I was reading 1 Peter 1 this morning. All people are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fail, but the word of the Lord endures forever. 1 Peter 24-25 (Isaiah 40:6-8).

As I was reading the introduction to 1 Peter I couldn’t help but wonder what it must have been like to live in those times. What must it have been like to live in any time past? Do you ever wish you could go into a time machine and visit a particular time in history? Would it be different from how we read about it?

All people are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field…the grass withers and the flowers fail…kind of like our echos of history. Peter lived over 2,000 years ago and his life withered in the course of all things just as we will, yet, what he learned from Jesus and from the Holy Spirit lives on in the pages of our Bible, like a map.

In nearing the end of my 60th decade, I can see things in a perspective I could not have appreciated in my 30’s or even my 40’s and certainly not in my teens or childhood. I see and feel my body aging and contemplate the grass and flowers so beautiful in their time and yet fading inevitably.

The amazing thing is that even though my body may be aging and I have the perspective of remembering vaguely what it felt like to wake up in the morning ready to go anticipating what adventures lay ahead…I can feel like that today when I open my Bible and with God’s help read His Scriptures anew. I feel like that kid who packed their camp clothes and eagerly arrived at camp full of expectation of the new adventures that would be so fun and memorable.

Scriptures are a map that unlock amazing truths. They give perspective. The grass withers and the flowers fail, but the word of the Lord endures forever. The excitement of learning from the Lord endures forever as we open our maps and find that joy that only He can give. I’m as excited as that kid ready to go and find fun and new experiences. Think of all He created! How can God who created such wonders be anything but exciting?