Strength for Today

I really wish they wouldn't call it "terminal." I am flying today to Oakland, Calif., to do some preaching this weekend. Every time I fly, I head toward a terminal with its "arrivals" and "departures." It reminds me that we are all "terminal." Every moment some are being born and some are dying. The Bible says, "And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many" (Heb. 9:27-28a). On one particular flight, as we began our approach, the flight attendent said, "Ladies and gentlemen, we are going down." I kid you not! "We are going down!" She must have been a rookie and that was her maiden flight! But she was right. We are all going down some day. We are all headed for the grave. We are terminal. It is appointed for us to die. But the good news is that Christ has borne our sins. He has paid for our flight to Heaven. We are actually going up! "To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation" (Heb. 9:28b). Thank God that even though we are terminal, He has prepared a place for us far beyond the stars. "I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also" (John 14:3).