This World is Not Our Eternal Home

The New Year has started off with a lot of sickness and sorrow. The viral infection that has spread throughout our congregation and community continues to plague our church family. With cold and flu-like symptoms, this upper respiratory infection hangs on like a dog to a bone. The radical temperature changes and unseasonal weather that we have been experiencing have added to the problem. It is difficult for a hand-shaking, neck-hugging bunch of Baptists to avoid spreading such illnesses, but we have all been a little more cautious in our greetings.

I also received word today that a former neighbor and long-time CBC friend, Don Orders, passed away. Don was married to Bill Hooker’s sister, Oneida. Their mother, Mrs. Ethel Hooker, lived with Don and Oneida for several years. Don was very involved with the various fund-raising events for the Cordova Community Center. He had a great love for Cordova, and was dearly loved by the residents who knew him. Our love and prayers go out to his family.

With the holidays behind them, there are also families that are left grieving the recent passing of their loved ones. There is still a huge hole in the heart of the CBC family from the death of our sweet organist, Sue Poole. The timing of her passing made it hard for her family to celebrate Christmas and grieve the loss of their matriarch. We also have other precious members who passed away in 2016, including Martha Graves and Ron Clements. The New Year is not the same for these families without their loved ones. Join me in praying for these hurting hearts to find comfort and healing.

The fact remains that sickness and death are a real part of this temporal life. God did not create this world as our eternal home. It is a place of preparation and determination. God’s perfect plan is that we might come to know Him in this life through His Son, so that we can live eternally with Him in the life to come. The faith decision we make regarding His Son, Jesus Christ, will determine where we spend eternity. We are all going to face diseases and death, but we must choose whether we pass through the portal of death to eternal life or to eternal death and eternal separation from God.

Serving in love,

Bro. Jim