Sermon dealing with LIfe: http://tbcmarion.org/index.php?option=com_preachit&tmpl=component&id=99&view=audiopopup
Romans 8: 4We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.
Christopher Michael Caldwell, 16, of Marion, Ohio - http://mariononline.com/obits/2011/07/20/christopher-michael-caldwell-16-marion
Romans 8: 4We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.
5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6 For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with,[a] that we should no longer be slaves to sin— 7because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.
8 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9 For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. 10 The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God.
There are times when the heart and meaning of the gospel is personified in a life. This past week we celebrated just such a life. His name was Christopher Michael Caldwell. Chris was 16 years old when God decided to take him home. His entire life had been a vivid, powerful, vibrant, and unforgettable presentation of the grace and power of God. You see, Chris was not supposed to live to be 16. Suffering from the beginnings of ALAGILLE Syndrome (AGS) in the womb, Chris only had three chambers in his heart. This compromised his blood oxygen levels from the time of birth, having gone through his first open heart procedure shortly out of the womb of his mother. Chris was always regarded as a miracle of biology because of his body’s tendency to create new blood vessels, blood vessels meant to find oxygen for an oxygen deprived heart and lungs. His anatomy, in terms of his circulatory system, was a like a WV Road-map, roads that you can’t find just pop up, roads you think are open have slid down a mountain, and roads that look safe and secure turn out to be treacherous and extremely difficult to find. Chris survived these 16 years precisely because of these veins - these God given, grace induced, “unique to Chris” Blood Vessels. It is both ironic and miraculous that the unique tendency of his body to create these veins is the very thing that led to an early end to his life. One of these miraculously created veins that sustained him for 16 years was the bleed that ultimately led to his leaving us last week. Death and Resurrection proclaimed through a single blood vessel.
There are times when the heart and meaning of the gospel is personified in a life. This past week we celebrated just such a life. His name was Christopher Michael Caldwell. Chris was 16 years old when God decided to take him home. His entire life had been a vivid, powerful, vibrant, and unforgettable presentation of the grace and power of God. You see, Chris was not supposed to live to be 16. Suffering from the beginnings of ALAGILLE Syndrome (AGS) in the womb, Chris only had three chambers in his heart. This compromised his blood oxygen levels from the time of birth, having gone through his first open heart procedure shortly out of the womb of his mother. Chris was always regarded as a miracle of biology because of his body’s tendency to create new blood vessels, blood vessels meant to find oxygen for an oxygen deprived heart and lungs. His anatomy, in terms of his circulatory system, was a like a WV Road-map, roads that you can’t find just pop up, roads you think are open have slid down a mountain, and roads that look safe and secure turn out to be treacherous and extremely difficult to find. Chris survived these 16 years precisely because of these veins - these God given, grace induced, “unique to Chris” Blood Vessels. It is both ironic and miraculous that the unique tendency of his body to create these veins is the very thing that led to an early end to his life. One of these miraculously created veins that sustained him for 16 years was the bleed that ultimately led to his leaving us last week. Death and Resurrection proclaimed through a single blood vessel.
Life is in the blood. No truer Truth can be stated. Our Biological life is in the blood flowing through our heart, taking much needed nutrients and Oxygen to our members. Our Spiritual life is in the Blood, delivering the all needed breath of forgiveness and the nutrients of mercy to our members. Just as Chris’s body made a way of survival in the midst of weakness and certain death, Jesus made a way of survival for us. Without the miracle that God provided inside Chris’s body, creating a way for the blood to travel when there was no way, Chris could not be alive; In this same way, Jesus provides a miracle for us, as his blood pulsates from Cross through eternity to make a way of survival for us when there was no other way. So the first incarnation of the gospel I see through Chris’s life is the miraculous life saving power of blood flow we find in the midst of his frail and broken body, just as the blood of Jesus flows throughout eternity to bring life to frail and fallen creatures like you and me.
Then there is the young man him self. It was very difficult to have a conversation with Chris, if you were not a follower of Jesus, without having to hear the gospel presented from a teenage boy who knew in totality the love of God. Chris had a twin brother (Tim), so he knew the meaning of being forever linked from birth to one who shared in his disease and his being from conception. Chris had experienced the power of prayer, so he knew first hand what it means to pray for and share in the blessings of God with brothers and sisters throughout the world. Chris had a loving family, so he experienced first hand what it means to share in the love of brothers and sisters who love you after an argument, who are there for you when no one else is or can be, who understand you through and through and love you through it all. The sustaining and uniting power of the gospel was a source of strength for Chris since the day he entered this world. Just as all who believe are united with both the suffering of the Cross and the power of the Resurrection, Chris lived both realities each and every day.
There was not a day of his life he was not acquainted with suffering - whether it be having to watch other boys play ball when he wished he could, or seeing his peers pass him by so quickly in height and stature, or waking up in the middle of the night feeling weak from lack of oxygen, or looking up from a hospital bed as his parents once again look down in sadness and anxiety through yet another battle with his disease, or living constantly with the reality that his very days are numbered. Chris was a living, breathing, inspirational incarnation of having to live daily with undeserved and unrelenting suffering. Since the womb death had been reaching for Christopher. Without success. You see, just as in the case of Lazarus, God had a plan. He who should be dead would not be dead, he who should be covered and buried to become a distant memory, was very much alive, and vibrant, and as alive as one could be with a frail frame, blue lips, wearing a tee shirt that weighed more than he did. Christopher walked from the womb overcoming the odds, defying doctors, and daily displaying the power of God.
In spite of this his suffering, he never failed to exalt the Resurrection of Jesus through his life. His contagious smile, creative wit, and never ending compassion, highlighted the life of Jesus throughout his 16 years of life. This past week I thought of the story of Hezekiah, as he begged God for healing in the midst of life threatening illness. God granted him 15 more years, years in which the blessings of God flowed through him toIsrael Marion , Ohio
Then there is the young man him self. It was very difficult to have a conversation with Chris, if you were not a follower of Jesus, without having to hear the gospel presented from a teenage boy who knew in totality the love of God. Chris had a twin brother (Tim), so he knew the meaning of being forever linked from birth to one who shared in his disease and his being from conception. Chris had experienced the power of prayer, so he knew first hand what it means to pray for and share in the blessings of God with brothers and sisters throughout the world. Chris had a loving family, so he experienced first hand what it means to share in the love of brothers and sisters who love you after an argument, who are there for you when no one else is or can be, who understand you through and through and love you through it all. The sustaining and uniting power of the gospel was a source of strength for Chris since the day he entered this world. Just as all who believe are united with both the suffering of the Cross and the power of the Resurrection, Chris lived both realities each and every day.
There was not a day of his life he was not acquainted with suffering - whether it be having to watch other boys play ball when he wished he could, or seeing his peers pass him by so quickly in height and stature, or waking up in the middle of the night feeling weak from lack of oxygen, or looking up from a hospital bed as his parents once again look down in sadness and anxiety through yet another battle with his disease, or living constantly with the reality that his very days are numbered. Chris was a living, breathing, inspirational incarnation of having to live daily with undeserved and unrelenting suffering. Since the womb death had been reaching for Christopher. Without success. You see, just as in the case of Lazarus, God had a plan. He who should be dead would not be dead, he who should be covered and buried to become a distant memory, was very much alive, and vibrant, and as alive as one could be with a frail frame, blue lips, wearing a tee shirt that weighed more than he did. Christopher walked from the womb overcoming the odds, defying doctors, and daily displaying the power of God.
In spite of this his suffering, he never failed to exalt the Resurrection of Jesus through his life. His contagious smile, creative wit, and never ending compassion, highlighted the life of Jesus throughout his 16 years of life. This past week I thought of the story of Hezekiah, as he begged God for healing in the midst of life threatening illness. God granted him 15 more years, years in which the blessings of God flowed through him to
Written on Monday, 25 July 2011 11:17 by Rick Farmer
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