No Wishes For the Wicked

“When a wicked man dieth, his expectation shall perish: and the hope of unjust men perisheth.” (Pr 11:7 AV)

 

The suggestion is the opposite is also true.  A righteous soul will have his hope and expectation continue throughout eternity.  This verse struck the heart this morning in particular due to our soul-winning ministry.  A friend and I go out into the neighborhoods every Saturday morning.  We knock on doors and greet the dweller with a gracious smile and neighborly disposition.  We introduce ourselves.  Then we offer them a gospel tract.  This tract has the plan of salvation clearly explained within its contents.  This offer is made in a non-confrontational manner.  We do not challenge what the individual believes unless that individual brings it up.  We simply explain the tract has Bible verses about heaven and how to get there.  We offer to explain it to them if they have some time, but if not, try to make a time to return.  If they decline, then we are on our way.  In the months that we have been doing this, there are usually a few that respond in the negative when offered a tract.  The most heard response is something like, “We’re good” or “No thank you.  I have a church” or “I’m all set”.  However, something happened yesterday that is stuck in my mind.  A sign of the times, I suppose.

As the world reacts to the COVID concern, there is a myriad of ways in which we deal with it.  There is the cavalier way in which no concern whatsoever is shown.  There are those, like myself, which try to take a slightly more balanced approach.  Keeping a bit of distance and fist-pumping rather than shaking is my defense.  Then there are those like the fella we met yesterday.  He refused a gospel tract because he believed he could catch the virus by touching the tract which I would hand to him.   I am not writing to criticize someone’s precautions.  However, one must ask an obvious question.  What is more dangerous?  COVID or hell?  The expectation and hope of that man are he will be kept safe from a virus that has the slight potential of taking his life.  His expectation and hope are that he will live longer.  But how long?  Even if, by some miracle, COVID is eradicated from the planet, there are still millions of more ways someone will die.  Death is not a result of a virus.  Death is a result of sin.  And there is only one cure for sin.  That cure is Jesus Christ.

I guess what bothered me most about that visit was the look on this man’s face.  It was fraught with fear.  There is no cure for fear other than walking by faith with God Himself.  What is truly sad is the absolute futility described above.  All hope and expectation are lost when the wicked perish.  The hopes and expectations die with him.  Which means there is no hope and expectation once a lost soul dies.  When we walked off that porch, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of great loss and hopelessness.  Not for me.  But for this gentlemen.  In his window sat a single lamp lit for the entire first floor.  He sat in his recliner, alone and with his single lamp lit, with a heart of fear over something he couldn’t control.  The real tragedy is he was clinging to an unrealistic hope and expectation.  He will live alone for the rest of his life, safe from a virus.  That is for sure.  But death will come anyway.  One way or another, his heart will stop.  His hope and expectation will come to an end.  Not by one unseen threat. But by another.  That hope and expectation will end.  But it doesn’t have to.  For the saint, our hope and expectation is eternal life.  When this temporary body of ours gives out, we have a new and everlasting one awaiting our arrival.  Our hope and expectation are eternal!  That is the patience and faith of the saints.