Life's Finality

                                                                       

It is amazing how a simple trip to the doctor can conjure up all sorts of 'what if's' scenarios where you run each of the scenarios through your mind of what possibly could be wrong with your health.  You wonder if the the doctor will tell you whether the little mole on your arm is nothing to be concerned about, or tell you y the dreaded news that what you have is a melanoma skin cancer and needs to be treated aggressively.

Although we intellectually know that when we die  we will see Christ, but on a emotional level we just assume continue living. It is afterall the only thing we are accustomed to at this moment in time.  Life's finality to most of us is somewhere in the distant future when we are old and grey.  Like the proverbial can we kick any thought of death down the road.  Life's finality becomes something that we try to avoid talking about in the here and now.  We much rather listen to the beach boys while playing beach volleyball than remotely giving any thought about the finality of our life.

About two weeks ago I began noticing a small round and raised bump on my forearm.  I monitored that bump and noticed that it grew a little every few days. I finally decided that I had to see a doctor and went to the urgent care clinic where i sat and waited for my appointment.  As I waited i ran through all of the possible scenarios in my mind of what it might be.  As a Christian I had faith that God knows what is best for me, but as a human being I was scared silly about the potential of life's finality.

I was finally called in where I was weighed and had my blood pressure and temperature taken before being ushered into the waiting examination room.  There I sat and waited for the news of what the raised bump could be.  When he came in he asked me some questions and examined the small bump. I had to ask him whether he thought it was melanoma which he said it wasn't.  This was the news I wanted to hear.  He did say it looked like basil cell carcinoma, the less serious form of skin cancer, and it probably needs to be cut off.

I realized as i was told about having the least threatening form of cancer that in thousands of other waiting rooms there are people who are receiving the dreaded news which they did not want to hear. Life's finality is something none of us want to hear, but the reality is that one day all of us will die.  The amazing thing about the Christian faith is that life's finality does not have to be a painful thought because the bible is full of bible verses that give us comfort, guidance and direction when we must travel through uncharted territory.

Just as our daughter faced life's finality the early morning June 10th, 2007 in the very presence of Jesus Christ  all of us who know Christ will have the same opportunity to experience new life in heaven. When we know Christ life does not have to be final.  It continues on forever in heaven.