In Touch

Dear Young Disciples,

When I was a little girl, I loved to pick flowers—and I still do! As a child, I’d go out in the fields and come back with bouquets of dandelions or bachelor’s buttons, and stick them in a glass of water.

The dandelions wilted right away, of course. The bachelor’s buttons lasted a little longer, but soon they flopped over and dropped their petals.

Sometimes my grandmother let me pick the pansies and asters and zinnias in her garden; but they, too, faded after a few days.


Then, one day, my grandmother told me she had planted some “everlasting” flowers. I could hardly wait to see what they would be like. After they bloomed, Grandma picked them and carefully hung them up to dry. They kept their bright colors for months, but eventually even the “everlasting” flowers crumbled away.

That’s what things are like in this world. Even objects as strong as steel eventually disintegrate. It’s hard for us to even imagine a world where everything lasts forever.

Of course, there’s not much in this old world that we would even want to last forever. That’s why Jesus promises to make all things new.

But there is one thing we will take with us to Heaven: our characters. And that brings up a very serious question: Would you want to live with your character, the way it is right now, forever? Would I want to live with mine? If not, now’s the time to let Jesus set them right!

Your friend,