Let's begin with a bit of convicting humor!

An older lady was in the hospital reading her Bible when her doctor came in for his visit. She asked him how she was doing.

He told her to read,  Hebrews 13:8 (NKJV), which says, "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever," meaning she was about the same.

However, she reversed the numbers and read  Hebrews 8:13, "Now what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away," which concerned her very much.

While the writer of Hebrews was writing about the "old covenant," the words could just as accurately been written to describe each and every one of us. Like it or not, we are all growing old and it won't be very long before we will vanish away from this world. God's Word describes our life on this earth as a "flower of the field" that passes away (James 1:10) and "a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away" (James 4:14).

We don't like to think of life in that way. We live in an age that likes to think it makes things that last. We have our plastic and non-breakable jars and cups. We buy a car battery and are given a guarantee that it will last as long as we own our car. So, we would like a guarantee that our bodies could last forever, and somebody — usually trying to sell us something — may try to tell us they can. However, this is just not the case.

Which is it for you?
Admitting that we are "vanishing away" can be a frightening thought. It can also be comforting. For someone whose life is wrapped up in material things, death means losing everything he or she considers to be of value. But, for someone who has laid up treasures in heaven, death is an opportunity to shed the trials and tribulations of this world and enjoy an eternity in the presence of our Father and our eternal family. Which is it for you?

For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal (2 Corinthians 4:17-18 NKJV).