When I at last let my mortal body go - I shall be much more than mortal mind can know. ~T.S. Eliot~ |
I suppose it must say something about me and perhaps you too, that I read the obituary page most days. First, to make sure I am not there - and that means it is going to be a good day. But perhaps more truthfully, I find it difficult to see so many who appear to be dying so young. Perhaps it is the fact that I am growing older, and that more of my friends are getting terminal diseases, and some have just recently passed on. It is insightful to remember as T.S. Eliot reminds us; Time can be a destroyer or time can be a preserver. How clear is the truth that our outer man is failing but our inner man is being renewed day by day, being conformed to the image of Christ. (2 Corinthians 4:16) I remind myself of this so I will not be afraid. I am not afraid of dying for that is the next step to living, and that eternal life is going to be with Jesus. That is the end product for those who have placed their faith in Jesus. But the process of dying with so much decline and deterioration, so much damage and difficulty, so much discomfort and ultimate destruction, who in their right mind would welcome that? The truth is, we do not need to welcome it, but we do need to face it, face it squarely in all its intimidation and all its humiliation. But we do not need to be afraid. Fear is about loss. Losing something or someone. However, for the Christian who values Jesus more than other people and more than life itself because He is eternal life in Himself, death will not deprive us of Jesus. In fact, it is death that brings us to Jesus. When Jesus cried out from the cross, “It is finished,” death had lost its sting. The certificate of debt was paid in full. (Col. 2:14) His next stop was to His heavenly throne through the resurrection from the dead. So too, by death through resurrection (if not by rapture first) shall our future be in heaven with Him. We get old too soon and wise too late. But wisdom tells me that the vexing vicissitudes of life are meant to drive me to Jesus. They are to remind me of my inadequacy and overwhelm me with His complete adequacy. It is comforting to know He will provide all I need when I need it. Serving Him with you until He comes for us, Fred |