Night Candle Meditations

Last week I mentioned the passing of a friend on Christmas Day. Yesterday I received two requests for prayer on behalf of loved ones. Advanced age and declining health confront a beloved family member while a mother of two young children faces a menacing health problem. Their lives stand as testaments of help in tending to the needs of others. Again, we do not know what may come tomorrow. There is a touch of melancholy as Peter quotes words from Isaiah when he says, "All flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of the grass. The grass withers, and its flower falls away, but the word of the Lord endures forever" 1 Peter 1:24 NKJV. In contemplating the poetic description of fading life forces, I recall one warmer than usual summer. While walking in the exercise yard I noticed the tall withering grasses at southeastern turn of walking track. Recent rainfall had restored the green to the mown lawns, yet along the fencerow unmown clumps continued to bow their taw...

The passing of a friend on Christmas Day stirred latent memories of former friends and loved ones who have left this world. These reflections included not only shared moments of our lives, but also the present and precious lives of loved ones. I think about the words "yesterday's gone and tomorrow may never come." As we lie down for the night, there is the expectation of facing another day. But there will come a time when our yesterdays will swallow tomorrow in the darkness of the night. There is no way of knowing how much time remains for each of us. Our only assurance for tomorrow comes from the promises of God's Holy Word. Without such assurance, one may only be sure of the present moment. Even our yesterdays rest on the decisions we make now. Our willingness to follow and trust in God enables Him to wipe away the yesterdays that burden our past. In choosing another way, we ensure that all those yesterdays become our final tomorrow before God's judgment seat. ...