Almost two weeks ago, Pauline and I heard the news that one of her sisters, Irene, has been diagnosed with breast cancer. Irene lives in Boise, Idaho, in the United States. She’s 52. She and her husband, Mike, have three children – all still quite young. Surgery was undertaken a week ago. At this stage we don’t know what the full prognosis is like.

Getting news like this makes me think about my use-by date. I remember Pauline telling me how she was once at the supermarket looking at coffee jars and checking their use-by date. It struck her that coffee jars have a more definite use-by date than we do. Sure, we can consult mortality tables to give us some idea of the use-by date of our physical bodies. But those tables, like life insurance, work on averages. They don’t tell me my own use-by date.

Thankfully, as Christians, our physical use-by date is not everything. God tells us that, one day, our physical bodies will die. From dust we came, to dust we will return. Yes, we need to exercise, eat properly and keep healthy. But no matter how well we do all that, one day, age and disease will take its toll.

But here’s the good news: the wonderful promise from God is that, through Jesus, our lives can continue beyond the physical. In this sense, eternal life begins as we get to know Jesus during our physical time on earth and extends beyond the grave. Paul says that one day, the perishable will inherit the imperishable (I Corinthians 15:50). In the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet, the dead will be raised imperishable and the mortal will put on immortality. That’s the victory in Jesus we long for.

This past couple of weeks, as we shared the news about Irene among our DG, many joined us in prayer for her. Some also fasted for her. Thank you all for that. Nevertheless, as the years go by, more and more of us will encounter our own health issues. For me, it is times like these that the assurance, comfort and hope generated by faith in Jesus makes utter and perfect sense. Truly.