Nothing is Certain Except Death, Taxes, and…
Life on the Pasture
So what does a pastor do on the day after Easter? At least for this one, the usual answer is, “Not much of anything.” This year was a bit different. I took the opportunity to complete my federal and state tax forms. Yes, I know the submission date has been moved to July, but since I have to pay quarterly estimated taxes, I thought I should figure out the cash flow (or lack thereof) for the next several months.
Benjamin Franklin once wrote in a letter to French physicist Jean-Baptiste Le Roy, “In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” I would like to add one more thing: The love of God that is ours in Christ Jesus.
Yesterday, we observed the glorious resurrection of our Lord Jesus. We have a Savior who did not offer us a way to avoid physical death, but a way through it to eternal life in heaven. Yet I would venture a guess that yesterday was filled with much fear of death. While the news and our altered lives have been consumed with COVID-19 and the possibility of picking it up and being one of those whom it hits so hard that we succumb to it, the “usual” modes of death continue: diseases such as cancer, tragic accidents, senseless shootings, and the physical body simply wearing out. And then there are other newsworthy tragedies that we simply aren’t hearing much about such as the terrible plague of locusts that has wiped out crops in some parts of Africa.
Unless our Lord returns first, it is indeed a certainty that we will die. There is a part of me that wonders if all the panic over COVID-19 is the fear of death. We humans like to control things, but death will not be controlled.
Which brings us back to the love of God that is ours in Christ Jesus. Paul write in Romans 6:23, “The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” What we celebrate on Easter is the reality that the Creator has not lost control of His creation because of sin and death that results from it. Christ Jesus through His coming in the flesh, dying, and then rising victorious declares that He is in control and will take His lambs through the darkest of valleys to the most glorious of mansions where we shall enjoy a grand family reunion before the throne.
Yesterday, I took some time to listen via Spotify to an old album by a group called 2nd Chapter of Acts. The title song of the album includes this chorus: So why should I worry? Why should I fret? 'Cause I've got a Mansion Builder Who ain't through with me yet.
For those of us who are followers of Jesus, we know the truth of those words because of the confidence and peace the He gives us. When the time comes for the inevitable, we get to come home to the mansion He’s prepared. Christ is risen. He is risen indeed. Alleluia!
– Pastor Schmidt
Photo by Michael Longmire on Unsplash