We came out of a store today and I had to look for my car’s emblem to be sure I was getting in the right car. That would never have occurred fifty years ago when a Ford was a Ford, a Chevy a Chevy and one could never mistake a Studebaker for a Desoto. We had fins. We had two tone paint and white wall tires. The hood of a Fleetwood Cadillac looked like the flight deck on an aircraft carrier.
You know you are getting old when you pine for the “good old days” which most likely were not that good. Today’s cars are safer, more efficient, and more durable. I have over 200,000 miles on my car. That would never have happened to one of those old beautiful cars. We have cures for certain kinds of leukemia and HIV can be contained. Our children are not hiding under their school desks fearing a nuclear attack. It is true we have shootings in schools but many of those are copycat crimes inspired by the 24 hour news broadcasters who make demented people famous.
Lest I sound like a Pollyanna I know our world with terrorism is not Utopia. But, if we exclude the madness of the Middle East from the picture, things are not so horrible. Life expectancies continue to lengthen. That brings me to the life expectancies of those who accept Jesus’ gift of grace. We are talking about 90 years followed by an infinite number of zeros. If you love life you have to love those zeros. If you love Jesus it’s a done deal.
Written by Roger Bothwell on April 21, 2015
Spring of Life, PO Box 124, St. Helena, CA 94574
rogerbothwell.org