BOOKENDS

BOOK ENDS

                Between the two bookends of birth and death lies a life in which we either find meaning and purpose, or we squander it for no particular reason.

                Some people find meaning in eh endless succession of game scores. They wear the hats… they buy the T-shirts, they live for the playoffs… only to discover in the end that it didn’t really matter who won and who lost, for now they are faced with a reality that they had avoided from the beginning.

                Some find their meaning in TV and movies and game shows, only to find out in the end that they have nothing to show for their time. In the end they can’t even remember why they rushed home to watch “Days of our Lives.”

                Some live in hot pursuit of riches, homes, cars, boats and fine clothing, just to leave this world naked… with nothing to recommend them for what good might come beyond the grave.

                I may not be as smart or as talented or as rich as the next guy, but this one thing I know. I want to invest my life in things that matter for eternity. When all of the ball games have ended and the TV shows have gone away and all of life’s riches have turned to ruin, I want to stand before my Maker with something in my hands. I want eternal souls to give to God. I want to reap a harvest of the good seeds I have sown… the kind of eternal seeds that Jesus talked about.

                When the invisible kingdom becomes visible, I want to have deposited treasure there that is awaiting my homecoming. I want to meet those who my life affected for the good. I want to bring to the Lord my friends and family. I want to hear Him say: “Well done!”

                Between the two book ends of life, we either die to self and find eternal life in Jesus Christ or we live for self and then enter eternal life without Christ. Which will it be?

                Right now, you and I are living between the book ends. We have no other period of time in which to make our eternal decision. To what have you entrusted your soul? Who will you go to see in the end? What will be the reward for all of your efforts? Will you have overcome by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of your testimony, or will you have been overcome by the world.

                Jesus said: “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father but by Me.” John 14: 6.

                He also said: “Enter by the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that lads to destruction and many are those who enter by it. For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life and few are those who find it.”

                Between the two bookends there are two gates. One is a broad gate through which most of humanity passes as their meaningless lives carry them into eternity. But there is a narrow gate. It may not offer the enticements and temptations that the broad gate offers… in fact it often promises suffering and a death to all that the broad gate people pursue. All of our possessions and our baggage we must leave at this narrow gate before we can pass through it. Even our greatest achievements must be discarded as rubbish for the sake of the one Pearl of great price. It is an all or nothing proposition. But inside this gate is our Creator, our Redeemer and Eternal King. He Himself is our reward and He alone can give us the only kind of eternity that is worth dying for.

                Choose wisely my friend.