Bookends
By Vernette Kureck
“There is a time for
everything, and a season for every activity under heaven; a time to be born and
a time to die.”
Ecclesiastes
3:1-2 (NIV)
Within
three weeks, it was time for our eighth grandchild to be born and time for my
husband’s dear mother to die. Here, the seasons of birth and death overlapped. A
baby fresh from the hand of God brought great joy - - a new life so full of potential
and blessings. And yet, God knows how long we will be on this earth.
And
so you have the bookends. Birth…Death. In Ecclesiastes, King Solomon questions
the purpose of life and concludes in 12:13 that we “should fear God and keep
his commandments for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every
deed into judgment, including every hidden thing whether it is good or evil.” (NIV)
In the space between birth and death, we live our obedience through our life
story.
The
last book of the Old Testament, Malachi, shares how God’s book has those who
were faithful and esteemed His name. The last book of the New Testament,
Revelation, talks about the books being opened at the Great White Throne of Judgment.
Anyone’s name who isn’t found in the Book of Life is condemned to the Lake of Fire, which is the second death. Born
once, die twice. Born twice, die once.
There
comes a time in every life when God calls us to Himself. He wants to be the
Lord of our lives. We
either accept the life story of His sinless Son Jesus and His work on the cross,
or we live our lives with ourselves as the lord of our lives. Everyone’s story
is different except that we are all born and we all die. My spiritual story is
on the Fresh Start blog and is called The
Visit. In it, I learned I was born twice and would experience only
physical death. Jesus was born and He died a gruesome death to pay the penalty
for my and your sin, and now sits at the Father’s right hand interceding for
His children.
Yes,
I am living my life story with fresh knowledge of birth and death. Some days my
keeping of commandments and deeds are not good. Praise God that the intercessor
Jesus is there to set me back on the purpose of life if I will let Him. Praise
God my story isn’t finished as there is a lot of life to live. Praise God He
has full control of my bookends… and my life story.
GOING
DEEPER:
1.
Where are you in your story?
2.
If you have questions about your spiritual life story, please contact our
Women’s Ministries Director at Oakwood
Church, elizabeth@oakwoodnow.org.
FURTHER
READING:
Vernette
and her husband Ken have been married 45 years and have 2 sons. They have been
blessed with eight grandchildren. She serves Oakwood on the prayer chain.
