Friday, October 7, 2016
Being the youngest of a family of twelve, I grew up listening to the popular songs of the 40’s and 50’s, those my siblings loved. I remember having breakfast before we left for school and the kitchen radio playing “Slow Boat to China”, “Tenderly”, “Laura”, “Moonlight Serenade,” “Chattanooga Choo Choo”, and all the other top hits of the day. Today whenever I hear a song by Bing Crosby, Perry Como, Rosemary Clooney, Frank Sinatra, Jo Stafford, Doris Day, and all the other great singers of that era, in my mind I picture them just as they were back then, even though most of them have been gone a long time.
If we are honest, we will all admit that there is some sadness involved when we realize that no one in this life can stay young forever and that just about everybody will get old and feeble, and then die. It breaks the heart of many children to see their parents go this route, yet this is what life is all about. Wouldn’t it be great if everyone could stay young forever and nobody ever got sick? The answer is “yes”, it would be great. In fact the truth is that one day that dream will come true, and it’s all because of Jesus. He died for that very reason, that all who believe in Him may live forever. The day is coming when we will see our loved ones who have gone before us, just as they were back in their prime, us included.
So today, if you’re struggling a little bit more because you’re getting older, or if it pains you to see one of your loved ones get a little bit more feeble every day, hold on. In Christ, this is not the way this story ends. Apart from going to the land where no one will ever get old, or get sick and die, we will all be in a world much, much better than this one, one which will be forever free of all suffering and pain. John, Christ’s beloved disciple, caught a heavenly glimpse of that place and wrote: “He, (God) will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” (Revelation 21:4) What a day that will be! Yes, my dear fellow believers, we all have a great destiny. And it’s all because of Jesus.
God’s promise for today: (1 Corinthians 2:9) However, as it is written: “What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived”— are the things God has prepared for those who love Him.
