All is Well
In 1912, Captain Scott and his men, including Bull Wilson, reached the South Pole. They stopped and collected some geological samples and did a couple of things that they were supposed to do on this trip. But the conditions were really bad. The men started to get weak. Even Wilson himself had to spend a whole bunch of time tending to the men who started to get sick.
One of the five died after a nasty fall. The remaining four men carried on, but in terribly cold temperatures of up to -40 degrees Celsius, they slowed down. One by one, they became frostbitten and they eventually realized that they were not going to make it out. This was before the days of helicopters and instant communication. And on the 29th of March 1912, Captain Scott, Bill Wilson and the other men died in their tent.
Wilson’s Last Words
And during the last few days, when Wilson knew he wasn't going to make it out, he wrote a few letters to his friends. He wrote this: “I have no fear of death, only sorrow for my wife, for my dear people. Otherwise, all is well.” And in a letter to his wife, he wrote this. “Don't be unhappy. All is for the best. We are playing a good part in a great scheme arranged by God himself. And all is well.” And in his very last letter to his wife, we read these words: “We have struggled to the end and we have nothing to regret. I leave this life in absolute faith and happy belief that if God wishes you to wait long without me, it will be to some good purpose. All is for the best. To those that love God. Oh, my dear, we have both loved him with all our lives. All is well. All is well."
Death is Not the End
Those were Wilson's final written words, even as he stared death in the face. And so is it all well with you friends? Is your faith in God so deep that even when you come to the end of your life, you'll be able to lift your eyes to the heavens and say "all is well"?
I pray that you'll be reminded today that for the person who knows Christ, death is not the end. Death does not scare us because we know Him. Because we are confident that we'll meet him face to face. Death is just a new beginning. And even when our time comes, we can look to him and say “all is well”.
