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)
