(Almost) Everything Ends

In recent months, two towns in our area had landmark buildings torn down.  In Hoven, Holy Infant Hospital came down.  In Onida, the Fireside restaurant was taken down.

I’m always kind of fascinated to see a building torn down.  I don’t mean that I enjoy it.  It’s sad, really, and we’ll talk about that in a minute.  What I mean is that if I’m around, I can’t take my eyes off of it.  It’s such a sudden, shocking thing.  The day before, both of those buildings looked solid, sturdy even.  You’d have thought they’d last for decades of more.  And then, in a matter of hours, they’re gone.  It’s hard for me to believe.

As I said, I think it’s sad when a building comes down.  I know it’s just a building, but in a way it’s not.  It’s memories.  In the case of Holy Infant Hospital, children were born there.  People were made well there.  And I’m sure that in some instances people passed away there, too.  And when people passed by the hospital, those memories came back to them.  Yes, you can keep your memories, but you don’t have the building there to bring them to mind.  The reminder of those memories is gone.

The case of the Fireside is similar.  There were all kinds of celebrations held there.  People met there.  People went on dates there.  In some cases, people probably fell in love there.  People rekindled old friendships there.  There were all kinds of things that happened at the Fireside.  And again, you can keep your memories, but you don’t have the building there to bring them to mind.  The reminder of those memories is gone.  And that’s sad.

But when you think about it, it’s the way life is.  Everything has its time and everything ends.  Everything has to end sometime--otherwise nothing new would ever get started.  Things end, and that’s sad.  But then something begins, and that’s happy.  It’s true of everything.  Buildings.  Jobs.  Phases of life.  Life itself.  Even the world will end at some point.  Everything has its time, and everything ends.

Except for one thing.  God.  God is the one who never ends.  God is eternal.  God is the one who was, who is, and who is to come.  There is never a time when God was not, and there will never be a time when God is not.  It is always God’s time.  God never ends.

And you know what else will never end?  Our lives.  That is, if we believe in God and accept Jesus Christ as our Savior.  If we do that, our lives will never end.  We will receive salvation, and we will go on to eternal life in the presence of God.  And that’s definitely not sad.  That’s the happiest thing there could ever be.

It’s sad when a building comes down, but there always comes a point when a building outlives its usefulness.  It’s sad when our lives come to an end, but there always comes a point when our bodies outlive their usefulness, too.  But for Christians, when our lives end, something new gets started--eternal life in the presence of God.  And that’s happy.  In fact, that’s the ultimate happy!