Growing Old Stinks

Growing old stinks.

Some folks will tell you it beats the alternative. But does it?

Why do I think growing old stinks? Not because of the extra aches and pains. It’s not because I’m losing my hair, or gaining an extra pound or three around the middle.

It stinks when a parent, sibling, or spouse dies. Or a close friend.

God doesn’t care for it, either.

When Jesus lost a close friend, he cried. When he lost his cousin, he took some time off for a little vacation.

I’m really tired of saying goodbye. I’m sick of crying. It hurts to see people I love lose a loved one. I am SO looking for the day when God’s last enemy will be defeated – forever.

“Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death.” (1 Corinthians 15:24-26 ESV)

If it wasn’t for the reality of eternal life, the promise of eternity with Christ, and the reunion with all our brothers and sisters in Christ, I am not sure if living would be worth it.

I know dying wouldn’t be.

So here’s to those I miss; those who have finished their course and have crossed the chilly Jordan. And here’s to the ones I love who probably don’t have much time left on this planet.

I’ll see you later. God said so.

“For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore encourage one another with these words.” (1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 ESV)

And the fragrance of life will forever replace the stench of death.