“Won't you please take a picture of this?”

I looked up to see Charleen holding the white gerbera flower she had picked at the flower farm the previous day. High up on the long stalk of the flower, Randall, our pet chameleon, had clamped himself with his prickly claws. Half-raising the camera, I lowered it again with a smile and remarked, “How can I take a picture of a flower without something beautiful in the background?” And so the cover of Hurting in Hope was etched into digital memory.

The more I consider this picture, the more appropriately it frames the content of this book. It should be obvious that the three main features of this picture have at least one commonality: they have all, by now, experienced death. The flower surprised us with its longevity, yet it was the first to wither, fade and die. A few months later, Randall, the chameleon, after living with us for almost two years, suddenly became unwell and succumbed to his malady. Those two deaths were quite expected within their respective time-frames, but Charleen, I had certainly not anticipated her death quite as abrupt or soon.

There are other commonalities. Each of them served as expressions of the goodness of God. Beautiful evidences of love, straight from His masterful hands. They all share the commonality of engaging loveliness. All three bring a smile to the face and joy to the heart, stirring worship for God, their Maker. A thoughtful eye would find more commonalities for sure, but with this final observation I will relent: their deaths show that all three are temporary. Their lifespans are severely limited and there is nothing that can be done about it.

Having noticed these commonalities, one glaring dissimilarity begs attention. Only one is a living soul. Only one will live forever. Only one, though dead to this world, will never die. There is a “picture” similar to this in James 1:10-11, except that in James' picture we see a rich man and a flower, possibly growing in a grassy field. Both have the quality of life and admirable features—riches and beauty. Yet both will die. The man, however, will continue to live forever, reaping the rewards of his legal standing before God and his lifestyle.

In sorrow, it is so easy to become consumed by the loss of a person you dearly love, even to the point that you fail to notice your own face in the picture, surrounded by other dying features. The day is coming when others will look at my picture and remember the days of my life in this world. The same is true for you.