The beginning of the end.

Only 20 days remain until I fly the distance between Logan and O'Hare once again. This will be the last time I fly here to there for my favorite time of the year: the beginning of the fall semester.

Senior years are always full of "last"s. I will be marking them all: the last Welcome Week, the last Women's Choir retreat, the last Missions Conference, the last Candlelight Carols, the last Founder's Week, the last Spring Tour, the last Breakfast at Night, the last piano lesson, the last final, the last day with beloved friends, the last look at campus, the last night in Chicago.

"Last"....is usually a sad thing. The last bite of ice cream, the last trip to the beach, the last day of summer. As the many generations spanned in Genesis rush by, we read that so-and-so "breathed his last".

Last makes us reminisce. Last leaves us melancholy and thoughtful. Last makes us face the onward march of time as it slips and slides through our fingers.

But even God-incarnate had a last embrace from His mother, a last day of working with Joseph as a carpenter, a last goodbye to His dear friend Lazarus, a last supper, last words, and a last look at His disciples and mother as His vision slipped into darkness and He gave up His spirit.

But at long last, the world had a Savior. He had a last day in the grave and will at last to come to take us away! There will be a day when we shed our last tear, feel our last pang of pain, commit our last sin, and spend our last day bound to weak bodies and a sin nature.

Then there will be no more "last"s.

...except One.

Revelation 1:17 "Fear not, I am the first and the last..."