For here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come (Heb

"For here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come" (Heb. 13:14). I guess this scripture fits what I feel today more than any other I can think of. After burying my beloved 17 1/2 year old Pit Bull today, I am once again starkly reminded that we do not get to stay here. None of us. Ever. We, along with every living thing on earth are born into this world only to stay for a short space, and then depart, never to return. No set time, no guarantees of any kind do we have in this life, other than the guarantee that we will most assuredly leave this life behind one day soon. My dog was one of the most incredibly powerful and handsome beasts of his size that I have ever seen. His physical prowess and mental toughness and tenacity was second to no living being that I've ever been around. He was also the most loving and affectionate dog I have ever had or seen. But I watched him grow very old, deteriorate, and finally become too exhausted and too pained to live any further. He never gave up, so I had to give it up for him. He lived a very long life, well over 100 in human years, but he did not get to stay here. Trust me friend, whatever advantages we may have going for us in this life, are going to go from us one day; if not by time, then certainly by death.

"There is no man that hath power over the spirit to retain the spirit; neither hath he power in the day of death: and there is no discharge in that war; neither shall wickedness deliver those that are given to it" (Eccl. 8:8). This life simply is not about what we can do or gain according to the manner of this world, but rather it is about what we can gain and do for the name of Jesus Christ who died for us all, and for our fellow man whom we have been appointed to be the caretaker of. When we get to the end of this earthly journey, and we most assuredly will, the only accomplishments that will amount to anything at all are the words and deeds that we have accomplished by means of "the love of God [that] is shed abroad in our hearts by the holy Ghost which is given unto us" (Rom. 5:5). That is what the harsh, abrupt reality of death reminds us of every single time we see it. That is exactly why the scriptures soberly admonish us in the matter: "It is better to go to the house of mourning, than to go to the house of feasting: for that is the end of all men; and the living will lay it to his heart. Sorrow is better than laughter: for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better. The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning; but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth" (Eccl. 7:2-4).

The heart of the wise remembers that being in this life is not about what we can gain in this world, but the heart of fools never learn that glaring truth, though it stare them in the face every hour of their lives. The heart of the wise also remembers that his time may be up in this world at any moment, and that he has no control over that fact at all. Solomon, the ancient king of Israel, gained more in this world than almost anyone in history, but the uncanny wisdom given to him by God never allowed him to be satisfied with any of it: "So I was great, and increased more than all that were before me in Jerusalem: also my wisdom remained with me... Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, and on the labour that I had laboured to do: and, behold, all was vanity and vexation of spirit, and there was no profit under the sun" (Eccl. 2:9,11). It was that same divine wisdom that also gave him the summation of what this life is all about: "Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil" (Eccl. 12:13,14). If that was his conclusion, then it is mine as well. I have nothing to add to it. God bless.