Preacher’s Point: The winter of life

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I reckon I am in the fall of my life. If I live an average lifespan I have about 10 to 20 years left. The truth is, however, I may die today, or I may live to be well over 100 years old; God only knows.

If one were to look at my hair, they would say I was in the winter of life because it is the same color as snow. Life has been good. I do believe that God has protected me over the years. God has designed the struggles and hardships of life as growth and learning experiences. Material wealth and riches have not come my way, neither do I seek them. Up until this last week we lived in a trailer for the previous 10 years.

But just as cooler nights and the leaves changing color tells us that winter is approaching, my gray hair, the eyesight getting a little bit worse, and the aches and pains in the joints that just weren’t there just a year or two ago show me that I will be heading into the winter of life before too long.

On the calendar, once winter arrives the New Year is not far behind. The same is true of life, once the winter of life arrives, death and eternity will soon come.

In times past there was much more preparation for winter needed than today. Chopping down trees to provide wood for heat during the winter was done by everyone. Today, the vast majority of Americans turn on the thermostat and pay the utility company for heat.

Fruits and vegetables were canned soon after harvest while the meat was dried or pickled to keep more than a day or two after the kill. Many crops were regional. Oranges, for example, cannot be grown in the American Midwest, and therefore were a rare delicacy to Hosiers, Buckeyes, and others of the region. Today, any grocery store in the Midwest will have oranges at all times of the year.

The physical preparation is not what it used to be, and for many people, it is non-existent.

When it comes to the winter of life, how much preparation have you done? Yes, people will do things to prepare financially for the winter of life. They will buy life insurance policies, put away for retirement, and make out a will; but are they ready spiritually for when the winter flips the calendar into eternity?

Everyone’s going to die someday; sadly, some pass in the spring of life at a very early age. Unfortunately, few people make the spiritual preparations necessary for when that day comes. Every person ever conceived lives forever somewhere. Some will dwell with Jesus Christ in heaven; others will spend eternity in the lake of fire – it is their choice. Romans 10:9-10, 13, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

God sent His Son as the Lamb of God, suffering the sacrifice needed for the payment for sin. We cannot make righteous restitution for the bad things we have done. The sacrificial blood of Jesus Christ is the only thing that can bring forgiveness and restitution between a person and God.

Eternal life can only come through faith; we cannot do enough good works to earn our way to heaven, Ephesians 2:8-9, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.”

Again, the blood of Christ is the only payment for sin God will accept, 1 Peter 1:18-19, “Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:”

Within the last two weeks, I have purchased a home. The plan is that my wife and I will live out our final years here. Buying the house is just part of the material plans I have made for the winter of life. The spiritual plans for the eternal part of my life were settled decades ago. How about you? Are you prepared for when the calendar flips and eternity begins?

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By Timothy Johnson

Preacher’s Point

Preacher Johnson is pastor of Countryside Baptist Church in Parke County, Indiana. Email: [email protected]. Website: www.preacherjohnson.com. E-book: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00TUJTV2A If you email, inform me where you have seen Preacher’s Point. Viewpoints expressed in the article are the work of the author. The Daily Advocate does not endorse these viewpoints or the independent activities of the author.

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