As for you, go your way till the end. You will rest, and then at the end of the days you will rise to receive your allotted inheritance.” Daniel 12:13 (NIV).
In concluding his book, Daniel records that the angel told him he would die. Gee, what a happy ending! He would die, then receive his inheritance. So it is with all who ‘fall asleep’ in the Lord. We die, we join eternity, then enter the place Jesus has prepared for us.
Here in Texas, in an unusual move, I’ve already taken down most of our Christmas decorations. Lights are down and put away. Inside things are put away. Even the tree is bare, and it’ll be put away after New Year’s. It’s sad to see the lights taken down, and to see how bare the house looks again.
Every time I put away the yearly decorations, I think of my Mom. Mom taught me to wrap all the ornaments individually, and to group them by their kind in bins and trunks. She did this for years and was able to keep ornaments safe to use over and over, sometimes for many decades. I have many of her ornaments now, and some of them go back to the 1950s; some of my cookie cutters are even older. As of today, nearly all of them are safely wrapped, boxed, and securely stored until next year when we’ll see them anew, once again.
As I was putting away things, I thought about Mom, and about Daniel. My time in writing about Daniel’s book is ending. Mom’s life here ended seven years ago. But in a bigger sense, they’re still very much alive, in heaven; perhaps they’ve met by now. Daniel lived 2500 years ago, and we’re still waiting today for some of the things he prophesied to come true. My Mom started collecting Christmas decorations nearly 70 years ago, and my family is still enjoying many of them today. What we do today impacts so many others for untold years to come.
Which is why, after reading all these things, if you haven’t talked with Jesus lately, how about you use this New Year’s celebration to do so? All things here eventually end before beginning something new. To begin anew with Jesus means putting faith in Him, then spending eternity on an adventure of wonders that will never end. Eternity without Christ, however, will be too terrible to contemplate. That’s one reason Daniel wrote his book.
I’m so thankful you read these. Now I’m hoping you take that next step and get to know Christ better on your own. One day, we’ll meet him in person. And Daniel and my Mom as well…after the end.
For further reading: Psalm 16:5, Isaiah 57:2, Matthew 10:22, John 14:1-3, James 1:12, Revelation 14:13, Galatians 1:1
Lord, thank You for the blessings of Your word, for Christmas, for Mom, for everything.
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