But Thanks be to God … Life is not Finished
Do you ever think … “I’m finished! I’m through I hate tomato & squash pie!”
Consider Alexander who spent time in the Russian Gulag.
In "The Prison Chronicle" he says, as few of us can, "Don't be afraid of misfortune and do not yearn after happiness. It is, after all, all the same. The bitter doesn't last forever, and the sweet never fills the cup to overflowing. It is enough if you don't freeze in the cold, and if hunger and thirst don't claw at your sides. If your back isn't broken, if your feet can walk, if both arms work, if both eyes can see, and if both ears can hear, then whom should you envy? And why? Our envy of others devours us most of all. Rub your eyes and purify your heart and prize above all else in the world those who love you and wish you well." (Illustration from AutoIllustrator at biblestudytools.net)
ILL. One pastor said, "Problems are a part of life. All of us are going to have problems right up to the moment we die. And some of you are going to have problems after you die."
We should all agree … and as true as it is … we need to remember … this life isn’t the finish line! The victory celebration is yet to come!
1 Corinthians 15:51-54 51Behold, I show you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. 53For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. 54So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.
There is an inheritance of change coming!
From Corruption … to Incorruption
Decay & perishable … to unending existence.
From Mortal … to Immortal
Liable to die … to becoming deathless
John 17:4 "4I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do."
John 19:30 30When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.
Because Jesus finished the work of our salvation … that means we are not finished in this life!
Philippians 3:20-21 20For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: 21Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.
But thanks be to God … life is not finished!
There are times, we must admit that life takes on the appearance of being futile, foolish and finished.
"Pride slays Thanksgiving, but a humble mind is the soil out of which thanks naturally grow. - A proud man is seldom a grateful man, for he never thinks he gets as much as he deserves." (Henry Ward Beecher)
The truth is … we are getting more than we deserve! Let thanks become a forethought in all facets of your life … for it is not futile, foolish or finished!
1 Corinthians 15:57 57But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
58Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.
Amen!
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