The Ticking Watch
THE TICKING WATCH
Read 1 Corinthians 15:42-45, 51.
Marina screamed and sat up in bed. She began to cry. Her parents quickly came to her bedside, and her mother held her tightly. “Won’t it ever stop?” asked Marina between sobs. “I had another nightmare about the accident when Aunt Karen died. I keep seeing the car wreck.”
“Try to remember your aunt the way she used to be—lively, loving, and beautiful,” Marina’s father suggested.
“I try,” said Marina, “but I can’t seem to remember her that way.”
“Honey, you know that Aunt Karen was a Christian,” Mom reminded her, “so she’s alive in heaven. Can you picture her there?”
Marina shook her head. “I can’t see her that way either,” she said.
“I want to show you something,” said Dad. He left the room, returning soon with a watch, which he placed in Marina’s hand.
Marina shuddered. “Oh, take Aunt Karen’s watch away,” she begged. “It’s all broken from the wreck—just like Aunt Karen.”
Father took the watch. “Yes,” he said, “like Aunt Karen. The case is scratched, and the crystal’s broken. But let’s look inside.” After some prying, Marina’s dad lifted the watch from the case. “Look. It’s still running,” he said. “Only the outside was ruined. And Aunt Karen is still living. Only the case she lived in here—her body—is dead.”
After a moment Marina looked up with a trembling smile. “Aunt Karen truly is still alive, isn’t she?” she said.
“I’ll get a new case for this watch, and you may have it as a reminder,” said Dad. “Remember, Aunt Karen will have a new body someday too.”
HOW ABOUT YOU?
Has death taken away someone you love? If you and your loved one are Christians, you’ll meet again at Christ’s return, and you’ll be together forever.
TO MEMORIZE:
Dear friends, we are already God’s children, but he has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears.
1 John 3:2
THE REAL PERSON NEVER DIES.
From the book
