Rev. Ray and Pat Amos

Ecclesiastes 1:2 King James Bible

Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity.

A nurse had asked me to visit a patient who was dying. I found him sitting up in bed with a distant look in his eyes. He was very kind, and welcomed my intrusion. As we talked he told me of his losses: poor health had cost him his job, a home that burned, his wife had died; and now, he was near the end of life. He said, “Nothing last, nothing last!” “O yes,” I said, “Jesus is forever, and your life can be.”

We talked about Jesus, and Heaven. We prayed, and it was clear that he was depending on the Lord to get him across. (He was a believer, who just needed his faith affirmed.) I gave him a little cross; and he held it close to read the words that were engraved on it: “God Loves You.”

As I walked away from the room and looked back, he was still holding the cross tightly. The words started to sound in my soul, “In my hands no price I bring; simply to the cross I cling.” That is the good news in a world where nothing last. The writer of Ecclesiastes is right. If we think anything we have will save us, then let us join him in saying, “Vanity of Vanities, everything is vanity.”

Naked we came into this world, and none of it goes with us. Why would we want it when we consider what God has for those who believe? It takes a lot of faith to stay on the road to Heaven. We are trusting in things that we cannot see. We all need something to cling to as if our life depended on it. “I will cling to the old rugged cross, and exchange it someday for a crown.” (I really do believe that.)

Grace and Peace, Rev Ray – February 15, 2016

“Link to YouTube Video – Rock of Ages Cleft for Me.”