Good morning,
As I sit in my office writing this Monday Minute I can see the the activity going on at our neighbor’s house as cars come and go and friends say goodbye to a very loving woman probably in her last hours of life here on earth. We have known her for years and often talked with her about God’s love and the salvation that Jesus offers us. Now in the care of her friends, they wait with her for the time when she transfers from here to eternity. The priest has been called in, and they are doing their best to make her comfortable, but none of them can control her eternal destiny. Her next destination is in the hands of the Risen Savior, who never makes a mistake in the eternal assignment he gives us. She and her friends have hope without assurance. We feel a sense of deep sadness and loss, but her situation also reminds us that because we have a wonderful assurance of our relationship with our Savior and God, we will never need to face this situation in the same way they do. As Paul wrote the Corinthians, We know that God, who raised the Lord Jesus, will also raise us with Jesus and present us to himself together with you.
Thank God, we who have put our trust in the Lord Jesus, can look forward to leaving this dark world behind for the explosion of light and joy that is waiting for those of us who have put our trust in him. We, like the pilgrims of long ago, can live a life of thanksgiving in the face of the most difficult challenges that test our faith in our Savior. While the world does it’s best to get us to focus on the negatives that flood our fallen world, God keeps flooding us with his grace and love. God’s Holy Spirit helps us to focus on the benefits that God is giving us in this world. As we become more aware of God working out his plan in our lives in visible ways, the Holy Spirit develops in us a sense of gratitude. This gratitude is the attitude that blossoms into thankfulness. Our lives become billboards of grace that bring more and more glory to God. That’s why we never give up. Although we grow older and death becomes ever more certain, our spirits are being renewed every day.
II Corinthians 4:14 We know that God, who raised the Lord Jesus, will also raise us with Jesus and present us to himself together with you. 15 All of this is for your benefit. And as God’s grace reaches more and more people, there will be great thanksgiving, and God will receive more and more glory. 16 That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day.
Roy Wisner
