You never saw death.
But you seemed to see everything else very clearly.
You saw the first man.
Perhaps it was on his knee that you learned the first story: its rhythm and repetition impressing the original beauty, goodness and potential of creation into your heart and mind and soul.
As one who believed God he would have taught you the second story: senseless self-destructive rebellion overcome by a promise received by faith and sealed by a sacrifice.
Succeeding scores of years would only deepen your appreciation of these two themes: creation and redemption.
You saw fallen-ness manifesting itself by the serpent’s lineage far outnumbering your own.
Your heart was faithful and compassionate.
You proclaimed the coming of the holy ones.
You warned them of the judgement to come.
No deed, motivation or word would be left unexamined.
Through their rejection and growing depravity your words remained pure and unsilenced.
Not just once.
Not just twice.
Not on the odd occasion or season.
Continually.
Year after year. Decade after decade. Scores of years became centuries.
You didn’t step, a staccato movement of relocation.
You didn’t sprint, an explosion of energy ceasing in exhaustion.
You walked.
Steadily, continuously, consistently.
Motivated by the promise you’d learned at the beginning.
God, who sees all things, saw a testimony so faithful and consistent that He took you without death.
He adorned your testimony with evidence of faithfulness victorious over the grave.
But not your own faithfulness.
It was that upon which faith rested which spared you death.
But still they did not see.
They continued to reject the testimony that judgement would come upon those who reject the gracious provision of deliverance.
They rejected it even as they felt the rain drops fall upon their heads.
All except for one, one whom you didn’t see.
As you left this world you never doubted that he would come.
Another who would walk your walk.
Another who would know the favour of God, and demonstrate his faith in the promise and be delivered from judgement.
Being taken before you could see his birth would have been no discouragement to you.
It was just another step of faith, like all the others before it.
Just as you didn’t need to see death, you didn’t need to see him either.
mgpcpastor's blog 