The unknown and the known

I write this column today, in the absence of our regular columnist, Pastor Lewis Kiger of Perry.  Sadly, Pastor Kiger is in Virginia, attending the funeral of his 32-year-old niece who was tragically murdered. 

So we begin by lifting up Pastor Kiger and his extended family in our prayers.  They gather together in Virginia for an occasion that none of them could have imagined just a few days ago.

“Man knows not his time”, are the words of Ecclesiastes 9:12.    

All too often we go about our schedules as if we will live to be 120.  We accelerate through our days, weeks, and months, oblivious to the reality that we’re racing towards the finish line of our final day of life in this world.  Despite all our advances in medicine, the mortality rate still remains one out of one.  “Man knows not his time.”

There is really no book in the world, apart from the Bible, that is more up front about the relative brevity of earthly life.   And if it seems unfair that our earthly days come to an end far too early, you are not alone.     Genesis 1 and 2 of the Bible remind us that God created us to live, not just for 32 years, or even 132 years.   The God of the Bible created us to live forever.

So what happened?   “Sin came into the world through man, and sin brought death.”   Romans 5:12   

If you haven’t picked up a Bible in a while, it is time to reacquaint yourself with the greatest true story of victory snatched from what looked like inevitable defeat.    It’s a true story greater than the release of 33 Chilean miners who were trapped underground for 69 days. . . .greater than the cure for polio . . . more unbelievable than any modern rescue by helicopter or firefighter.

Jesus put it in words that cannot be improved upon, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in Me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in Me will never die.”   John 11:25-26

Man knows not his time . . .on earth that is.  That is the great unknown.

What can be known?   Through faith in Christ Jesus, the sure and certain promise is this.  We will “walk through the valley of the shadow of death” and into life that has no end . . .  in heaven.

John Lehenbauer, Pastor Emeritus

Christ Lutheran Church and School

208 Langston Road, Perry

johnlehenbauer@gmail.com