1. Hope that lasts

The first hymn that was sung at Westminster Abbey was John Ellerton’s ‘The Day Thou Gavest Lord, Has Ended.’

Why do we say to each other that “nothing ever lasts forever”? It’s because the pattern of every day is hard-wired into our existence. We rise in the morning, we go about our business, and then we lie down to sleep, as another day reaches its end. And that can be frustrating, because there was so much more that we wanted to do; and it can also be depressing, because we realise that we didn’t use the time we had to best effect.

We realise, of course, that our bodies don’t last forever. They age, and waste away: and eventually, we die, which is when our ‘day’ on the earth comes to an end. That’s one reason why it was a poignant choice of hymn for the start of the funeral service. But it’s not the main reason.

What’s the main reason? Well, look at what the hymn writer does. He gets us to see each day as a gift from God. It’s God who keeps the earth spinning on its axis. In fact, as one day ends on this side of the world, another begins on the other side – the gift of a new day just keeps on coming, from the God who loves to give.

But what are some people on earth doing with their days? This hymn says that they are praying to God. and praising Him for his “wondrous doings.” Who are these people? The answer is the church: not a building like Westminster Abbey or St George’s Chapel at Windsor, but a worldwide community of people who love and trust the God of the Bible.

Why are these people minded to spend their time in prayer and praise to God? After all, there are plenty of other things they could be doing; and there’s precious little time in which to do them, before their final day comes round. Maybe you know the feeling: that there are just not enough hours in the day. Or maybe you know a different feeling: that there are plenty of hours in the day, but nothing we can do in those hours will turn back time. It can feel relentless.

Is that Christians are just blinkered to these things? Perhaps they are just very good at ‘grinning and bearing it’, as the years roll past.

I don’t think that’s the case. Look at the last verse of the hymn. These Christians around the world are praising God, even as another day ends, because they know of something that does last forever. They sing, “Lord, Thy throne shall never / Like earth’s proud empires pass away.”

Could that be true? Only if there’s an answer to death: because death comes to us all, in the end. Does Christianity have an answer to death? Yes it does. The answer is Jesus, who, died but was raised. And a resurrected king is a very good fit with an eternal kingdom.

As the Dean of Westminster said in the ‘bidding’ at the start of the funeral service, Jesus is “the resurrection and the life; in whom whosoever believeth shall live, though he die; and whosoever liveth, and believeth in him, shall not die eternally.”

That’s why Christians have joy in the hard yards. They are looking forward to being with Jesus, in a kingdom that doesn’t age and fall apart. Nothing ever lasts forever… except for the kingdom of Jesus.

Where to find it in the Bible: 1 Corinthians 15:50-58; Revelation 21:1-5