Welcome to Joni and Friends. I'm Joni Eareckson Tada and I have a beautiful poem to read to you today. Picture this...
“I am standing upon the seashore. A ship at my side spreads her white sails to the morning breeze and starts for the blue ocean. She is an object of beauty and strength, and I stand and watch her until at length she hangs like a speck of white cloud just where the sea and sky come together to mingle with each other. Then someone at my side says: “There! She’s gone.”
“Gone where? Gone from my sight--that is all. She is just as large in mast and hull and spar as she was when she left my side, and just as able to bear her load of living freight to the place of destination. Her diminished size is in me, not in her; and just at the moment when someone at my side says, “There! She’s gone,” there are other eyes watching her coming, and other voices ready to take up the glad shout, there she comes!” And that, my friend, is dying!”
I hope you are touched by that poem is much as I am. And I like the title "She's Not Gone." We often say that, though, around the bed of a loved one who has passed away. We think of them as "gone" when really, they have arrived. They've stepped on Heaven's shore and are breathing in fresh, celestial air. We just can't see it... it's because they've gone from our sight.
We rarely stop to think about it, but Heaven's horizon can't be too far away for any of us – isn’t that true. And so I'm reminded of Psalm 90:12 that says, "The length of our days is in your hands, O Lord." What counts is not how long we live but how we spend those days... how we invest in eternity ... or as the poem describes, “how we bear that load of living freight to another destination." What are you and I taking to heaven with us? What treasures have you sent on ahead? -- May God give us wisdom to know how to accrue a load of living freight, as well as to understand how short and fleeting life really is, right?...
Heaven is the bottom line for us Christians. It's the endgame. It's the outcome. It's why we exercise our muscles of faith. It's the point of what we really believe. Well, you may know someone who's getting ready for heaven -- someone for whom the horizon can't be far away. Or you may know a family who recently lost a loved one. Well, I think the poem I shared today would be pretty encouraging insight for them, don’t you think? If you'd like to give it to someone, I'd be happy to send you a copy of "She's Not Gone" or you can visit my radio page today and download it for yourself. And while you're there, check out the new booklet "When Heaven Arrives." It's got lots of encouraging Scriptures to remind us of how fleeting this life really is... Scriptures that will show you how to spend your days. And I'd like to send you a copy. Just go to JoniandFriendsradio.org and you can either download the poem or click on "When Heaven Arrives." You can even call me at 1-888-522-5664. I want you to join me today in focusing not on how long we're going to live... but how we are spending those days we are living to the glory of our Savior. He's the one piloting the wheel of that ship sailing into heaven's horizon... so bless you for living in such a way – a Christ honoring way -- that delights and exalts the Father in heaven. Don’t forget to write me today at P.O. Box 3333, Agoura Hills, CA 91376
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