“Remember man, as you walk by, As you are now, so once was I, As I am now, so shall you be, Remember this and follow me.” —Words engraved in a tombstone in England. To which someone replied by writing these words beneath: “To follow you I’ll not consent, until I know which way you went.”
Our bodies are temporary. Yeah, yeah, we all know that… in our heads, at least, but contemplating that absolute fact puts the rest of life in vivid perspective. God told the prophet Isaiah to proclaim this in a big way, but Isaiah wasn’t sure what to say! This is how he recorded his conversation with God in Isaiah 40:
“For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” A voice says, “Cry out.” And I said, “What shall I cry?” “All people are like grass, and all their faithfulness is like the flowers of the field. The grass withers and the flowers fall, because the breath of the Lord blows on them. Surely the people are grass. The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God endures forever.” (v. 5-8)
I love the contrast in Isaiah’s message. Our bodies WILL wither like the grass, BUT God’s words last forever. See the perspective change here? It’s a paradigm shift that should cause us to reconsider our earthly priorities. Yes, I believe that our bodies are temporary gifts that need to be cared for, but they are given for a purpose—to live and proclaim the eternal life-giving Truth of God’s words. Notice how Isaiah follows up with a charge:
You who bring good news to Zion, go up on a high mountain. You who bring good news to Jerusalem, lift up your voice with a shout, lift it up, do not be afraid; say to the towns of Judah, “Here is your God!” (v. 9)
Not only do we have the words of God available to us in written form, but we have Jesus, the living Word, in our hearts—and both are ready to be spoken and lived through us today!
Lord, speak to me through Your eternal word and through Your Spirit in me. Amen.