Posted by
ValiantForTruth on Monday, December 21, 2009 3:13:53 PM
Though her body is dying, and she is unable to do the physical things that once delighted her in service to others, we do not mourn because she does not near the end of life. But rather, she nears the putting off of the flesh and the beginning of a new life unencumbered by remaining sin and the body of death. The great promises of eternal life and the redemption of the body await her, having already received the earnest of these things through regeneration and the indwelling of the Spirit.
She rejoices in her spirit because she is blessed. She is blessed to see her children’s children and doubly blessed to see the third generation in my grand-daughter. The little one bears the name of the distinguishing mark of the godly woman’s life and the life of her mother before her. Grace brings the unmistakable joy to her face.
Why do men emphasize the preserving of the outward; that is, the body that is destined to die and be consumed by worms, and the things of this world that are passing away and perish with the using of them?
Why do we neglect the things of God and the state of our eternal soul that He has given us? The elderly and physically disabled have one less thing to deceive them. They understand better than we do about the temporal and eternal things. There is no greater deception than for a man to spend himself on the temporal and neglect the eternal things.
Jesus asked, “What will a man give in exchange for his soul?” Consider the reward that awaits a person whose life was given to faithful obedience and service to the Lord. What is it worth to hear these words, “Well done, good and faithful servant…enter into the joy of your lord”?
In our youth we live as though death is not a reality for us. But the day is coming, and the psalmist teaches us to number our days [Psalm 90]. That we might leave a godly heritage and have the joy of looking back over our life and seeing the good providence of God worked out for us to walk in.
Finally, this quote from Simeon from the Christmas story struck me as never before…
‘…let Your servant depart in peace…for my eyes have seen Your salvation’ [Luke 2:25-32].
Simeon was one who understood the New Covenant promises and the coming of Messiah from the prophets…’the messenger of the covenant shall suddenly come to His temple’. He was there in the temple waiting for Him.
A Christian’s perspective on reality is that this life is like a sliver of time compared to eternity and that the momentary light afflictions are not to be compared with the joys that await us in the presence of God. Therefore, let us consider ourselves as living sacrifices and use our days for doing good. Then at the end of our days there will be no sorrowful mourning as those who have no hope, but a rejoicing and a giving of thanks, praying, singing and a hearing of the Gospel, including the precious promises from Him who cannot lie.