We have a brand new grandson who was born in Canada while we were in Australia. We have never seen this cute little eight-pound bundle of joy, but we already love him. We love him although he does not yet love us. John tells us, “we love God because he first loved us.” God knew and loved us before we were aware of Him. We love our little grandson before he is aware of us. In time, we hope that he will come to know us and love us, as we all should come to know and love God.
When our little grandson was born, he cried and his family and friends rejoiced. We should try to live so that when we die, our family and friends may cry, but our next conscious moment will be a time of rejoicing, for the Lord Jesus Christ will be inviting us to inherit the kingdom prepared for us from the foundation of the world.
Solomon tells us that “a good name is better than precious ointment; and the day of death than the day of one’s birth.” This is true because, as Solomon also said “the righteous hath hope in his death.”
We should live in hope and die in hope. Paul tells us, “None of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself. For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord’s.”
What a wonderful way to live! By living each day for the Lord, we can live each day to the full with no fear of the future or of death. None of us is ever going to get out of this life alive, so we can leave the future to God and live each day for Him.
But do we? How do we live each day? What takes our time and attention? Do we allow things to upset us that are not worthy of the agitation? Poor Martha was upset because Mary was not helping her serve. What difference does it make now whether or not that dinner was served on time or if the soup was hot or the biscuits burnt? It mattered to Martha and spoiled her enjoying the company of the Lord Jesus Christ.
We sometimes laugh at the tears of a child whose troubles seem so insignificant to us. From God’s viewpoint, our tears may seem just as inconsequential. Yet we allow things to take up our time and draw us away from enjoying the blessings God is wanting to bestow upon us.
We need to learn to relax and realize that God really is in charge and, if He is in charge, then we are not. It is foolish for us to take the responsibility for things that God has not asked us to assume. We need to take to heart words we know but don’t always live by: “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.”
Our little grandson will shed many a tear before he is old enough to learn that the things he cries for are not worth the tears shed. Let us hope that we have learned so that we can live as we so often sing, “If though but suffer God to guide thee, and hope in Him through all thy ways, He’ll give three strength what ere betide thee, and bear thee through the evil days…. God never yet forsook in need the man that trusted Him indeed.”
Robert J Lloyd
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Bath Christadelphians
