January 1, 2019
Good Morning Fellow Travelers,
Read: Matthew 24:1-14, 29-35
“And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads: for your redemption draweth nigh.” Luke 21:28
We were invited into the home of a Russian family one evening for supper. They had a long table stretched out for their big family and the guests. As we entered the dining room, I noticed that on the wall above the table in large letters were these words, “It will not always be as it is now.” I asked the father what it meant. He told me an interesting story.
They had visited a family many years ago in Russia. The father of this family had been sent to prison when he refused to enter the army because of Christ’s teaching about nonresistance. He had been in prison for ten years. The mother in that home had written these words and fastened them to the wall above the dining room table. It was a message of hope to her and the children that things would change and their daddy would someday come home.
Not long after that, the father was released and came home to a joyful family. But after several weeks their friends noticed that the words above the table were still there. They asked, “Why don’t you remove those words now that your husband and father has returned?” The mother replied, “It will not always be like it is now.”
We do well to remember that change is inevitable. We may be enjoying good times or facing hard times. Whichever it is, things will change, as Christ warned His disciples. This too will pass, for better or for worse.
My father prayed often at our table, “Lord, prepare us for whatever event or duty may be ahead of us.” Change will come, but we can live in the full confidence that God will provide for us no matter what we face.
– James Baer