JOY TOMORROW

Time with Jesus - Tuesday, 27 December 2011

Back in 1964 there was a program on TV in the UK entitled “All Our Yesterdays”. It was fairly popular and quite fascinating. What it did was give a sort of weekly running commentary on what had taken place 25 years previously. What was that? It was hostilities just before and after WW2 broke out in Europe.

Many young people had not experienced the war. The combatants were mostly in their mid fifties or more. I was born in 1942 in UK so most of what was shown on TV was something I’d heard about, but had not actually experienced. I’d heard about many of the incidents. D Day, the Battle of the Bulge, the Liberation of Paris. Names of people were well remembered. Names such as Churchill; Eisenhower; de Gaulle; Montgomery; the Dam Busters; along with many of the movies that had depicted the war. The Cruel Sea, Reach for the Sky and Carve Her Name with Pride”.

For me the programme was bitter-sweet. Both my parent’s families had been touched by this conflagration. It follows that it touched one or two raw nerves. Not that I remembered those who had been killed. I think the feelings were triggered by utter pointlessness of so many people being killed because of the lust for power of those who led the world into this mad killing spree.

Back then, Churchill was approaching the end of his life and people were being asked to contribute to a fund to remember what he had achieved. In the North of England, he was far from popular. Many men and women remembered the miners strike in the 1930’s. He had not responded to this well and had turned the army out to confront the strikers. Those people were not willing to put their hands into their pockets to contribute. This goes to show the importance of first impressions. It seemed that no matter what he had achieved, some still hated him.

As a Christian, what struck me about what I saw on TV was the impermanence of things. Buildings were bombed and collapsed into a smouldering heap. Important bridges were destroyed. The death camps horrified me. The fate of the Jews deeply impressed me. But mostly the fact is that what so many “things” we had counted on were swept away like sand castles as the tide swept in and out.

Actually seeing this on TV demonstrated the false security “things” provided. All destroyed in the wink of an eye! For me what it showed was that nothing in this life is permanent. Being something of a romantic at heart, I well remember one of the popular songs of the day went, “It’s very clear, our love is here to stay” It was sung by a couple of lovers. But it reminded me of the Saviour, Who could truly say “our love is here to stay” The song concluded with the words, “Someday the Rockies will tumble, Gibraltar will crumble; they’re only made of clay. But “our love is here to stay”.

I don’t think I realised the significance of the words at the time. I was young and half expected to love whoever became my wife forever. Now, all these years later, these words have taken on a new meaning. Only Jesus and the love of God is permanent. Everything else will crumble. Even the great pyramids of Egypt will one day be little more than a heap of sand. But His love for me and you really is “here to stay”.

Many men and women wept their way through that dreadful war. They found a measure of joy when peace returned. But for those of us who look forward to the day when Jesus returns; we know that our tears will be wiped away and all we have experienced will be little more than an instance in “all our yesterdays”.

Blessings

Jim & Phyllida Strickland.

Joy Tomorrow

There are so many problems as we walk along life’s road. They’re very disconcerting and increase a Christian’s load. They seem to be so heavy and annoying at the time; But if we focus on them – that really is a crime. We need to keep on looking at the things we cannot see! A spiritual perspective that will last eternally. But if all our perceptions, are what’s seen upon the earth, We’ll quickly lose our focus on the glory of new birth. This world is not our future; it’s like a canvas tent. It has no lasting value and will soon be done and spent; Our man-made concrete jungle, is founded upon clay; It hasn’t any permanence and soon will pass away. We may think it’s enduring, but that is just a ruse, That Satan and his cohorts use to baffle and confuse. The pyramids of Egypt look as solid as can be; But all of them are crumbling and won’t last eternally. A Christian knows better. He knows things cannot last. They’re only just a shadow of what’s happened in the past. We think that death is permanent; a grave that has no end. But that is an illusion men fail to comprehend. The city which is permanent is being built on high. And none of us can see it, no matter how we try; It’s being built by Jesus, our everlasting King. He wants us all to live with Him and wear His wedding ring. He’s told us that His Father is pleased to give away, The Kingdom to the people who follow Him each day. A Kingdom so fantastic, our minds cannot conceive; A city built for Jesus and His people to receive. A place for all His followers, that’s just beyond the grave, Where death has been defeated, for those whom He has saved. A place where pain and suffering, just cannot carry on. Where all our tears and weeping will finally be gone. We cannot understand this, but it is worth our while, To put our trust in Jesus and to give the world a smile. No matter what they do to us, it cannot last for long; And when the world is done with us, we’ll sing His victory song. We’ll see Him in His glory and surely take our place Where we will live forever and see the Master’s face. Jim Strickland – written Tuesday, 27 December 2011