Billie Jean. Bad. Ben. ABC. Thriller. Whatever you thought of Michael Jackson, well, he is, gone. Our sympathy goes out to his family and friends.
It doesn't seem right to me. 50 years old. How can that be? I have already had 1 1/2 years that Michael never had.
Lord, thank you for those years. for every day that you give me to be alive in your world.
It is a beautiful day in God's world. Be sure to see the good.
It doesn't seem right to me. 50 years old. How can that be? I have already had 1 1/2 years that Michael never had.
Lord, thank you for those years. for every day that you give me to be alive in your world.
It is a beautiful day in God's world. Be sure to see the good.
2 comments:
I have been thinking a lot about death lately. I know I should keep that to myself, or say it in a more subtle way. But whatever.
I've been thinking about how it's the only guarantee in life, and how a positive acceptance of this fact can really shape the way we view the world. I say this knowing full well that most readers of this blog have probably accepted the inevitability of death far better than me. I am only now emerging from my invincibility stage (it lasted 24 years or so.)
There is another reason why I have avoided considering the certain outcome and uncertain timing of death. This is a sales pitch used far too often in the church atmosphere I grew up in. "You might die today, so you better get saved right now". I can think of far better reasons to follow Jesus.
But if I know I'm going to die, and I don't know when I'm going to die, that should change things shouldn't it? At the very least, it should make us question the things that stress us out, the things we worry over.
What will truly matter the moment after I have died?
I'll have no use for stuff or money. That's a big one. I worry about stuff and money a lot.
What about my reputation? Will it matter if people can sit around and say "he was a good man." At first, I wanted to say no. But I think it does matter, on one account -- that they know it was because of Jesus. Not so I will be well thought of, but so Jesus will be well thought of on account of me. Because if I have lived and died in such a way that makes someone think about Jesus, then I have done something eternal, even though I will never be.
Death and the afterlife are hard things to discuss sometimes. But they are at the heart of our Christian faith. One of the favorite conversations I have had with my fiance' recently is to tell her that I will be okay when I die. If I die before her, I'm sure she will be sad and lonely, but I hope she is able to temper her sadness with the assurance that in the moment of my death, I will be surrounded by the most peace, the most joy, the most rest, the most contentedness that she or I have ever known in life.
Our lives on earth matter, because that's what all we can do right now. But knowing that I don't have to fear death, and that I can tell my future wife it's okay not to fear either of our deaths, has changed my life completely. And it makes me realize that my life is so small and tiny, and that if I have the opportunity to give it up for something greater than myself, then that is good. That is far better than the comfort and stability the world has to offer, because all this will pass.
I'm not trying to preach to anyone but myself. Because I love my life as though I created it, even though I can't even remember my own birth. I truly have no idea how I got here, and yet I am so full of pride about me.
Death is humbling. Maybe that's why we are so scared of it, and fascinated by it at the same time. It brings us all to the same place, the rich and the poor, educated and unlearned, famous people and loners. And in that moment, we are all equals, with nothing to show for our lives except that which cannot die.
I pray for the wisdom to know what cannot die, and fill my life with it.
Wow! The young shepherd has wisdom far beyond his years...and what a gift for words to express himself. This blew me away!
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