Dear Children of God,
I went to baseball game in Bisbee, Arizona many years ago. It was “Ted Williams Night”. Each ticket holder received a t-shirt and a popsicle. Why? Because Ted Williams’ family had him cryogenically frozen so that when a cure for what killed him was found, he could be resurrected. The popsicle was a macabre way to commemorate the current state of the “greatest hitter ever.” But even the greatest – hitter, scientist, singer, actor, or human being – can’t live forever. Like the saying goes, “The only certainties in life are death and taxes.” Yet many still search fruitlessly for ways to extend, or even avoid, this inevitability.
It's probably a fear of the unknown that cause most of us to try forestalling death’s impact. That and the simple fact that God did not create us to die. He created us to live. Dying, the natural result of sin, is not what we’re made to experience. So, when death rears its ugly and inevitable head – fear can begin to set in.
But Jesus reminds us of another inevitability … an eternal inevitability that wipes away that fear for all who believe in Him. He says, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.” (John 11:25-26)
Jesus never promises there will be no adversity in our earthly walk of faith. However, He does promise that when this walk is finished, there is still more for all who believe in Him. We shall all live forever with Him and all who believe in Him. Martha trusted Jesus to help her in her grief. You and I can also trust Him in our trials. He is with us always – in His Word when we read and hear it, when we call on Him in prayer, and in our time of worship. Go to Him. Trust Him. He will bring you through your fears – fears of the unknowns in this life and in eternity, even death.
In Christ’s Love,
Pastor Jim