A beautiful flower that fades

Monday, June 21, 2021

A beautiful flower that fades

Every creature is like grass, and all its beauty like the flower of the field. The grass withers and the flower falls when the wind of the Lord blows on it. Isaiah 40: 6.7

Our bodies are the work of the Creator God. Magnificent by their forms and their vitality in youth, our bodies gradually lose their qualities throughout life. We grow old and, little by little, the day comes when the strong men bow down... and those who look out of the windows are darkened, and the two leaves of the door close on the street (Ecclesiastes 12:3,4). This slow but inexorable degradation of the body is not easy to accept, especially since it is often accompanied by various sufferings. How then can we be helped on this difficult path ?

The Christian understands the cause. The degradation of our bodies was not in the divine plan, but the disobedience of Adam and Eve resulted in all mankind breaking with God ; our bodies are also affected : diseases of all kinds, infirmities, fatigue, aging and death.

Certainly our souls are saved by faith in the redemptive work of Jesus Christ, but we share in the creation which has been subjected to vanity and which sighs ; she is in labor until now ; and not only her, but also ourselves who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, we inwardly sigh, awaiting adoption, the deliverance of our body (Romans 8:20,22,23).

Understanding the cause of this degradation helps to accept its effects. But this is not enough. It is the prospect of glory that really helps us through this suffering without faltering.

The Christian knows that God's salvation is complete salvation, that is, it concerns the whole being : spirit, soul and body (1 Thessalonians 5:23). He therefore lives in the hope that his body too will be saved and transformed during the rapture of the Church (whether he is already dead or still alive). He repeats with Paul : We wait for the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior. He will transform our body of misery to conform to His glorious body through the power that He has to submit everything to His authority (Philippians 3: 20,21).

What a triumph when God removes the terrible consequences of sin that are affecting our bodies today !

Source (Pleasing the Lord)