The restaurant supplied the jar of bubbles and the father provided the wind. In a gentle stream soapy bubbles floated across the table toward the sweetest little girl. As she reached for them a giant one settled safely on the back of her hand. The rays of sunlight coming through the window polished its swirled reds and greens. Expressing pure glee she reached out with her other hand to stroke it and bam it was gone. It was so pretty and so ephemeral.
Jesus touched on this theme in the Sermon on the Mount. He said, “See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?” Matthew 6:28-30
When we are 10 years old a year is a lifetime. When we are 30 a year is a year. When we are 50 a year is a month. It does not take a Philadelphia lawyer to realize life is as ephemeral as a bubble sitting on the back of a little girl’s hand. Bam it is gone! And how did we live it? Did we make provision for the main event? At first I almost wrote “encore” but that was foolish. An encore comes after the main event and for us the main event is yet to come. Actually there never will be an encore because the curtain will never come down on the main event.
Written by Roger Bothwell on July 21, 2011
Spring of Life Ministry, PO Box 124, St. Helena, CA 94574
Rogerbothwell.org