KRAUTHAMMER

This morning I woke thinking about Dr. Charles Krauthammer.  Mike and I miss that dear man; we've already had a year of missing him on the FOX NEWS nightly panel.

The Cruses were two of Charles' conservative bobbleheads.  We loved hearing him reason.

I guess that's why it's strange that within his conservative "flock", there is wide divergence of thought.  Guess we're not total bobbleheads.  Why?

The doctor's personal beliefs belie huge chunks of my worldview...BIG THINGS... such as who he worships.

On Dr. Krauthammer's Wiki page, it speaks of him having Orthodox Jewish parents, but choosing to be "non-religious".  He practiced "ancestor worship" (a fusion of Shinto and Jewish thought).

 He also fully supported scientific evolution and abortion legislation, while opposing capital punishment and intelligent design.

Those philosophical beliefs are polar opposites to mine.  Guess conservatives aren't all sheep, cloned to group-think.

So why did we love Charles Krauthammer?  Well, if you like videos, you can see for yourself at this LINK.  And what else?

I loved:

*HIS INTELLIGENCE.
Dr. K's gifting led him to literary accomplishments such as books, a Presidential candidate's speeches, columns, and a Pulitzer (plus other awards).

In medicine, his psychiatric research discovered a new kind of bipolar mania.  And of course, there was his wonderfully witty repartee on television.

Of course, SMART doesn't get anyone to God...

*HIS MORALITY. Charles Krauthammer was the husband of one wife and a family lover (see son Daniel at left).  He and Robyn were generous charity-givers and Charles was a decent man whose life story preached the value of life.

But of course, LIVING A GOOD LIFE doesn't get you to God...

*HIS PERSEVERANCE AND COURAGE.  These character traits pushed Dr. Krauthammer to complete medical school after his devastating spinal cord injury in 1972...and also to live a full life, marrying Robyn in 1974.  One way he made the most of his paralysis was to develop the skill of composing his medical school papers in his head so that he could then dictate them.  Later that skill helped him put cohesive thoughts together as he made political analysis.

Still, neither PERSEVERANCE NOR COURAGE buy a ticket to God...

We all come to the Lord as God says to come.  There's no going off in the Shinto/Ancestor weeds.  The quote on the right seems to suggest that Dr. Krauthammer's life was his own.

Does holding tight to your lifeplan get you to God?

God says we are sinful and the way to be with Him is to come humbly through the Sacrifice He provided for our sin.  We are to bow, confess, and ask that the blood of the Messiah's sacrifice be applied to our life.  Then (and only then) is our debt to God paid.

I'm not so self-aggrandizing as to suggest that I knew Charles Krauthammer's heart.  But IT IS POSSIBLE to see the paths he employed toward God...and it is possible to examine the words his mouth professed.  I can remember years ago praying that the Lord would send someone to Charles Krauthammer.  Maybe you prayed that, too.  We have no idea what Dr. K's final decisions might have been.  I sincerely hope there was an unknown "update" to his Wiki page, known only to God.

Yesterday and today we have seen people put "REST IN PEACE" on Dr. Krauthammer's picture.  What exactly does that mean?  How does someone rest in peace?

Most know that "shalom" is the Hebrew word for peace.  Shalom suggests more than just the absence of struggle; shalom is a return to wholeness as God remakes you into the person He intended from the beginning before sin took its toll.

OUR REST IS COMMUNION WITH GOD.

Rest begins at salvation and continues into eternity. And what about when you go to be with the Lord?  Then you experience shalom because you are continually refreshed in His presence FOREVER.

But the other option?  Separation from God is a place devoid of any rest.  There is no option to choose to "rest in peace" after death.  THAT'S why there is sadness today for Charles Krauthammer as he met his Maker.

God is faithful to set life choice before each person.  He entreats us in Deuteronomy 30:19 to "choose LIFE!" because He would have us join Him.  After all, He is the God of all PEACE, offering the ultimate Peace Sacrifice, His Son Jesus.  As the Jewish prophet Isaiah said 700 years before the Messiah came..."For a child is born to us, a son is given to us.  The government will rest on his shoulders.  And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and PRINCE OF PEACE."