PRACTICING FOR ETERNITY
by Timothy Schaertel

What is this life in which we toil and strive
What is its purpose when we know we must die
All that began must come to an end
All hopes and dreams, death will condemn
But despite all this gloom be of good cheer
For death my friend is nothing to fear
There is but one hope taught in creation
A message from God through His illustration
Consider the catapillar with its tedius steps
Embracing its tomb, its end it accepts
A transformation the creator brings about
In that which goes in, resembles not that which comes out
That which was once enslaved to the earth
Now has the freed0om to fly in its new birth
Or consider the seed we bury in the ground
And how it rises to new life without a sound
A new life in a new form, reaching for the sun
Producing fruit growing from water that comes from the One
The one who created all life and sustains us through love
Feeding us with food that only comes from above
You see though our flesh will soon pass away
Our spirit remains for we are eternally made
Like the butterfly and the seed a new form we shall take
But our destiny depends on the choice that we make
To repent of our sin and receive God's gift
To live for Jesus, that we do not go a drift
For if Christ be not risen our faith is in vein
But if He's alive, then only by faith in Him can we be saved
For this truth, the apostles gave their lives
If it was not so, they would have no reason to die
He came to us to be tempted in all ways we are
To teach us how to live knowing God is not far
To conquer our foe known as sin and death
And offer us hope and peace beyond our last breath
Lord make us a people pleasing unto You, for this we yearn to be
Mold us and shape us, and grow us in faith, as we practice for eternity