Sometimes I wonder....at seventy years of age....how would I feel about closing in on the end of life had not Jesus Christ called me....being least of the least....to Himself...the Bread of Life....the Way the Truth and the Life....the Light of the World....the....Lord of All?
I guess that I could speculate....come up with some words and phrases....but there is no way that I could know for sure....but I can say this....I may not know what I would feel....but I know for a certainty what I would not feel....closing in on the end of life. I could not possibly feel the building anticipation of the most joyous and wonderful coming home to a most majestic and loving Savior that I.....and all Christians....feel....as the baubles of life wax more and more insignificant the longer we are on this earth!There could never be this joy. The closest that comes to it would be a youthful romantic elation that can overwhelm....but always proves fleeting....as a love itself may remain for a lifetime in marriage....but the overwhelming youthful ecstasy of those first days could not possibly be sustained....wherewith in Christ it not only is sustained....it increases....over the years.....and over the decades!
I bring this topic up....as it seems that every day we read of some celebrity in the news who may have passed away....some of them in my case....actors and actresses that I have been more than familiar with for my entire adult life. Or maybe they make the news....and are unrecognizable in their twilight years. They had it all as the world views it....but in retrospect....I thank God....with all my heart....that I was never taken down that path of riches and fame....where Christ then might not have had mercy on me.
These thoughts came to me yesterday as I just happened to turn on the television....and some kind of reality show was on....where the host travels the world....and in this episode it was the Caribbean....on a sailboat! Now when I let myself fantasize....daydream....it usually involves a sailboat....and blue/green water....and maybe white sands. Of course for this to ever happen I would have to know something about sailing....which I don't....but that is what daydreams sometimes are made of....are they not?
As I watched this half hour show....with a sailboat right out of my daydreams....I forced myself to answer a question that I posed to myself. Would I reject this lifestyle if offered to me....of grabbing that beautifully warm breeze.....and expertly having it take me here and there....wherever I desired....stopping only to swim with blue and yellow fishes....or swing ever so gently in a hammock between two palm trees....looking out over a calm turquoise bay?
I guess that's what we might call temptation....for it was not a weak draw....but I remembered immediately that whatever Christ has planned for us....in whatever eternity with Him will be like....it will far surpass the daydreams that a mere mortal could ever even imagine!
So although I cannot put myself in the mind of a seventy year old that does not have faith in Christ....I surely can discern that there is a difference....which leads me to say just one more thing....you may not know....or even care about what I'm describing....but you may be forced to admit to a lack of knowing anything for certain as to what happens when this life ends....and if you are honest with yourself....it may even cause you to tremble at times....if so....call out to Jesus Christ....and you may find out later that He had you call out to Him....for you indeed have nothing in yourself to seek Him....as I or no one had....and it just may be that you too in the future may then come to....the building anticipation of the most joyous and wonderful coming home to a most majestic and loving Savior!
