The Importance of Punctuation

Have you ever seen those memes about the importance of punctuation? Here's one:

Silly, right? Well, punctuation in our lives is pretty important as well. For instance, the latter part of 2 Corinthians 6:2:

Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.

I'm not questioning the editors, necessarily, but living our lives, talking to others about Jesus as though that sentence ends with an exclamation point, experiencing the urgency of those words is not a bad idea at all.

Likewise, Ann Voskamp, in her book One Thousand Gifts talks about the beliefs we live after tragedy:

No, God.
No God.

How far is the transition, the fall, if you will, from No, say it isn't so, to God is not so? God is not good. God is not merciful. God is not all-powerful. God is not. In grammar, it's the distance or the difference of a comma. A mere pause. In life it is similar but, more significantly, it's what occurs in that pause. It's what occurs as we begin to process the depths of our pain. It's what occurs as we emerge from the dull echo of shock to the razor-sharp screams of reality. It's what occurs when we start to grieve the dreams that will never be realized, the birthdays that will never be celebrated, the paths that will never be forged. It's what occurs when the grey dawn of the next day drives out the dark and we are forced to reckon with What next? What happens in that pause is critical to our beliefs, and beliefs are a matter of life and death.

In Deuteronomy 30:19, 20, God speaks to the people --His people --Israel:

I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live; that you may love the Lord your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days;

He sets before them the ways that will prosper them, ways that will lead to life and flourishing. He also warns them that to disobey is to choose death. Think of an owner's manual, giving instruction on how to properly use, service, or even assemble a particular tool: Failure to follow the above instructions could lead to injury or death. You've read those words before. Did you heed them? "Well, sure," you might say. "I know nothing about this product!" Just because we inhabit these bodies doesn't mean we know anything about them. We seek the advice of "professionals" to help us when we're sick. Why? Because we are so not professionals when it comes to what's best for ourselves. Why do we think that when it comes to the things of the spirit world, we know it all? Why, when something traumatic occurs, do we not seek God in the pause? Why, when we lose someone or something we love, do we separate ourselves from --or worse --blame God as though He has no idea what loss is all about? Why do we not take that moment right after No, say it isn't so to declare, "But God You are, and though I am hanging on by a thread, I will hang here until You cut me loose"? Why do we not take that interruption and seek Him?

The pause will probably come --I pray for us all they do not --but it's what we do during the pause that is most important, a matter of life and death. 

Photo courtesy LuAnn Martin