Two certainties.

In  “The Cobbler of Preston” (Christopher Bullock; 1716) appears the line, “Tis impossible to be sure of any thing but Death and Taxes.”, and the sentiment has been echoed on a number of occasions, by a number of well-known people.

However, I would suggest that there are two other certainties, referred to by the prophet Hosea, in the book that bears his name. He writes, concerning YHWH "... He has torn, that He may heal us; He has stricken, and He will bind us up." (Hos 6:1).

I know that Almighty God punishes those who deliberately break His laws - those who are sinners in His sight. And that, as I stated on Wednesday, included my friend; it includes me; and it includes every person who has ever lived - with the solitary exception of the Lord Jesus. "... all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, ..." (Rom 3:23) writes Paul - and that "all" includes you and me.

However, I also know that Almighty God forgives those who repent, and turn to Him, through the atoning sacrifice of the Lord Jesus at Calvary. These are two certainties that I have sought to preach, clearly and distinctly, throughout my pastoral ministry.

On Wednesday of the past week, I conducted the funeral service for an English friend who, with his wife, had been living in France for some seven years. A brother in the Lord; John had been suffering from cancer for many months but, on the previous Thursday, his mortal body had succumbed. His widow asked that I would conduct the service because, to use her own words: "We sing from the same hymn-sheet"! She knew that I would bring the Gospel message into whatever I said at the funeral. And I did!

I commenced the message by possibly shocking some of those present with the announcement that John was not dead! What was in that coffin was the mortal body that he had been given and that he used for almost 80 years. The man that we knew – some of us better, and for longer, than others – was not there.  He was, and is, with Jesus! How could I be certain? Simply because at 45 years of age, John recognised that he was a sinner! That's the first certainty.

John had a 'church background'; He believed in the existence of God. He knew about Jesus. But, as he shared when he gave his own testimony, he didn’t have a personal relationship with the Saviour. However, in middle age, he discovered that the very God against Whom he sinned, loved him so much that He had already done something about the situation! In the Persona of the Son, Almighty God took upon Himself human flesh – that very flesh that He had created – and came to live among mankind. He lived a quiet, unassuming, hard-working, life for about 30 years but then became a wandering Teacher and, eventually, as we shall shortly be recalling at Pâques (Resurrection Day), was crucified, and buried in a borrowed tomb.

John confessed his sins, and his sinfulness; he acknowledged that he could never do anything about them; he accepted that, at Calvary, the Son paid the penalty that he deserved to pay; he was born anew of God the Holy Spirit; he became a true son of Almighty God – joint-heir with the Lord Jesus, the Christ; he moved from death to life – a life that continues even although his mortal body has reached the end.

One of John's favourite Bible verses is found in John’s account of the Gospel, in 14:6. It reads « Jesus said …, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but by me.” » There is only one way – and that is through the Lord Jesus. Anything else is counterfeit. I cannot earn my salvation; I cannot buy my salvation; I do not deserve my salvation. It is, as Paul wrote to the Ephesian believers “… the gift of God …” (2:8).

Two certainties: As surely as the sun rises in the morning, the judgement of Almighty God will come. But His mercy is just as certain for those who turn from their sin, to the new life in the Lord Jesus.

May all who read this post find that new life for themselves.

We never know the moment!

The name of Robert Rafferty will not mean anything to the vast majority of people. He was, however, the Chief Steward on the ss Edmund Fitzgerald - a freighter that was, when launched in 1958 at 26,000 tons DWT, the largest ship sailing on the North American Great Lakes. On November 3rd, 1975, Chief Steward Rafferty wrote to his wife: "I may be home by November 8th, However, nothing is ever sure."

On November 10th, in a ferocious storm on Lake Superior, the Edmund Fitzgerald sank. With near hurricane-force winds, and waves up to 35' high, she may have been swamped but, to this day, no-one knows for certain what caused the tragedy. What is known is that all 29 crew members perished - including Chief Steward Rafferty. The prophetic irony of those last words to his wife should not be lost on anyone!

That, of course, is only one tragedy out of countless numbers. I have visited the Japanese city of Nagasaki, on which the second atomic bomb was dropped at the end of the Second World War. I have seen a section of wall - with a human being fused into it! It is estimated that some 40,000 people died instantly, with a similar number dying in the following months as a result of injuries, burns, and radiation exposure.

On December 22nd, 1999, in South Lanarkshire, a home in the town of Larkhall was totally destroyed by a gas explosion. Andrew Findlay, his wife Jeanette, and their two children - Stacy (13 years of age) and Daryll (11 years of age), died in the explosion.

Not a day passes without a reminder that our earthly lives can end at any moment - and often without any notice. All that we need to do is to read the obituary columns! One message comes across, loudly and clearly: "We're here today - but we may be gone tomorrow!"

I am currently working on the fourth book on my series on getting to know the Christian Faith. This is is to be entitled "Living the Faith", and is being based on the letter from the apostle James, the half-brother of the Lord Jesus, the Christ. It is a very practical letter - and it acknowledges this suddenness with which death may touch us. "What is your life?" asks James. The answer he provides is: "It is even a vapour that appears for a little time, and then vanishes away." (4:14).

Although Benjamin Franklin, one of the "founding fathers" of the USA, is often credited with the quotation, it was actually another writer - Christopher Bullock - who first penned the thought "It is impossible to be sure of anything but death and taxes". However, the claim is not quite true, as it it possible, in some cultures at least, to never have to pay taxes!

But is our only certainty, then, the sobering prospect that, at any moment we may be thrust into eternity - however we may conceive of it? Not for the disciple of Jesus! That same Jesus is the anchor of the soul. He paid the penalty for your sins, and mine, when He hung on a cross at Calvary. If we are willing, and humble enough, to confess our sins before Father God, and to accept that salvation that was won for us at such a great cost, then we will receive forgiveness, and eternal life, as we place our trust, solely and completely, in Him. He has promised to be with us, even in the hour of death, and we may depend on His promises.

Does your earthly life sometimes seem to be futile because nothing is ever sure? Then trust in Him, the perfect Lamb of God. He provides a joyous certainty about eternity that can be yours - right now! It's never too soon to accept the new life that Jesus offers; but, at any moment, it may be too late!