The Frog Who Went to Be with Jesus
Little Gwen loves animals and somewhere she acquired a tiny frog. I guess she did not know that frogs were a plague, but that would not matter to a four-year-old girl. Even if it is a frog, it is still a pet. Little frogs in the possession of little girls do not have a long life span. Before long the frog died and her dad disposed of it. Her mother explained it to her by saying that the frog went to be with Jesus. Gwen cried and said, “I want Jesus to give me my frog back.”
We all understand that sentiment, not about a frog, but about someone we love who has gone to be with Jesus. When my Granddad died, I felt like crying that I wanted Jesus to give him back. I think of my mother often. My Aunt Maxine went to be with Jesus before I was old enough to go to school. I want to meet her again and get to know her better. We all have someone that makes us feel this way.
In the early church, these kinds of thoughts were hurting many at Thessalonica. They grieved for those who had died, or as Paul said, have “fallen asleep.” To encourage them he wrote, “Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him.” (1 Thess 4:13-14).
When frogs are gone, they are gone. When Christians “fall asleep” they will wake up. We are not really dead; we have simply gone to be with Jesus. Do not grieve like others who have no hope.
Little Gwen called me last week and told me she had a new pet. It is a lady bug and it is living in a Tic Tac candy box. When it goes to be with Jesus we may have to have a full funeral service.
Lonnie Davis
It was a time when a woman with no child had no standing. It was a day when a man without a son had no legacy. Year after year, Sarah prayed for a child. Year after year her heart was broken. She knew her husband wanted a son and wanted to give him a son, but for a lifetime God had not blessed her. Finally she reached the age when having a child was no longer humanly possible. In such times it is easy for dreams to die.
In the midst of such broken dreams, God reached out to Abraham and Sarah. The Scriptures tell us, “By faith Abraham, even though he was past age — and Sarah herself was barren — was enabled to become a father because he considered him faithful who had made the promise.” (Hebrews 11:11).
“Even though he was past age,” is an understatement. When their child was born, Abraham was 100 and Sarah was 90. If nothing else, one can read that story and realize that nothing is impossible to God. Your dreams are never too big for God.
I want to be like Abraham, the friend of God. I do not want to wander with no place to call my own. I do not want to live in tents and ride on camels, but I do want to be God’s friend and receive blessings that are seemingly beyond human possibility. To do this, I must have Abraham’s secret.
What was the Abraham’s secret? Read the passage again and you will see. “He considered him faithful who made the promise.” Abraham’s believed God was faithful and would keep His promise.
Preachers love to preach on man’s need for faithfulness. What may be needed more are lessons reminding us of the faithfulness of God. Only when we believe that God is faithful and will keep his promises will we look past the blessings of earth and see the blessings of heaven.
All the promises that God has made to you in His Word, He will keep. God is faithful. Believe it!
Lonnie Davis
It is not the years of your life, but the life in your years that matters. The story of Carrie C. White illustrates this. Carrie was a Florida resident who died in 1991 at the ripe old age of 116. Just think of all you could do with a life span of 116 years. Looking further into her story reveals that she was a resident of a Palatka, Florida nursing home at the time of her death. At 116 it is not surprising that she lived in a nursing home. The sad thing is that she entered the nursing home 82 years before she died! I don’t think I will mind living in a nursing home from ages 110 to 116, but I do not want to live in a nursing home for the last 82 years of my life.
Once a group of young people were discussing old age when the age of 95 came up. One of them asked, “Who in the world would want to live to 95?” Some else answered, “Well, I guess anyone who is 94.” After thinking about Carrie White, we can’t help but add, “Yes, but only if it really is living.” Just breathing is not living. Living means doing something with life.
A first grade teacher was going through the grief of losing her mother. Children pick up on things and one of the students noticed that the teacher was not doing well. She came up to the teacher and asked what was wrong. When the teacher shared the loss with the child, the little girl answered, “Well, I hope you live until you die.” Maybe the little girl did not fully understand it, but she said something profound. Too many people do not live until they die.
For many years Dean Martin was part of the Hollywood scene. After he died, one of his close friends noted that Dean Martin had lost his will to live when his son died several years before him. “He never was the same,” the friend said. Sometimes there are things that take your life before they take your heartbeat.
It must not be that way for us. 10,000 years from now, we will all be living somewhere. 100,000 years from now all of this will be a distant memory for us, but we will not be just a memory. A million years from now. We will all be alive. Nothing should happen here to make us lose the will to live the plan that God has for us.
It is not the number of years you live while here that matter. It is the kind of life you live. A million years from now the life you live then will be a reflection of the life you live now. Life here is just a preparation for the life that is to come.
Lonnie Davis