THE LORD IS NEAR
1 Corinthians 15:24 “Then comes the end, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father when he abolishes all rule and all authority and power.”
Our verse today deals with the coming of Jesus. The Lord is coming. He is not coming to set things up. He is not coming to finish business. He is not coming to establish the kingdom. Instead, as our passage states, He will hand the kingdom over to the Father.
The verse today begins with the expression “then comes the end.” And so, we have come to the end of this year. This is the last podcast for 2022. We have published 40 podcasts this year which equates to just over four hours of content or nearly 33,000 words! Over the last three years, we have produced 144 episodes. Estimating that the average is 6.5 minutes long, would give us a word count of just under 120,000 words. It typically takes an hour in a half to record and edit each episode. This does not take into account the time I take to write the content, which is easily another hour. Altogether we’re looking upwards to 120 hours this year alone in writing, recording, editing, and posting Pursuing the Pinnacle. What started out as short messages during the pandemic to help encourage brethren has now come to be a regular part of every week. All of this is hard for me to grasp
We have come to the end of this year. Was it a good year for you? Was it a terrible year? Was it a mixture? Were your good intentions and resolutions met or unmet? What new experiences, good or bad did you encounter? 2022 was filled with all sorts of things and events. Weddings took place. Babies were born. New births through baptism were witnessed. Some ended their earthly journey. Vacations. School. Smiles. Tears. New friends. Old friends. So many sermons were preached this past year. So many classes were taught. And now… we come to the end of this year. One door closes and, if the Lord wills it, another door is soon to open in 2023.
Here are some lessons for us to reflect on.
First, there are ups and downs every year, and fun and difficult times. Looking back to the past we can find that our lives cannot be defined by all that happened to us five years ago. But now it is wonderful and kind of amusing when we look at how worried we were about certain things that no longer seem important to us. The Lord has been with us since day one. He has blessed us, comforted us, listened to our prayers, and guided us. There have been ups and downs in all of this, but the Lord has managed to stay on his throne with his control over everything. Jesus says, “The Lord is near.” And he is really close to everybody, anywhere and at any time!
Second, as we eagerly await seeing our Lord on the other side, there are some things that I will miss. I have stood behind pulpits for a long time. I think I will miss that. What about you? What will you miss? I have enjoyed this little journey that we call life. I think I will miss preaching and submitting to your podcasts and other writings. But mind, health, and body reminds us that “then comes the end.” Are we thinking about that? Do we live with the concept of “out of sight, out of mind?” That’s not the best way to walk through life. God told Hezekiah to set his house in order because he was going to die. That statement is absolute. We ought to be setting our house in order, especially spiritually.
Third, we know because of what the Bible teaches, that although this world will end and even our lives here will end, we won’t. There is no “The End,” to our story. The cemetery is not the end of the journey. We do not have a last page to our lives. As the hymn states, “I’ll live on and on.” And that’s the reality for all of us. We will be on the other side a lot; a lot longer than we are on this side of things. Our souls are eternal so we must invest accordingly in everything around us, relationships with others above all else! Don’t settle for this life but live wisely and spread worth towards everything you do including your work and everyday interactions with others! Paul’s words to the Romans remind us to be devoted to prayer, serve the Lord and to be “one another” minded. Far too many think more of this place than the other place. We must be different.
Fourth, Life is full of struggles. The road’s steep, and the ride is rough. We brush against all manner of failure and disappointment during our time on earth. Yet with each step, God slowly draws our eyes back to him. He keeps us close. He whispers his promise into our ears: Then comes the end. A day is coming when God will no longer need this planet. A day is coming when there won’t be a need for sermons. A day is coming when we won’t need our Bibles anymore. Then comes the end. What a reminder for us.
Thank you for listening to Pursuing the Pinnacle this year. Thank you for your kind words of encouragement and help in this endeavor. So many of you have shared these simple podcasts with others. And now, if the Lord allows, we are on to a new year and new adventures!
The Lord is near!