Published on 10/13/2006

...time is the one commodity none of us is guaranteed. As we have seen this week, the end can come for our world or any of us today. On this Friday the 13th we are reminded that one Friday will be our last Friday. There is no guarantee that it's not this one.

Commentary

Three stories in today's newspapers highlight our week's theme. Yesterday, the Amish schoolhouse where five girls were killed was obliterated, with grass planted to obscure the place forever. Meanwhile, officials in New York City are discussing safety regulations after a small private plane crashed into a skyscraper on Wednesday, killing a Yankees pitcher and his flight instructor.

And we learn that China and Russia are opposing a draft resolution presented by the U.S. to the United Nations Security Council yesterday. The two nations, both supporters of North Korea in the past, say they need more time to consider the issue.

But time is the one commodity none of us is guaranteed. As we have seen this week, the end can come for our world or any of us today. On this Friday the 13th we are reminded that one Friday will be our last Friday. There is no guarantee that it's not this one.

Why does an all-loving, all-powerful God permit death? So that we'll not live forever in our fallen world and bodies. In Genesis 3 God knew that if Adam and Eve ate from the tree of life after their sin, they would live forever in their fallen, sinful condition. So in his merciful grace, he barred the way. Now by death, we are set for eternity with him.

God's word is clear: "Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable" (1 Corinthians 15:50). Physical death frees us to live forever in glorified bodies with God in his heaven. Then one day, death will be destroyed forever: "Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of five" (Revelation 20:14). His word promises us, "There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." (Rev. 21:4).

For those of us who have made Christ our Lord, our last breath here is our first breath in glory. We step from the land of the dying to the land of the living. If you knew that it would be tomorrow, what would you change today?

Dwight Moody, on his deathbed, said, "If this is death, it is sweet. There is no valley here. Dwight! Irene! I see the children's faces. God is calling me. I must go. Earth recedes. Heaven opens before me."

If Jesus is your Lord, when you die you won't. Instead, you'll see God. And you'll be safely home.