Life is short. I once asked my aged father what interesting things he remembered happening in life, and he said he wasn’t sure because it all happened so fast. Born in 1898 and died in 1995, he was alive from the Wright Brothers through the World Wars, to man walking on the moon, to laptop computers. Back then he didn’t know or care much about laptops, but if he were alive today, I think he’d find them fascinating, especially the tiny ones we call “smartphones.” You know - those hand-held things that run out of battery just when we need it.
Whatever we may have experienced in life, we must all admit life is short. There is little that is truly constant and invariable in our human experiences on earth. Einstein taught us this with his theory of relativity. Just realizing how long some moments can be, or how fast a life slips away, gives us insight how time moves so fast or so slow.
God’s Word in the Bible gives us something to hold onto, however. Our Creator God cares for us and has given us this fascinating world in which we can live, move and have our being. His presence and mercy are our constancies. We believe God and His good will are unchangeable, but, of course, people certainly aren’t. Tainted by sin, our fickle natures and opinions last only as long as the next idea comes along.
We often preface what we say with, “if only…” “If only I were out of school. If only I had enough money. If only I could be married. If only I had a better job. If only I could retire.” Then when some or most of those things do take place, we wonder where our short life has gone.
Carol and I took our family of twelve on a short Bahama cruise this past weekend and enjoyed seeing our people get to know each other better, experience some new things, eat some fantastic food and then go our separate ways at the end, till we meet again. Carol and I eventually got home, despite a plane change, and we both agreed once again that our favorite part of any trip is the homecoming.
My Dad’s eternal home going was blessed after so long a life. Our earthly home coming last night was blessed with familiar bed and sounds. When we see our loved ones again, we will enjoy the familiarity of laughter and joy and growing up and growing older.
When we know Jesus is Lord of our life, we can handle the brevity of life because we know in Him it never really ends. It enters a new stage here and there until we live with Him in eternity. But of this we can be sure: Jesus’s Words of comfort, “Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you.” (Hebrews 113:5)
Home is the best place to be, our home here or our home in heaven.
Rev. Bob Tasler
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