Reflections on Life

Tue, May 6, 2014

Adversity, Miscellaneous, Written Articles

Dr. Lewis Gregory

To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to get and a time to lose; a time to weep and a time to rejoice. Ecclesiastes 3:1-6

Yes, all of life is on a timetable. In the physical sense, we are born to die. But, in the spiritual sense, we are born to live. What then is our life? It is even a vapor, that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.

God knows our frame; He realizes that we are but dust. It is from heaven that the Lord considers the earth: to hear the groanings of the prisoners; to loose those that are appointed to death.

Death, then, becomes the release from these weak, frail, decaying bodies. We are humanly nothing more than perishables. With that in mind, life for all of us is really only a matter of time.

But, from dust thou art to dust returneth was not spoken of the soul. The great hope for all of us is that those who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ shall not perish, but shall have everlasting life.

Because of this, we no longer faint. Even though our outward man is perishing, the inward man is renewed day by day. This results from our having been born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible.

Once that becomes the case for us, we can say, “Oh death, where is your sting? Oh grave, where is your victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

So, death for us is but the entry way into our Heavenly home. This is the sweet release of death—liberating us from these weak, frail, and often pain-filled bodies, into His glorious presence. Therefore, we can boldly say, “Even so, come Lord Jesus!”

Nevertheless, Heaven’s gain is still our loss. Thus the sadness and grief at the loss of a loved one is both right and reasonable. Yet by the grace of God, we can confidently say, “The Lord gives and the Lord takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord!”

May our Lord’s comfort and sustaining grace be very evident in your time of need!

Psalms 102:19,20 II Corinthians 4:16 Psalm 103:14 James 4:14

Ecclesiastes 3:1,2,4,6 I Peter 1:23 I Corinthians 15:55-57 John 3:16 Job 1:21

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AS WE MOURN THE LOSS, WE CELEBRATE THE LIFE. No more Earthly sorrow and pain. Good for them, sad for us. But for their sake we are glad! Now it is time to focus on the living, and make the most of what we’ve got.