A few days ago I was down in Alabama for a preachers' conference, and one of the keynotes had a Q&A session with the pastors gathered. In response to a question that I posed, the speaker made reference to a positive trend he saw among pastors, to which he added (while looking at me), "And not just pastors such as yourself, but young pastors, too."
What? I thought I was one of those young pastors! Do I really look that old? Typically I don't think of myself that way. But apparently to this speaker I did not appear to be in the category of "young pastors."
The next day, after I had flown home from the conference, I took a long walk during which I listened to a podcast sermon by Alistair Begg. His text was 1 Peter 1:24-25a:
All flesh is as grass,
and all the glory of man as the flower of the grass.
The grass withers, and the flower falls,
but the word of the Lord remains forever.
As I listened to Pastor Begg's exposition of these verses (which are a quotation from Isaiah 40:6-7), I noticed something that drove home the truth I was hearing. All along the street where I was walking, there were brown, crumpled leaves against the curb. They had fallen from the trees and had been pushed by the breeze against the concrete edging. That's my life, I thought.
Actually, that's every life. The withering grass, fading flower, and falling leaves each autumn season are intended by our Creator to remind us of how quickly we age and eventually die. Romans 1 tells us that "since the creation of the world [God's] invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that [people] are without excuse, because although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened" (vv. 20-21).
Usually when we look at creation, if we think of God at all, we think of His power, His creativity, His ability to make beautiful things. These things might come to mind especially during the autumn season as we behold the magnificent fall foliage here in New England. And certainly our minds should reflect on these wondrous attributes of God. But there is another attribute that should come to mind whenever we see the fallen leaves, and that is God's wrath against sin. Going back to the first part of the original quote in Isaiah we read:
The grass withers, the flower fades,
Because the breath of the LORD blows upon it;
Surely the people are grass.
Here God tells us that we are the grass; we are the flower. Just as God causes their death, so He causes our death. Why? Isaiah 64 gives us the answer: "But we all are like an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags; we all fade as a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away. And there is no one who calls on Your name, who stirs himself to take hold of You; For you have hidden Your face from us, and have consumed us because of our iniquities." The penalty for our sin and our failure to honor God as our Creator is death. The apostle Paul reiterates this in Romans 5:12: "Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned."
We all grow old and die because we all sin. That's the sad reality of life. But God in His mercy has not left us without hope. Going back to the passage in 1 Peter, we read:
All flesh is as grass,
and all the glory of man as the flower of the grass.
The grass withers, and the flower falls away.
But the word of the Lord endures forever.
Now this is the word which by the gospel was preached to you.
God's Word, unlike man's life, endures forever. This Word, in addition to telling us of our sin and the consequences it brings, also conveys to us the gospel - "good news" from God. What is that good news? That Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, was buried, and raised to life again the third day according to the Scriptures (1 Cor. 15:1-4). Though sin brings death, Jesus Christ brings life to all who believe in Him. Indeed, Jesus Himself said, "I am the Resurrection and the Life. He who believes in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?" (John 11:25-26).
That's the question each of us must answer. Do we believe the truth about Jesus Christ? Whether or not we do will determine our eternal destiny. "He who believes the Son has life; he who believes not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him" (John 3:36).
Dear reader, please give serious consideration to your condition before God. It is literally a matter of life and death. I urge you to receive the One who died for sinners like you and me so that we could live forever in heaven with Him. Just as Jesus lives forever forever and His Word abides forever, so will we if we put our faith in Him.