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How Does Ḥāyâ Connect Manhattan & Gaza?

How Does Ḥāyâ Connect Manhattan & Gaza?

Last updated on: July 30, 2025 at 8:05 pm by Martin Thomas Johnson

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How Does Ḥāyâ Connect Manhattan & Gaza? 2025-07-30T20:05:03-04:00 Martin Thomas Johnson

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Earlier this week, tragic news broke about another senseless shooting, this time in Manhattan. The gunmen drove from Nevada to Manhattan and killed four innocent people, including an officer with children at home and a baby in the way.

Image by Pixabay

There have already been nearly 300 mass shootings in the United States this year that have claimed even more innocent lives. This fallen kingdom is quickly destroying itself. It seems like no one really cares about or values life at all anymore:

Violent
Selfish
Unloving

As a conservative and a Christian, I believe all life matters, regardless of political Association, race, ethnicity, or legal status. If we truly are Christians, we cannot decide what life we believe should live or should remain in America.

It is a basic teaching in the Bible that every human is created in the image of God (Genesis 1:27). We cannot put ourselves in God’s seat to judge who deserves to live and who doesn’t (Ecclesiastes 12:14, Matthew 23:1-4). Only God is just and can give or take life (Deuteronomy 6:4, 2 Peter 2:9).

What Is Life

Life can mean different things to different people: quality of life, duration of life, or purpose of life. However, life is defined as “The quality that distinguishes a vital and functional being from a dead body; the period from birth to death.”

Image by Pixabay

This fallen world tends to focus on the first two aspects of life. God’s people are different, and our values and understanding are supposed to be different, because we aren’t supposed to be like this fallen kingdom (Romans 12:2, 1 Peter 2:9).

That is why the Bible has a lot to say about life, where it comes from, and what the purpose is (Deuteronomy 30:19-20, 1 John 5:12). Before my accident, I put my hope into temporary things, and this earthly kingdom, after my accident, I was forced to take my life and faith more seriously.

I learned the hard way about taking off the old man/life to make room for the new life (Ephesians 4:22-23, Colossians 3:10). As believers, we understand that life begins with God and we cannot continue to live our old life that leads to death (Romans 6:23, Galatians 1:15, Hebrews 10:26).

The ways of this broken kingdom lead to death, for God’s ways lead to true life, because God is the author of life (1 Corinthians 3:19, Galatians 6:8, Ephesians 2:1-3, Colossians 2:8). The Apostle Paul remembered his Jewish education about life.

Ḥāyâ

The Torah begins with God creating everything in existence and breathing life into man (Genesis 1:1-30). Everything was good until man sinned and death entered God’s perfect creation (Genesis 3:1-20).

God separated His people from the dead and broken world to help restore life to what was lost in the garden (Deuteronomy 14:2). The Hebrew word in the Old Testament for life is ḥāyâ and it can also mean, “To live, revive, refresh, make grow, or even restore,” depending on the context it is used in.

While Israel wanted to be simply a great nation on the earth, God had much bigger plans and wanted to bring life back to a dying world (Genesis 22:18). That’s why it is not surprising Judaism places an emphasis on life and its purpose (Genesis 2:7, Deuteronomy 30:16-20, Psalm 16:11; 119:93, Ecclesiastes 5:18). Many Jews consider the Torah the books of life:

Genesis
Exodus
Leviticus
Numbers
Deuteronomy

Jesus continued this emphasis on life during His earthly ministry. He taught His followers they needed to be born again and new life comes from dying to ourselves (John 3:1-36; 12:24). Our Lord identified Himself as life and the way back to God of life (John 6:35; 8:12; 10:11; 11:25-26; 14:6).

The Ascension

Image via Pixaby

The New Testament teaches Jesus gives us real and eternal life (John 3:16). Jesus Himself promised to give His followers an abundant life(John 10:10). Unfortunately, many false teachers have deceived Christians and twisted the Scripture into a promise of earthly treasures and greatness.

The Greek word for abundant here is perissos, and it actually means, “Exceeding, extraordinary, or more than sufficient.” It is not a guarantee of a lavish worldly life of pleasure, but a life that surpasses anything this temporary kingdom has to offer. That is why Jesus taught His followers to store up treasures in heaven, not here on this dying world (Matthew 6:19-20).

That is why it is absurd we have a cult today who have placed its hope in earthly greatness and temporary happiness that will not last. They are building their castles and dreams in the sand (Matthew 7:24-27).

Gaza

in other sad news this week, death and starvation are spreading across the Gaza Strip. Most of the buildings, including hospitals, have been destroyed by the bloody war between Hamas and Israel. Numerous nations are now condemning the unloving attacks against the Palestinian people. In its senseless pursuit of revenge, more than 60,000 Palestinians have been killed, with thousands more starving to death now.

Image by Wikipedia Commons

This week, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had the audacity to deny anyone was starting in Gaza. Instead of being part of God’s plan to repair and restore this fallen kingdom, Israel has turned to the gods and ways of this dying kingdom (Psalm 46:9, Proverbs 21:15, Isaiah 25:8):

Greed
Power-hungry
Unloving
Vengeful

I was taught as a child that if you aren’t part of the solution, you are part of the problem. God’s people weren’t set apart from this temporary kingdom to rule it, but to be different than it (Deuteronomy 7:6). We are not to become like this corrupt and temporary kingdom that will not last (Psalm 102:25-26, Matthew 24:35, Revelation 21:1).

We are here to help restore it, although one day God will destroy it because of mankind’s sin (Peter 3:10). Heaven is God’s people’s hope and reward, because that will be our best ḥāyâ!

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