2456) I admit I read the obituaries each morning in the newspaper. I will gaze at each face and wonder who they were.

Sometimes I marvel at their age and read how they passed. I think about those who loved them. I can sense the pain found in the small last column of the person’s life.

It also reminds me of how much pain is in this world. Dying is a fact of life, and the good news is, it’s a fact only in this life.

In John 16:33, Jesus addresses this. It reads, I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world, you will have trouble. But take heart. I have overcome the world. (ESV)

Yes, there is a lot of pain in this life, and yet, the pain testifies of the love there was within them.

There will be a time when there will be no more pain or dying. If you have asked Jesus to come into your life as the substitute death for your sins, he will do it, and death is only the beginning of eternal life.