I looked up the members of my seminary
graduating class recently and discovered that many of my friends are now
deceased. It was a sober reminder of the brevity of life. Three score and ten,
give or take a few years, and we’re gone (Ps. 90:10). Israel’s poet was right:
We’re but strangers here and sojourners (39:12).
The brevity of life makes us think about
our “end”—the measure of our days and how fleeting they are (v.4), a feeling
that grows more certain as we draw closer to the end of our lives. This world
is not our home; we’re but strangers and sojourners here.
Yet we are not alone on the journey. We
are strangers and sojourners with God (39:12), a thought that makes the journey
less troubling, less frightening, less worrisome. We pass through this world
and into the next with a loving Father as our constant companion and guide.
We’re strangers here on earth, but we are never alone on the journey
(73:23-24). We have One who says, “I am with you always” (Matt. 28:20).
We may lose sight of father, mother,
spouse, and friends, but we always know that God is walking beside us. An old
saying puts it like this: “Good company on the road makes the way to seem
lighter.”
As you travel life’s weary road, let God lift your
heavy load. (RBC)
