Bigger and Better

“Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live.” (Joh 5:25 AV)

Eternity is easy to forget.  As I get older, I am constantly aware that things are ending.  Parenting ended almost a decade ago.  As age creeps up and our health begins to fail, earthly life is coming to an end.  We have a lifetime of memories.  God has been so good.  The older we get, the more we are reminded of this truth.  As memories of tribulation fade and the memories of blessings remain, we are brought to the conclusion that God has been, and always will be, good.  There are other things that will come to an end.  Family traditions will fade by the constant changes of life.  There was a time when our entire extended family would meet for a holiday dinner or family reunion.  These things will also come to an end.  Careers fade into the past.  As we age, we attend more funerals than weddings.  If we are not careful, we will allow the end of things to overwhelm us.  We will forget that the end of things only means the beginning of something far greater.

Ending of things does not mean the end of all things.  In fact, the end of things could mean the start of even greater things.  This tends to be the pattern of life.  God set His plan on the ‘bigger and better’ principle.  Remember that Singles activity?  You are given a penny, and the point of the game is to return with something far greater than the penny.  Your team ventures out into the community, and you barter for half a day.  The penny is traded for a knickknack.  A gospel tract is left as you go to the next house or place of business.  The knickknack is traded for a book or small kitchen appliance.  The game goes on and on.  I have seen teams come back with a vehicle!  The point is to trade up.  Life works the same way.  We trade up.  We go from kindergarten to grade school.  We go from middle school to high school.  We go from high school to college or career.  We go from being single to being married; from childless to having children.  We go from being empty nesters to grandparents.  We go from a small apartment to a starter home.  From there, we reach our forever home.  Life is upward.  Endings mean better beginnings.

If the ending of things is overwhelming, our eyes are in the wrong place.  Jesus tells us that the time now is that the dead will hear the voice of God and rise to eternity.  Those who have trusted Christ have a beginning that waiting that is greater than we could ever imagine!  Paul said, “For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time [are] not worthy [to be compared] with the glory which shall be revealed in us.” (Ro 8:18 AV) The same is true of the blessings of life.  As much as we appreciate the blessings of this life, there awaits something far greater.  The verse above has a twofold application.  In the present tense, Jesus is speaking of eternal life.  Those who will hear the voice of Jesus will accept Him as Savior.  Thus, they shall spiritually live.  Going further in the context of chapter five, Jesus included the resurrection and eternity future.  In other words, knowing Christ begins and eternally continues life.  There is no ending.  Only change.  So, when we are overwhelmed with the melancholy of change, we must remember that change for the believer only means bigger and better.