Face to Face

By David A. Sargent     Patsy Gregory and Carol-Ann Krause began writing letters to one another in 1955 when they were 12 years old.  At the time of their first letters, Gregory was living in Chorley, England, and Krause lived in Buffalo, New York.     They continued writing letters to one another, each telling the other about the events of her life.  "We would write about what happened in the day, school, anything that was going on, where we were going, who we went out with," said Gregory.     The pen pals estimate that they had each written about 400 letters to the other over a span of 68 years.  They have been lifelong friends although they had never seen one another face to face.     Recently, they finally met in person.     Gregory’s daughter contacted Krause with an idea: she wanted to surprise her mother with a trip from the U.K. to the United States for her 80th birthday to meet her friend.  Krause loved the idea.     Gregory’s family planned a 10-day trip for a visit with her friend in the States.  Last month, she made the trip from England to Krause’s home in Conway, South Carolina.  After writing letters to one another for 68 years, these two friends finally met one another face to face.     When their eyes met, each recognized the other because of the photos they had shared through the years.  During their visit, they talked and talked for hours.     Gregory said it felt familiar to be around Krause given all they shared over 68 years.  “It was just as though I had seen her last week because we’d known each other for so long,” she recalled. *     God has written a “letter” to each of us; it is the Bible, God’s Word.  In His Word, we read how God also revealed Himself to us by sending His Son to live among us for a period of time.  “The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us.  We have seen His glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14 NIV).     The Bible is all about God’s plan to save us through the gift of His Son Jesus.  The Bible can be summarized in three parts: Christ is coming (Genesis – Malachi), Christ is here (Matthew – John), and Christ is coming again (Acts – Revelation).     We may read of the life of Jesus on earth in the Gospel accounts: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.  We can “see” who God is by studying Jesus’ life, His teachings, and how He interacted with people during His earthly ministry.  We can also “see” how much God loves us when we read and understand how Jesus died on the cross for our sins so that we can be reconciled to God and become a part of His forever family (John 3:16).  Jesus’ apostles and other Spirit-guided writers of the New Testament tell us more about Jesus and His will for our lives (cf. John 20:30-31).     The Bible reveals that God will save and give eternal life to those who place their faith and trust in Jesus (Acts 16:30-31), turn from their sins in repentance (Acts 17:30-31), confess Jesus before men (Romans 10:9-10), and are baptized into Christ for the forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38).  He will continue to cleanse from sin those who continue to walk in the light of His Word (1 John 1:7-9).     And one day, when Jesus comes again, those who have accepted His offer of salvation and are ready for His return, will see Him face to face and live with Him, for eternity.              “And I shall see Him face to face,              And tell the story – Saved by grace.”                           -- Fanny J. Crosby

- David A. Sargent, minister for the Church of Christ at Creekwood in Mobile, Alabama, is also the editor of an electronic devotional entitled "Living Water." To learn more about this excellent resource contact David via their website: http://www.creekwoodcc.org * Information gleaned from “Pen pals, both 80, meet for the first time after writing letters to each other for 68 years” by Brittany Kasko of Fox News, www.foxnews.com.