Speaker: Darlene Sala | Series: Encouraging Words

In his book Senior Moments, Willard Spiegelman expressed a very pessimistic view on life: “We come into the world alone, with a cry,” he reminds us. Then he adds, “We exit alone, to confront the final eternal silence. The fun, all the pleasure and adventure, lies in between.”[1]

What a sad outlook on life! All you have, Spiegelman says, is the enjoyment you can extract from the seventy-to-ninety years you’re alive on this earth. And then it’s over.

Contrast that life view with the apostle Paul’s, who said, “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us” (Romans 8:18).

In the Bible, there is no mention of a “final eternal silence.” But to those who put their faith in Him, Jesus says, ““Let not your heart be troubled. . . . I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.” (John 14:1-3 NKJV). What makes the difference in these two attitudes of hope or hopelessness is a relationship with Jesus Christ.

Some Bible scholars point out that Jesus talked more about hell than He did about heaven. Paul says that when Jesus returns to earth, those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus will suffer “the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might” (1 Thessalonians 1:7-9). What a tragedy that would be!

But right now you can make sure that your eternal future is secure by placing your faith in Jesus and putting your life into His hands. When you know Him, you have the very best this life can offer–and then all eternity to enjoy His presence.  How can you lose?

[1] Quoted by Gerard Helferich in “Life in the Fourth Quarter,” The Wall Street Journal, September 3-4, 2016, C7.