Life, Death and God’s Word
“The voice said, Cry. And he said, What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field: The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: because the spirit of the LORD bloweth upon it: surely the people is grass. The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.” Isaiah 40.6-8
As I write this, my mind goes back twenty-six years to an automobile accident that took the life of our oldest daughter, Mandy. She was a passenger riding to spend some time with her MeMaw before Christmas. It seems that many have experienced losses during this time of year. Just a day or so ago I heard of the death of a son of one of my high school classmates. And, yesterday we put to rest the father of one of our youth group members.
I visited my wound care physician today and he mentioned that he had a patient who will celebrate her one hundred and third birthday next month. While longevity is something to stand in awe of, Isaiah writes to remind us of the brevity of life. Considering eternity, a lifespan of one hundred years is not even a drop in the bucket. Considering the brevity of life, it seems amazing that so many people would waste so much time on frivolity.
The reality of life is that, at best, our days are numbered; however, we will all succumb to the ravages of time and fade away as grass in the summer sun. James likens the brevity of life as a wisp of steam that appears and vanishes as quickly as it came. “Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.” (James 4.14) Whatever we plan or hope to achieve is dependent upon the good grace and mercy of God. (James 4.15)
We hope for and long for many years of life upon this earth because we are mortal and tend to have a myopic view of eternity. We say in our minds that eternity will be grand and glorious, but cling tenaciously to the here and now. It is quite apparent that our God views the death of one of His children far differently than we do. The Psalmist offers commentary on God’s opinion of death. “Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints. O LORD, truly I am thy servant; I am thy servant, and the son of thine handmaid: thou hast loosed my bonds.” (Psalm 116.15, 16) John, the Revelator, reminds those caught in the Great Tribulation period that God is still watching and blessing those who die in the Lord. He writes: “And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them.” (Revelation 14.13)
Concerning the path which the believer must walk – one through the valley of the shadow of death – the Psalmist assures his readers that there is no losing proposition as we leave this life and enter eternity.
Hardly a day goes by that I do not think of my daughter who is with her Savior. There is also hardly a day passes that I do not think of my parents who have been in the presence of their Savior for several years now. However, I would not wish them back. From my perspective, I miss them greatly. From God’s perspective, they have achieved the greatest blessing of life. They are safe in the arms of Jesus never again to be concerned with the cares of this world. They are safely home.
I visited my wound care physician today and he mentioned that he had a patient who will celebrate her one hundred and third birthday next month. While longevity is something to stand in awe of, Isaiah writes to remind us of the brevity of life. Considering eternity, a lifespan of one hundred years is not even a drop in the bucket. Considering the brevity of life, it seems amazing that so many people would waste so much time on frivolity.
The reality of life is that, at best, our days are numbered; however, we will all succumb to the ravages of time and fade away as grass in the summer sun. James likens the brevity of life as a wisp of steam that appears and vanishes as quickly as it came. “Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.” (James 4.14) Whatever we plan or hope to achieve is dependent upon the good grace and mercy of God. (James 4.15)
We hope for and long for many years of life upon this earth because we are mortal and tend to have a myopic view of eternity. We say in our minds that eternity will be grand and glorious, but cling tenaciously to the here and now. It is quite apparent that our God views the death of one of His children far differently than we do. The Psalmist offers commentary on God’s opinion of death. “Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints. O LORD, truly I am thy servant; I am thy servant, and the son of thine handmaid: thou hast loosed my bonds.” (Psalm 116.15, 16) John, the Revelator, reminds those caught in the Great Tribulation period that God is still watching and blessing those who die in the Lord. He writes: “And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them.” (Revelation 14.13)
Concerning the path which the believer must walk – one through the valley of the shadow of death – the Psalmist assures his readers that there is no losing proposition as we leave this life and enter eternity.
Hardly a day goes by that I do not think of my daughter who is with her Savior. There is also hardly a day passes that I do not think of my parents who have been in the presence of their Savior for several years now. However, I would not wish them back. From my perspective, I miss them greatly. From God’s perspective, they have achieved the greatest blessing of life. They are safe in the arms of Jesus never again to be concerned with the cares of this world. They are safely home.
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