One of my favorite scripture texts is 2 Corinthians 5:17: “So then, if anyone is in Christ, that person is part of the new creation. The old things have gone away, and look, new things have arrived!”

When John Quincy Adams turned 80, he was walking down a street in the heart of Boston. He was approached by a young man who asked, “How is John Quincy Adams this morning?”

The old man turned slowly and said, “Fine, Son, fine. The old house that John Quincy has been living in is not so good. The underpinning is about to go. The thatch is gone from the roof. The windows are so dim that John Quincy can hardly see out anymore. It would not surprise me if before winter is over he had to move out. But for John Quincy Adams, he never was better. Never was better.”

The real John Quincy Adams was not just a body. He was more. He was all that he had constructed and crafted his life to be. He was spirit, personality, and soul. For him death was moving day.

Erma Bombeck, when asked about judgement at the end of her life, said, “When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, ‘I used everything you gave me.’”

All to Jesus I surrender; all to him I freely give; I will ever love and trust him, in his presence daily live. All to Jesus I surrender; Lord, I give myself to thee; fill me with thy love and power; let thy blessing fall on me. I surrender all, I surrender all, all to thee, my blessed Savior, I surrender all. — Judson W. Van DeVenter

Prayer for the Day