[402 words]
An older man once sat in on a class in a Bible college. That day the professor asked his students to share a verse that means a great deal to them. The students were eager to oblige. They offered many great verses, rich with theological implications. When the class finished, the professor asked the visiting man if he would like to share his favorite verse. He agreed and said, “My favorite verses in the Bible are the ones that begin with the phrase, ‘and it came to pass.'” A few snickers could be heard among the prideful students so the elderly man added an additional comment.
He said, “Young men, allow me to explain why I answered as I did. You see, when I was 32, our firstborn son was killed by a drunk driver. My wife and I were devastated. We didn’t know how we would go on, but we did. At the age of 45, our daughter came home on a break from college, sat her mother and me down, and proceeded to tell us why she no longer believed in God. She told us that God was merely an invention of man intended to be a crutch for the psychologically weak, and that she wanted no part of it. We found this to be more painful than the death of our son. At the age of 55, I lost my job. Due to my age at the time, I couldn’t find a job. Everyone wanted to hire someone younger than me. Consequently we lost our home, and for six months we were forced to live in our car. Then at the age of 63, we discovered that my wife had cancer. For three years we fought that cancer as hard as we could, but my wife eventually died three years later. So you see young men, the events that have taken place in my life have caused to appreciate and love the verses that begin with the words, “and it came to pass,” for they are a reminder to me that the horrible circumstances in which we sometimes find ourselves don’t “come to stay,” they “come to pass.”
After the man finished, you could have heard a pin drop. The class was no longer snickering because they learned a valuable lesson. You’ll have many things “came to pass,” in your life, but thank God they won’t “come to stay!”
Steve Higginbotham
Karns church of Christ
Knoxville, TN