Proverbs 11:7 When a wicked man dies, his hope perishes;
all he expected from his power comes to nothing.

Once again we are faced with the difference between a temporal perspective and an eternal perspective. Those who decline to follow God are focused on the here and now, but those who are committed to obedience know that this life, this world, amounts to no more than a blip on the eternal scale. The Bible mentions this in many places, even in the Old Testament before they had the clear evidence of Jesus resurrection to help them understand it. I think an important thing to remember in reading this verse is the definition of “wicked.” That doesn’t have to be the active pursuit of evil, though it certainly includes it. Rather, “being wicked” is simply relying on anything other than God. We tend to laud self-reliance, when that can be the most dangerous of all attitudes. It’s not at all that we are to be passive and dependent, it’s that we are to recognize the truth in Jesus’ statement that “Apart from Me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5) Along with that, we need to say with Paul, “I can do everything through Him who gives me strength.” (Philippians 4:13) A person who is committed and submitted to God has great assurance because he knows that God can do anything, and even use him in the process! That kind of hope and expectation does not disappear with death, as this verse points out happens for the person not following God, but rather is gloriously fulfilled in eternity.

I am reminded of something that was said by Melvin Bradshaw, a missionary to Japan who visited my father in the hospital just a day or two before the heart surgery from which he didn’t wake up. He said, “I never saw a man with more reason to live, or who was more ready to die.” That is a magnificent epitaph that I aspire to myself. I strive to plan as though I will live to 100 or beyond, but live each moment so that nothing of importance will be left undone whenever the Lord says, “OK, now.” That certainly colors what I consider to be of importance! I’m just two weeks from the start of a photo show in the City Gallery, and that has me pretty busy. However, that is of importance only to the degree that it allows me to draw people to God through my photographs and what I say about them. If I make money on the show, then praise the Lord, but that is a pretty minor consideration. I’ll be speaking at a prayer breakfast this morning, and that has as much if not more importance than the photo show. I need to keep my priorities aligned with God and allow Him to do His will in and through me on His schedule.

Father, You let me know from time to time how Your words impact people through me, even when I’m not conscious of it at the moment. Help me be totally available to You at all times, so that the works of the devil may be destroyed (1 John 3:8) and many people be set free to come into Your kingdom, for their salvation and Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!