By Joy Le Page Smith, MA, BCC

Reading the Bible brings truth to the soul. It holds a lot of wonderful words full of truth and hope–promises that reach deep within prompting love toward God and towards others. The Bible is laden with concepts and conditions that heal our hearts and greatly enriches our lives.

Yet, God extends clear expectations and there are consequences when we ignore those directives and do whatever we please. This is as true for nations as it is for individuals. Take China for instance.

During the 70’s and the 80’s the government of this communist country decreed that married couples have only one child. Abortion was made available and heavy consequences followed people who defied the government’s directive. Consequently, this ruling curbed the birthrate.

Within the decades that followed couples espoused the stance of “one child only” and adapted to it. Given time, this took root in the depth of China. Couples came to believe that more than one child would create an unbearable load of work, timewise, taking more from their lives mentally, financially and physically than believed manageable.

Today, the Chinese government is doing all they possibly can to promote couples to have more than one child. They are now urging three children per family and monitoring couples closely, tracking the numbers.

In the very first chapter of the Bible, Genesis 1:28, we read that God blessed the men and women He created and said, “. . . be fruitful and multiply fill the earth and subdue it.”

A belief in God is not part and parcel to communism of course. Yet the Chinese government is presently pursuing God’s directive “be fruitful and multiply.” One of the posters governmental officials are using states, “Life is the continuation of love.” Sounds like something with which God could easily agree.

However, atheistic China is not promoting the love of God or the truths of Scripture. They are simply faced with a declining population that threatens economic growth. Consequently, China’s policy makers are once again inserting themselves into the lives and choices of couples pressing them to make babies. Guess what: they are no longer promoting abortion. The motive behind the switch of policy is not repentance over loss of many millions—perhaps even billions—of babies. Rather, it is about economic losses.

Their new practice of knocking on doors, questioning and supplying prenatal vitamins are now in place stating clearly, “Our country needs more people.”  They are trying to correct a huge mistake by pressing again into matters of procreation.

In 1 John 4:8, we are assured, “God is love.” And, we are “made in the likeness of God,” according to Genesis 1:27. Loving and the sharing of love are part and parcel to God’s plan. This element of humanity needs to be highly valued by all due to its all-inclusive benefits. Ideally, the rules of governments will respect and defend such “paybacks.”

After all, it is not “treasure on earth” or the power of “gross national product” that matters. What matters is coming to know what God wants of our lives and following it as best we can. We make mistakes, but can readily correct them. God totally forgives through the redemptive work of Christ—once we ask. Following Jesus’ teachings makes way for Him to do a glorious work in one’s life. The surprising part is the abundance of peace and joy that result!

Author information: Joy Le Page smith is a Board Certified Chaplain who is also a newspaper columnist. Her four books are on Amazon and also at Healing-with-Joy.com. Visit her website where you will also find hundreds of FREE helps to people who are hurting. Also view her children’s book, The Little Mountain Goat Who Was Afraid of High Places FREE.

By Joy Le Page Smith, MA, BCC

Reading the Bible brings truth to the soul. It holds a lot of wonderful words full of truth and hope–promises that reach deep within prompting love toward God and towards others. The Bible is laden with concepts and conditions that heal our hearts and greatly enriches our lives.

Yet, God extends clear expectations and there are consequences when we ignore those directives and do whatever we please. This is as true for nations as it is for individuals. Take China for instance.

During the 70’s and the 80’s the government of this communist country decreed that married couples have only one child. Abortion was made available and heavy consequences followed people who defied the government’s directive. Consequently, this ruling curbed the birthrate.

Within the decades that followed couples espoused the stance of “one child only” and adapted to it. Given time, this took root in the depth of China. Couples came to believe that more than one child would create an unbearable load of work, timewise, taking more from their lives mentally, financially and physically than believed manageable.

Today, the Chinese government is doing all they possibly can to promote couples to have more than one child. They are now urging three children per family and monitoring couples closely, tracking the numbers.

In the very first chapter of the Bible, Genesis 1:28, we read that God blessed the men and women He created and said, “. . . be fruitful and multiply fill the earth and subdue it.”

A belief in God is not part and parcel to communism of course. Yet the Chinese government is presently pursuing God’s directive “be fruitful and multiply.” One of the posters governmental officials are using states, “Life is the continuation of love.” Sounds like something with which God could easily agree.

However, atheistic China is not promoting the love of God or the truths of Scripture. They are simply faced with a declining population that threatens economic growth. Consequently, China’s policy makers are once again inserting themselves into the lives and choices of couples pressing them to make babies. Guess what: they are no longer promoting abortion. The motive behind the switch of policy is not repentance over loss of many millions—perhaps even billions—of babies. Rather, it is about economic losses.

Their new practice of knocking on doors, questioning and supplying prenatal vitamins are now in place stating clearly, “Our country needs more people.”  They are trying to correct a huge mistake by pressing again into matters of procreation.

In 1 John 4:8, we are assured, “God is love.” And, we are “made in the likeness of God,” according to Genesis 1:27. Loving and the sharing of love are part and parcel to God’s plan. This element of humanity needs to be highly valued by all due to its all-inclusive benefits. Ideally, the rules of governments will respect and defend such “paybacks.”

After all, it is not “treasure on earth” or the power of “gross national product” that matters. What matters is coming to know what God wants of our lives and following it as best we can. We make mistakes, but can readily correct them. God totally forgives through the redemptive work of Christ—once we ask. Following Jesus’ teachings makes way for Him to do a glorious work in one’s life. The surprising part is the abundance of peace and joy that result!

About the author: Joy Le Page Smith is a Board certified clinical chaplain. Her articles and blogs are read in 32 countries. Joy’s four books are available on her home page at Healing-with-Joy.com where readers can view FREE her children’s book titled, The Little Mountain Goat Who Was Afraid of High Places.

By Joy Le page Smith, MA, BCC

While Gary and I were having lunch with our friend, a retired military man, we talked about a book titled Why the Universe Is the Way It Is. Having just read Hugh Ross’ book, my enthusiasm is piqued by this scientist’s findings.

Our friend said, “What I wonder is why God went to so much trouble to create a place where human beings could live and breathe. Look at us now!” I took this to mean let’s get to the crux of what did God intend to gain from building this place so intricately timed and dynamically detailed—plus being beautiful?  

I was taken back a bit. It had been easy to believe God made the universe for our enjoyment . . . a place where we could live well—and love. The fact is that this arrangement opened an option for gaining an intimate relationship with our Creator. Or, not!

For us, when we decide to get to know our Heavenly Father and to  follow His plan for us through reading the words given to us in Scripture, it becomes clear what is right and what is wrong. God and His Words become forefront to our lives. We become partners with Him in the world—even to gain eternal life, meaning God takes us “home” to Himself when “it is over.”

This is a steadfast offering within the Scriptures for “the children of God.” In the Bible we learn who will be given eternal life after death:

“…as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God (John 1:12-13).”

It is a blazon fact that after our time of being here, we die. Try as one might to pretend it isn’t true, that simply does not work.

Meanwhile, “while here.” We get to enjoy our lives in many, many ways. Having cognitive functions, we ponder and reflect while savoring nature, pets, friendships, foods of many flavors, and dreams—to mention a few of our countless blessings.

The greatest of all happenings in my life was when I found Jesus Christ as my Savior and Lord of my life as a child. Church experience caused me to grow in my faith. But the next greatest thing of my life came after marriage through birthing children. Having children brings marvels to our lives, as well as challenges and hardships. We have to share with them—and as parents we actually love doing so.

Scripture says we are “made in God’s image.” So, it seems likely all of the above are part of God’s nature . . . given to us as well. It seems powerfully evident that in “parenting” us God finds the same joys that we experience in providing, protecting and directing our children. We expect our children to obey the directives we extend to them—and this without a doubt is true of God.

So, in this way, we are creators like our Heavenly Father. Through the loving partnership of marriage, we embrace the opportunity of bearing and raising children.

Like it is with us, our children come because we want that loving relationship to be a part of our lives.  The universe is a place prepared so God’s great love of life could include us, His children. His plan is about our having a great experience while developing a relationship with Him. Growing into His sons and daughters who, given time, take on His nature.  So the more we love (live healthy, caring ways with others), the more we are like our Creator.

Of course, if He had made us robots we would have no choice in God’s plan. But, He gave free will. We get to choose Him or to go our own way deciding what is right and what is wrong!

The first two chapters of the Bible exemplify human free will and what happened to earth’s experience when the first people—God’s first children—decided disobeying God was an OK thing to do. The whole earth suffered—the plan God had in mind was nixed—based on human disobedience! So, we now have sickness, suffering and death. We have weeds and nature suffers; we have catastrophic weather patterns. The earth is no longer perfect. This was our doing, not God’s doing. But He, through His love, has a rescue plan. All who follow the story of the New Testament and Easter know the plan well. Some of us are aligning ourselves with it to the best we can. In doing so, we find peace and satisfaction—happy to be God’s children. Successively, we do what we can to help others, especially those in need, while enjoying a relationship with our Creator who made us out of love.

. . .  consider sharing my website with others as there are lots of “helps” at healing-with-Joy.com

By Joy Le Page Smith, MA, BCC

About two decades ago, I met James[1]. He was one of my first patients in hospice. After talking a few moments, he said, “I haven’t been in church for many years. But, I was a Sunday school kid. Every Sunday, until I was a teenager, I was happy to go to church. Then there just wasn’t a lot of thoughts going on about God.”

Mostly our conversations were around his picturesque recounts of fishing as those trips were obviously the highlight of his life. I did enjoy hearing the stories but mostly savored how, at the very ending days of his life—with an IV in his arm—he was finding solace in those memories. Not at any point within my two home-hospice visits did James talk about his illness or dying.

This was a bit concerning. I had been trained to believe doctors always prepared a patient for entering hospice, telling them medical treatment would stop as it no longer held any promise for saving one’s life. Hospice teams are experts at treating pain and fostering the highest level of comfort possible. Still, while with James, what seemed the right thing to do, was to just be there for him, letting him know I was enjoying what he was sharing. I could hear the “rivers roar,” in places . . . yet, also envision his fly fishing in the calmer, peaceful waters. He was that good with these stories.

Before my next scheduled visit to James’ house, I got a call from his hospice nurse. She said, “James was hospitalized. We don’t expect him to live beyond 48 to 72 hours.”

Arriving at his hospital room, I figured James would want to talk about this part of his journey. But, no. After rousing a bit to speak, he said, “Let me tell you about the next fishing trip I’m going to make!”

Again, I found listening was the only thing to do. Upon leaving, I did have some difficult feelings, telling myself, “The doctor has failed to tell this man the truth—he is dying!”

Early the next day I got a call from his ‘wife, Sally. She said James had passed, then told me of their last moments, “I was sitting by his bedside while holding his hand. We were telling one another how much we love each other. Then James pulled his hand out of mine. I reached for it. But, James pulled it back. Suddenly he lifted both of his hands toward the ceiling and with a wide, wide smile, said with verve, ‘I’m going home!’”

While officiating at his memorial service I shared this exceedingly touching story with those who were present. What evidence lay before us that James had an exceptional moment of being “beaconed in,” and that he immediately realized what “being home” can truly mean.

Children who go to Sunday School usually learn what it takes to have their names written in God’s Book of Life. It might have been Daniel 12:1 that James’ teacher had shared in class, “Everyone who is found written in the book—will be rescued.”

James’ story makes me think of the Scripture in Proverbs 22:6, “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.”

For James, the seeds of truth about eternal life were planted in his soul at an early age, in Sunday School and perhaps by his parents. God gave him a long and enjoyable life—then, “beamed” him up.

A child may forget a prayer uttered long ago, but it is certain that God does not forget.  James’ “remembering” may have begun, long before I arrived at his door, to sit a spell, and offer “a prayer.” He no doubt felt care and concern. Maybe the most precious gift we can give to one another is listening to each other’s stories, truly hearing what is said.

Humans have an inner voice (or feeling) that prompts us—guides us toward right behavior and away from bad behavior. Abundant trouble comes when a person ”sears” her or his conscience, by completely ignoring it, living only to promote one’s self. This hardens the conscience and results in our lying to ourselves, saying, “It’s OK to do it my way.”

James’ story is one of many indicating that people do at times, gain upfront evidence of what is ahead for believers after their time on earth, then to remain yet a while, knowing “heaven is for real.”

[1] Names are changed to protect identify.

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Please consider extending my Home page, healing-with-Joy.com, to family members and friends who are struggling with grief, life adjustment, or on a search for spiritual care. The website is filled with “Helps.”  Free for copying and sharing. healing-with-Joy.com

“My near death experience” came be read (on left side of on my homepage).