Life Eternal

Tell me not, in mournful numbers,
Life is but an empty dream!—
For the soul is dead that slumbers,
And things are not what they seem.

Life is real! Life is earnest!
And the grave is not its goal;
Dust thou art, to dust returnest,
Was not spoken of the soul.

Longfellow wrote this verse as a part of his quest for a connection to God. He had lost two wives to untimely deaths, and longed for spiritual relief. Indeed, the poetry he wrote during the last twenty years of his life reflects this quest. These two parts from his poem A Psalm of Life indicates that in spite of the tragedies that befell him, he ultimately came to understand that life does not end at the grave.

The apostle Paul who also incurred a great deal of suffering during his life concluded the same thing. Paul wrote as he reflected on his suffering:

So we do not lose heart. Even though our outer nature is wasting away, our
inner nature is being renewed day by day. For this slight momentary affliction
is preparing us for an eternal weight of glory beyond measure, because we look
not at what can be seen but what cannot be seen; for what can be seen is
temporary, but what cannot be seen is eternal.
—2 Corinthians 4:16-18

Again, that great resurrection hymn resounds:

Lives again our glorious King, Alleluia!
Where, O death is now thy sting? Alleluia!
Once he died our souls to save, Alleluia!
Where’s thy victory, boasting grave? Alleluia!

If that is not enough, we have witnessed one of the most glorious springs in recent memory! The beauty of it has done much to release us from the sting of winter. If God has so created the world around us, how much more does our God give the gift of life and hope to his children.

Prayer
Gracious God, thank you for this day. Life is real. Life is earnest. Let your grace enter in and bring healing to whatever may sting our souls for they are yours and we are your children. Alleluia! Amen.

Mac Hamon, Senior Pastor
Castleton United Methodist Church
Indianapolis, Indiana