Adieu, 2016

Before 2016 had shaken the first page off its calendar, David Bowie, Alan Rickman, Glen Frey, and Abe Vigoda died. When the next month brought the passing of Antonin Scalia, Harper Lee, and George Kennedy, the year seemed to possess a sinister darkness.

Soon we toss the remnants of this calendar in the trash, and many will cry "None to soon!" as in shock we saw Debby Reynolds follow her daughter Carrie Fisher in death separated by one thin day.

But is 2016 any different than any other year? Not really. On average, fifty-five million people will die this next year. That's a 150,000 every day. 2016 really isn't a creature to loathe--and we know this--but really this year that is soon past, like every year, is merely a segment along a continuous river. The river is Time. At some point along the way, we got into this Life Boat and at some point, we will disembark in death leaving our tombstone along the bank of Time as the boat continues to travel down stream to its ultimate End.

In years past, the masses lamented when James Dean died in an automobile crash and when Elvis died with peanut butter and barbiturates at his bedside. The 2017 segment of the river will bring other celebrities' lives to an end. Clint Eastwood ain't getting any younger.

CONSIDER

What then do I do with this? In the Bible's most Eeyore-esque book, Ecclesiastes, Solomon writes, "It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting, for this is the end of all mankind, and the living will lay it to heart." He wants us to see that the deaths we see around us must make us to consider that our time to disembark the boat of life might well be nigh. What then?

Many console themselves with Ms. Reynolds words on her final day aboard, "I want to be with Carrie." Such sentiments flow from the mouths of Christians and non-Christians alike. But is this reality? What happens after death? Where do we go? Will we be with those we loved while on the boat?

Despite Todd Burpo's multi-million dollar claim, no man of himself and while still on the boat knows the full answer to that question, but God, the author of this story and creator of the river, did not leave man to be clueless about the eternity that he would face upon his death. He declares with crystal clarity:

"It is appointed unto man once to die but after this the judgment." (Hebrews 9:27)

Judgment? Yes. That's no fun. True, but because man stands in rebellion against God, each one will stand before him to give an account of his life (Revelation 20:11-15). Considering, though, that before God "there is none righteous, no, not one" (Romans 3:10), our guilt and condemnation are as certain as death.

HOPE

Here is the good news (or "gospel"): God didn't leave men to die. God tells us that Christmas is about God becoming man, Jesus Christ, but the purpose of Christmas was Easter, that God's judgment for man's rebellion would be poured out not on deserving mankind but upon his sinless Son. God himself would take the just punishment and condemnation that we had earned. "He made him who knew no sin to become sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God" (2 Corinthians 5:21).

What then is left? Taking hold of that free gift. Jesus himself declared "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to the Father except through me" (John 14:6). Only Jesus' death on the cross covers the sin of man. To reject such a gift is to reject man's only hope in the afterlife. 

Here is the painful and sober question: Where are those we adored while we rode the boat together down this stream of history, those who disembarked in 2016? For many, we do not know. In condemnation, none will party. None will celebrate. Grief, agony, and despair await. In Christ alone, there is joy and relationship and celebration and glory.

That may seem harsh, but that is God's own declaration and not mine. The gift is free for any who desire it--in truth, who desire HIM. Free. Open to all. For those who do not wish that gift, for those unwilling to bow the knee to God and his truth, for those who want no part of him, he will give them what they desire.

Eternal life with God is exclusive not in regard to whom it is offered but it is exclusive only in regard to whom will receive it.

We will not venture far into 2017 before the next celebrity dies. Will we then hate this segment of the river, too, or will we delight in the journey and those with which we travel? Will we fantasize about those who disembarked or will we consider what has been revealed about the way to eternal life and the choice we have made in that regard as we hasten down the river?