Just recently, my five-year-old granddaughter was proudly showing me that she could snap her fingers. She asked if I could do it. I said, “Sure!” But when I tried, I realized that the arthritis in my fingers has made it very difficult for me to do so.

An idiom in our language has us say, “It’s a snap,” usually accompanied by snapping your fingers, to indicate that something is easy or effortless. I’m not sure I can use that expression any longer! When I made this discovery, this passage popped into my head:

John 21:18 “I tell you the truth, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.”

Those words were addressed to Peter after Jesus had risen from the grave and was restoring/forgiving him by telling him to “Feed my lambs.” Our Lord was pointing out that he would have difficult times ahead in this world.

The longer God gives me here on this spinning planet, the more I realize the toll sin has taken on me. Sin caused all of creation to be corrupted, and that includes you and me. It is because of sin that we age and suffer and eventually die.

Isaiah 51:6a Lift up your eyes to the heavens, look at the earth beneath; the heavens will vanish like smoke, the earth will wear out like a garment and its inhabitants die like flies.

It was because of this predicament that Jesus came. He would deal with the punishment our sins deserved. He would earn our forgiveness and assure us of a new heaven and earth for those who trust in Him. And that was God’s plan all along. In fact, the last part of that verse from Isaiah says this:

Isaiah 51:6b But my salvation will last forever, my righteousness will never fail.

That blessed assurance is mine even if I can’t snap my fingers.