Doug Van Pelt

Finally!

I'm off to the post office in Austin. That's where our PO Box has stayed since we moved office locations. And the copies of Heaven's Metal Fanzine (Dec/Jan issue) finally came in (at 11:30pm last night), so I jumped on stuffing and sealing those envelopes upon arrival this morning. I'm going to go deliver those and then come back and write a blog.

I'm back. I meant to drop in sooner...

Our family is going to Texas Stadium tomorrow...to watch our beloved Hutto Hippos football team play for the state championship. It should be a lot of fun. Today is Sam's last day. We're going to miss him. Be sure to read his "Intern Diary."

1 Corinthians 3 discusses diet and foundation building...and the "building" that is our body. Paul makes reference to "milk" and "meat," as a parallel to what babies versus adults can eat. Milk is for babes, and meat is for grown-ups. I wonder what "meat" is in Paul's mind. It's easier to assume that "milk" are those foundational principles that we should build our relationship with God on. Knowing who we are, what we've done (sin), and knowing Who God is, and what He's done (forgiven sin), and then becoming a new person as we understand that. The good deeds and work we do later is a foundation we build our life on.

There's a verse in here that's always weighed heavy on my heart. I imagine it's where people have built their doctrine about suicide on (the "mortal sin"), which says,

"Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you? If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him; for God's temple is sacred, and you are that temple."

I'm not sure Paul meant death when he said "destroy," but it's a pretty compelling argument. I don't plan on finding out if it's sound doctrine or not. My biggest argument against suicide is this: "You have no idea what the future holds? The darkness around you could be flooded with brilliant light next week or next year. While it may be hard to keep going on, real change -- miraculous and brilliant change -- could be 'just around the corner,' so hold on." I wrote a song about that many years ago, called "Don't Kill You," which states many of these things. I like some of those lines, like "Don't kill you, let someone else see through the fog..." A good friend can really be a life saver in deep, dark times.

Posted by Doug Van Pelt at December 16, 2005 11:21 AM