"Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him." (John 12:24-26)

August 24, 2026

Dear friends,

We gathered this past Sunday in observance of the Lord's Supper and learned that a brother had just lost his father the previous evening. His father had been instrumental in his own coming to faith. At his request we sang, "It Is Well with My Soul".

Many of us, as well, have been praying for the persecuted church, especially for those in Nigeria, where in the past few years over 50,000 believers have been martyred for their faith. I looked around the chapel, where our circle of 75 or so believers seemed small by comparison.

The next hymn we sang was "For All the Saints", which includes these stanzas...

O blest communion, fellowship divine!
We feebly struggle, they in glory shine;
yet all are one in Thee, for all are Thine.
Alleluia, Alleluia!

From earth's wide bounds, from ocean's farthest coast,
through gates of pearl streams in the countless host,
in praise of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
Alleluia, Alleluia!

(Lyrics by William Walsham How, d. 1897)

It's a blessed realization to know that our circle here on earth -- a little flock which is outnumbered and beleaguered -- is yet a part of the much greater, eternal circle of God's children, marching to glory. And many are already there -- Christian parents gone ahead of us, saints who have finished their race, and martyrs finally at rest. "They in glory shine." Yes, we are here still struggling feebly, but "all are one in Thee, for all are Thine." Our little circle is but the edge of that great circle of God's kingdom! The countless host is ever just ahead of us, streaming into glory! Oh, to have eyes of faith to keep seeing and believing this!

Persecution is one of the signs that Jesus said would mark the nearness of Christ's return: "For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are but the beginning of the birth pains. Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake." (Matthew 24:7-9)

There have been more martyrs for Christ in the past few decades than in the early centuries of the church's history. I've also noted, at least from severity to population centers, the increase of earthquakes. Just this year, there have been major earthquakes in Venezuela, Japan, and Colombia. A number of websites track global earthquake activity: USGS, EarthquakeToday, and QuakeTrace. Apparently, there has not been a dramatic increase in frequency or severity, but as one site notes, "2026 has had a higher number of notable, destructive quakes than average, but this is within the normal range of natural variability. The real danger comes from where and how quakes strike, not just their magnitude."

Meanwhile we live in hope, and in expectation of the glory of God:

"For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies." (Romans 8:19-23)

Time and again, I come back to this beautiful paragraph which forms the answer to the first question of the Heidelberg Catechism of 1563. There's no better summary of our confidence than this...

Question: "What is your only comfort in life and in death?"

Answer: "That I am not my own, but belong -- body and soul, in life and in death -- to my faithful Savior Jesus Christ. He has fully paid for all my sins with his precious blood, and has set me free from the tyranny of the devil. He also watches over me in such a way that not a hair can fall from my head without the will of my Father in heaven: in fact, all things must work together for my salvation. Because I belong to him, Christ, by this Holy Spirit, assures me of eternal life and makes me wholeheartedly willing and ready from now on to live for him."

Meanwhile, we here in Blacksburg live in a community with 40,000 newly arrived college students, along with occasions to care for them, to share Christ, and to mentor those who desire to grow in him. Our church was full on Sunday, and I will also be serving as a host at Bradley Study Center near campus this fall. Please pray that we would be faithful to our ministry.

That's all for this week!

Sandy

Afterwords is an occasional newsletter on topics of interest to me (Sandy Young) since my retirement from full-time pastoral ministry. Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from The ESV Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version), copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.