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Lessons from a Nursing Home Visit
by David Maxson
In the eleventh year, in the third month, on the first day of the month, the word of the LORD came to me: "Son of man, say to Pharaoh king of Egypt and to his multitude: "Whom are you like in your greatness? Behold, Assyria was a cedar in Lebanon, with beautiful branches and forest shade, and of towering height, its top among the clouds. The waters nourished it; the deep made it grow tall, making its rivers flow around the place of its planting, sending forth its streams to all the trees of the field. So it towered high above all the trees of the field; its boughs grew large and its branches long from abundant water in its shoots. (Ezekiel 31:1-5)
Going to a nursing home is quite an education. What you see is people who are nearing the end of their journeys. Their bodies do not possess the beauty or the strength they once had. They move slowly. They are sometimes bound to a wheelchair or to a bed. Physically, there is not anything that is impressive about the residents in a nursing home.
However, if you sit down and talk with the residents, you will find that many of them lived extraordinary lives. They were once young and vibrant. Some were athletic. Others raised large families. Still others had great influence and position. And you may find a few who possessed all of those things and more in their lifetime.
But all of that is a distant memory. Life has worn their bodies down. They may rarely see their families. Their influence has greatly diminished.
What is the lesson you learn from the nursing home? It is that whatever "great" things we do in this life are temporary. The only things we do that have any consequence are those things that are directed toward eternity. Whatever work we do for this life will quickly pass away. Whatever we invest "in the Lord" will endure forever (1 Cor 15:58).
Father, thank You for giving us an enduring hope so that our labor is not in vain. Help us to see this more clearly so that we might more fully invest ourselves in those things that are eternal.
Other Articles by David Maxson
Who Are You to Judge a Servant of Another?
How Do We Evaluate Our Entertainment Choices
Standing Up For Our Brethren
The Christian and Social Media
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