The leaves change to vibrant colors. The Lord God of Heaven and Earth displays His glorious design in the creation of life, death, and renewal. The only thing that blunts my enthusiasm for this season is dealing with all the leaves that die and cover the yard! On the other hand, the dying of the leaves, the trees, and plants going dormant inevitably reminds me of death and the losses of loved ones or impending losses. It puts me in a very melancholy and somber mood. Were it not for the wonderful truth in the Word of God about our life, death, and resurrection in Christ Jesus, my melancholy would quickly spiral into despair. It is that even though these losses of loved ones once alive and vibrant, their death is a necessary part of life. Only our Heavenly Father makes our losses glorious in Christ Jesus. He explains the sense of our going to sleep after a life of living for Him, showing off His workmanship as the beautiful foliage shows us in the Spring. As Fall turns to Winter and then comes Spring we should marvel, not despair. He has prepared for our life, death, and resurrection as the season’s show!
The Apostle Paul puts it this way for us in 1 Corinthians 15:50-58: “Now I say this, brethren, that flesh, and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For this imperishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality. But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, ‘O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR VICTORY? O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR STING?’ The sting of death is a sin, and the power of sin is the law; but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.”
All of us know there is the Fall of our lives, it is coming. Spurgeon puts it this way in his devotional work, Morning and Evening: “He who does not prepare for death is more than an ordinary fool, he is a madman. When the voice of God is heard among the trees of the garden, let fig tree and sycamore, and elm and cedar, alike hear the sound thereof.
Robert Thompson has been the senior pastor of Chapel Woods Presbyterian Church in Snellville since May 2003. He graduated from Covenant Theological Seminary in 1986. Robert is also Chairman of the Board of Presbyterian Evangelistic Fellowship. He and his wife Wanda have been married for 43 years. They have three adult daughters, Amanda and twins Rebecca and Sarah. Amanda is married to Jerry Jones and they have three daughters of their own. Rebecca is married to Wesley Payton; they have two sons. Sarah is married to Mark Magdziarz and they have two daughters and two sons. Chapel Woods Presbyterian Church 3800 Lenora Church Rd., Snellville, GA 30078 web: www.chapelwoods.org e-mail: pastor@chapelwoods.org phone: (770) 978 1445
