THE LINE SEGMENT OF LIFE!
Recently, we had one birth, one death, and one milestone birthday in our family. And although the death was a much-loved pet, this really made me think about what so many of us call the “circle of life”.
There was great joy, lots of tears, sorry and loss, celebrating and blowing candles out on a cake, all around me lately.
For me, this brought lots of introspection!
It amazes me to think that every day all around this world there is living and dying and joy and suffering and everything in between.
All around us. We are all affected by “life” and its fragility and its brevity and its wonder and how it just marches on and on!
I was struck by how one day or even one minute can be so life-changing! And so uncertain.
If we are not careful we can forget that more of our life will be lived on the other side of the grave than right here and now.
For we were made for eternity.
There is really no circle of life, for life is not a circle at all!
It does not go “round and round”.
I think life is more like a geometric ray. It has a starting point and then goes to infinity and beyond (to quote Buzz Lightyear).
On the “ray” of our lives, there are hundreds, maybe even millions of “points” (like in geometry) that mark time in our daily lives. Points both mundane and significant.
My grandson McAlister was born recently. And this new life brought such joy to our family!! His life marked the starting point on the ray of his life!
At one point marked the starting point of our life too!
And like poor Hobbes, our much-loved cat there will be a point that will mark our deaths.
And all the living we do here on earth are points in between life and death, which if my high school geometry still serves me, is called a line segment.
Some people’s line segments are longer than others. Some are marked with more of this or that. But our time here on this planet is finite. As finite as a line segment!
Here is what David, inspired by God, says about our very beginnings…
YOU (God) created my innermost being, YOU (God) knit me together in my mother’s womb. Psalm 139:13
Our great God, Creator of the universe had a very personal and intimate hand in creating each of us! We are not an accident and neither is our lives in history.
And David’s response to the miraculous work of each of us is…
I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Your (God) works are wonderful, I know that full well. Psalm 139:13
And here is what God told Israel when they were about to suffer points of great pain and tragedy on their line-segment-life…
“For I know the plans I have for you”, declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you. Plans to give you hope and a future”. Jere 29:11
Our wonderful Creator not only intentionally and intimately made each of us, but He also made a good plan to go along with our lives!
This is something that we must always remember no matter what life brings our way! God is not surprised or buffeted by life! He is the Creator and Owner of it! He is the One that gives it freely to us! And He and He alone is sovereign over it!
We live in a very broken world right now. It’s often hard to see things through God’s lens of eternity. But do not be deceived. God is in control. He has been and will forever be in control!
In this world, there is suffering alongside of joy.
There are trials along with triumphs.
There is corruption along with goodness.
There is death along with life.
It is only in Christ that we have the strength to go through life and enter into eternity as great victors!
The bulk of our lives will not be spent here.
We were built for eternity.
If this is true, and it is, why should we wait until we die to live out our eternal potential? When we turn away from sin and back to God, believe in Jesus as our Lord (Owner, Creator), and give over our lives to Him something wonderful happens.
This means that anyone who belongs to Christ is a new person. The old life is gone, the new life begun. 2 Corinthians 5:17
When we put our trust for all eternity in the nail-pierced hands of Jesus we LITERALLY become a new creation!
For we are God’s masterpiece, created anew in Jesus Christ so we can do the good things He planned for us all along. Ephesians 2:10
We will grow into and become a person who has the power to live victoriously through anything life can throw at us.
Because when we belong to Jesus he gives us a power that is so great it is called dunamis in the bible.
That is where we get our word dynamite from. This dynamite power is The Holy Spirit. He is our help in this life! He is our strength and comfort! We never have to go through life alone or in our own power. We have God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit not only on our side but walking through all the points on our life’s journey!
Life may not be pretty or easy. Life is messy and hard. And we may get to the end of our line segment live totally used up!
But if we trust Jesus for our eternity God promises us victory!
And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son does not have the life. These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son Of God, so you may know that you have eternal life. 1 John 5:11-13
If your life is a circle, get off the hamster wheel. Know and believe that you were lovingly made for so much more! YOU were made for eternity.
What a beautiful post Yvonne , so full of truth . I was reminded this week that scripture tells us , those who trust and have hope in the Lord will never be disappointed , put to shame . This world is full of disappointments , but the assurance is our blessed hope the Lord Jesus who is preparing a place for us in our future home and who will be returning soon for those who are His . I am also sorry to hear about your Hobbes , I know he was greatly loved .
I’m so sorry to hear about the death of your beloved kitty Hobbes. As a cat lover and past owner of many, I shall miss his adorable face in your posts.
Thank you, Susan! He was such a blessing to us.
Thank you Angie!
Yvonne, I was so saddened to hear about the loss of your beautiful Hobbes! As an pet lover, I understand that Hobbes was a well loved member of your family. I always enjoyed seeing him in your photos, and he will be missed by your many readers!
Blessings to you and yours!
Thank you Bunny!
Maravilhoso!
Thank you Mrgareth!
This reminds me of a quote I read last week. “We are not humans having a spiritual experience, we are spirits having a human experience.”
Oh, I love that DeeDee! Thanks for sharing.
Yvonne, I believe that animals have a place in eternity too. Hobbes just completed his line segment. Love your geometric description of life on earth as a line segment and the ray starting from a point and expanding and extending to eternity. That is a great example that death doulas could use to help ease the fear of their patients. Thanks again for your divinely inspired words of wisdom!
You are welcome. Sharon. And thank you for your sweet words about Hobbes.
Pets are one of God’s gracious gifts to us and I am so sorry for your loss.
Thank you for your faithful Sunday posts from the Word. I look forward to them so much!
What a beautiful post! Thank you.
Thank you so very much for this beautiful post…Very meaningful for me.
Blessings to you and yours
You are so welcome, God bless you!
Yvonne, your devotional today was wonderful! Thanks, so much, for your posts each Sunday. We just enjoy them so much. May God continue to bless you as you bring these to us.
I love that verse in Jeremiah 29:11. How we need to put our trust in God for the plans He has for our life.
So sorry to hear about Hobbes. He was so much a part of your family! We always enjoyed seeing the pictures of him. It is never easy to lose a pet and your heart aches so much.
Have a blessed week, Yvonne!
Thank you Mary Ann! Hobbes was such a special guy! His sudden death hit us hard! We are doing well.
Great post Yvonne!
Eternal life is the most precious gift. I am grateful that our faith gives us this hope, and God is always with us. Thank you for sharing.
I am sad to hear of the passing of your sweet Hobbes. I have always felt a little kindred spirit with you, because we also were owned by a beautiful kitty named Hobbes. He passed away on January 13th, just 3 months shy of his 19th birthday. We are sadly missing him, as I am sure you are missing your Hobbes. Hugs to you.
What a lovely article, thank you so much… Significant for me personally.
Hi Coreball, Merry Christmas.