Several years ago, I sat in a living room with a dear old sister in Christ and several preaching students. We were in Mulberry, Arkansas on an evangelistic campaign. We knocked on the door of an elderly lady and were unaware she was a member of the church. It was raining off and on that day, and when she saw us standing on her doorstep damp and tired, she invited us in to warm up.After we got acquainted, she began to talk about a favorite pair of shoes she had gotten years and years ago. She wore those shoes everywhere. After awhile, she told us, those shoes started to wear out. Fortunately, there was a person in town who was good at repairing shoes. She went to his place of business to repair her shoes, and they were as good as new.
She told us that it was inevitable that the shoes would wear out again. She had to get new soles and new heels several times. The shoes started to look worn after awhile, and everyone could see it. She can't get out with those shoes much any more. They just don't make the trip like they used to.
As she continued to talk about her shoes, she told us that as good as the repairman was, he could not repair the shoes like new anymore. He could patch them up, but they were not like they used to be. The day would come when he simply would not be able to patch the shoes up anymore.
At this point, we began to perceive she was not talking about the type of shoes you put on your feet. She was talking about her body, which had been around for nearly ninety years. As she spoke about getting her new pair of shoes, she had a twinkle in her eye. She told us to take good care of the shoes God has given us so we can serve him better. They will still wear out and die, but God will give us new ones.
After we visited a bit longer, we expressed out appreciation and stepped back outside. The rain had stopped and the sun was beginning to peek out from behind the clouds. I began to imagine the clouds filled with the glory of Christ when he returns in them. When that happens we will be issued our new shoes.
"So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown a perishable body, it is raised an imperishable body; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body … I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. … "Death is swallowed up in victory (1 Cor 15:42-54)."
We need to always be ready and looking for that day.