“NOTHING LASTS FOREVER”

I am sure that we all have heard the old adage “nothing lasts forever.” While it is true, we most often relate the saying to good times. When we go on an amazing trip, and really enjoy what we do, and the experiences we have, we know it will eventually have to end. Maybe we apply it to a favorite chair or car. When it finally wears out, we know that nothing lasts forever.

On the flipside of this, we may be going through some really difficult times. We just need to remember that nothing lasts forever. It has been said that your suffering has an expiration date. The key to getting through suffering is looking forward to the time it is over. That means we need to cast our cares on the Lord and trust Him (Psalm 55:22).

In John 16, Jesus tells His Apostles that they would be put out of the synagogue and that those who would kill them would think they were serving God. Not a very positive outlook for the Apostles, however, Jesus told them to remember this so that when the time came. They would remain faithful.

Jesus then goes on to tell them that He will be returning to the Father and this fills the Apostles with grief. This is understandable. For three years these men have been together learning from Jesus and developing relationships. Jesus reminds them that this is necessary so the Holy Spirit can come. As long as Jesus was in His earthly body, He was bound by the laws of physics. He could only be in one place at one time. He also told them that there was much more they needed to know, yet at that time is beyond their understanding, however, when the Spirit came, they would be led into all truth.

The Apostles then became confused when Jesus spoke of His crucifixion and resurrection. They asked what Jesus meant when He said, “In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me” (John 16:17). Jesus said the disciples would mourn His death because they had not yet quite understood the mission of Jesus. Then He told them that their mourning would turn into rejoicing when they saw Him alive. One clear example of this is when Jesus spoke with Cleopas and his companion on the road to Emmaus. They were mourning the loss and lamenting the fact that they thought Jesus was the one, but now He was dead. That is until Jesus revealed Himself to them and they became so excited, they travelled the 7 miles back to Jerusalem to spread the good news! (See Luke 24:13-35)

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Jesus went on to tell His disciples that they would be scattered. Jesus did not want His disciples to be shaken by what was to come in the future. After the Day of Pentecost, the disciples spoke with boldness and did not fear persecution. They knew the promise of spending eternity with Jesus in heaven. They knew their suffering would not last forever.

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“Nothing lasts forever,” like all idioms, has its exceptions. Our soul is eternal and lasts forever. God has given us a choice where we would like to spend eternity, We can follow the path of righteousness to eternal life or we follow the path to eternal punishment, the choice is ours. Remember, eternity does last forever!

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Read John 16:17-33