.2 No.3
State Court Stays Workman Execution
March 30, 2001
The Nashville Tennessean
Late last night the Tennessee Supreme Court voted to stay the execution of Philip Workman, citing the need for a hearing on evidence that was not present at his initial trial. Evidence which points to his innocence includes perjured testimony, and forensics tests showing the bullet that killed victim Robert Glen Coe did not come from Workman's gun. Just hours before the state court granted the stay, the US Supreme Court had voted 6-3 against it.
God is amazing! I mean, simply, amazing! He has made it possible for us to consider every aspect of our growth and development.
Free will, that's it. Free will. It means we have a choice. We can live our lives with or without purpose.
Living without purpose is rather unfulfilling. We tend to crash into this and crash into that, like a leaf in the wind. The leaf goeth wherever the wind blows it. In this uncertain, never-ending cycle, the only theme is, "Whichever way the wind blows is all right with me." This goes on and on until something interferes and causes an interruption in the flight. Then we drop suddenly to the ground, with no understanding of what is next, until some other force grabs us and takes us where it will.
Jesus said when we are young we go where we will, but when we are old, men take us where we will not. Going and going where the winds blow us, without purpose, has but one end: an unfulfilling submission to the purpose and will of others.
In the Corruption of Innocence,
Purpose and Direction Are Lost.
Jesus spoke of His death. Yet He exhorted life. Youth and vigor in the act of purposeful exploration will forge a way for higher understanding and civility. Innocence is supported by righteousness. However, when that innocence is corrupted, a young person's purpose and direction are lost. Satisfaction becomes virtually impossible.
To live with purpose demands that we overcome. Each obstacle surmounted provides fulfillment and a reason to go further. We realize we have learned how to accomplish and achieve.
Do we have setbacks? ? Yes, and many, but even our setbacks are viewed as steps toward ultimate victory. When all is said and done, we feel the victory. We have fought a good fight. We know there is something greater for us.
Don't Worry about Me.
I'm Going Up to Heaven.
My Aunt Bay, my mother's sister, used to sing a song in church, years ago, called Homegoing. It's amazing to me that my entire family could sing — that is, until I arrived on the scene. I was cute. Yes, that's true. I was very small and cute. The people at church were entertained more by seeing me standing next to my larger brothers than they were by listening to me sing. But, that's another story. Back to my aunt. She had a terrific voice. At funerals or during regular church services she would sing this old Mahalia Jackson song:
When you hear of my homegoing,
Don't worry about me.
When you hear of my homegoing
Don't worry about me.
I'm going up to heaven,
To be with my Lord.
Aunt Bay sang her signature tune mostly at funerals. Slow in its rhythm and comforting in a nostalgic and melancholy way, it would inspire listeners to sway back and forth, raise their hands, and think about the deceased, cry, and even shout. Yet, the crying, and the hand raising, and the shouting provided but temporary relief for the pain and grief. All the same, Aunt Bay's Homegoing helped the bereaved realize that their loved one had not lived in vain.
We do have a choice. We can make decisions that set us on target for accomplishments in a life led according to God's word. Or, we can choose otherwise. We can live a life plagued by the meaningless onslaught of misfortune. It will lead — and can only lead — to a meaningless death.
Take Care of the Garden
And Avoid Forbidden Fruit.
Remember Adam and Eve? They had to choose. Albeit, neither Adam nor Eve had any knowledge of death, or knowledge of good and evil. They had the law: "Take care of the garden and don't eat of that tree!"
Adamic man's destiny was infused with the ideas of growth and development. If Adam had been attuned to God's will, he would have recognized and taken heed to the warning? "Don't eat of that tree." Instead, the first man on earth leaned toward his own understanding and made the wrong choice.
Adam stepped outside God's purpose for him. It's not that he ate of the fruit. His choice was to disregard God's warning. He yielded to temptation. It's not the temptation, but the yielding that is sin.
The payoff for yielding? The wages of sin is death — not a physical death, but the death of innocence. In other words, Adam chose to go where he had never gone before. He went without prayer, without supplication. He made the choice without purpose, without knowledge. His only end was to go whither he wouldest not, into a world of good and evil, a world that demanded knowledgeable efforts and choices.
Was Adam ready? Was he ready to make comparative choices between good and evil while living in paradise?
The only other step he could have made was to advance to the tree of life and live forever. He had the knowledge, but he did not have the wisdom. He had not matured. So God expelled him from the Garden of Eden.
The Serpent's Just Reward
Was Its Just Punishment.
So it was also with the serpent, another resident of the Garden of Eden, which is Paradise. The serpent was expelled and bruised for its own iniquities. Evidently, the creature had already chosen a life of rebellion. Therefore the serpent could receive only its just reward, which became a just punishment.
Adam and Eve, however, were given another chance, the chance to live anew. Moving from Paradise into the real world was much like being "born again!" They didn't have to be bruised for their iniquities; someone had already been slated for that job. Someone had already been chosen to receive the stripes for their transgressions. Someone had already been slated to stand in as a propitiation, to serve as the ultimate sacrifice to atone for our sins, or our acts with lack of knowledge outside of our faith. It was determined, and ordained before the foundation of the world.
It took me some time to reach this point of understanding, but nevertheless: Here we are. Who chooses whether we live or die?
In America today, I detect a growing concern over the death penalty. Can man truly decide that another man should be put to death? Listen. Whether one agrees or disagrees with the death penalty, it remains a societal reality. Men have put other men to death, either through personal choice or in submission to higher orders, since time began.
God told Moses to have the men stoned to death if they violated a certain law. We read in Exodus:
20:1 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
20:2 Again, thou shalt say to the children of Israel, Whosoever he be of the children of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn in Israel, that giveth any of his seed unto Molech; he shall surely be put to death: the people of the land shall stone him with stones.
Stoning a man to death may seem harsh. Nevertheless, the death penalty is a reality we must face. In the passage from Exodus, the order came directly from God, not from the edict of man. Now fast forward to today: should we act accordingly?
Euthanasia.
What about euthanasia, or mercy killing? How does it relate to the death penalty? Who bears the greater sin when someone is put to death from a platform of mercy, the person who pulls the plug, or the person who decides the time is right to pull the plug?
Should a man be executed for his crimes? Or does our faith suggest that even the worst of men can change and be "Born Again?"
Even in the case of our personal sins, do we really die? I almost couldn't type that question. Do we? Which death affects our spirit with the greater force, physical death or the death of our innocence? Death of innocence propels us into a world outside of God's purpose. Prayer and supplication can bring us redemption from death due to sin, but what can bring a man back from death because of crime?
Does a man who is executed for his crime leave this world without purpose? What if his death illuminates the indignities perpetrated on others? Should he have been put to death? Who has the right to make that choice?
Euthanasia and execution are acts based on the laws of man. Are they outside of God's will?
We Can Live as a Child.
Listen. Our choices have consequences. We can either live as a child with vigor and innocence, allowing God to control and direct our lives; or we can live as an old man, without a fight, without a struggle, allowing others to take us where we would not.
Here is a clue. Living with purpose means we want to see God for ourselves. How do we do it? Seek His kingdom and righteousness. How? Jesus said to first deny yourself, then pick up your cross (trials and tribulations, obstacles and stumbling blocks, mistakes and failures) and follow Him.
How? Seek Him through prayer and supplication. Why? Because prayer through Christ, who has given us faith, can change everything. It opens access to the ultimate reward of eternal paradise. How do I know? Because through Christ, all things are possible.
Give God Some Praise!!!
EDITOR'S NOTE: Rev. Bingham
can be reached by E-mail at
jamesrbingham@juno.com.
His phone number in Memphis is
901.785.5691.