And The Living Take It To Heart

"How dieth the wise man?" Eccl.2:16

The answer is sobering, but true. The good and evil alike must undergo the Mortician's scaffle, and be pumpt with the embalmer's fluid. They two will lay in the cool, dim parlor until their date with the grave. The preacher will recite good and comforting words over each, easing the pain of their loved ones. Yes. They two will die alike. One death but two exits. Two men, two sides, two lives; one death, two exits.

It is the fact of death we have in common with the wicked. Our exits, however are two very different stories. Not only so, but are also two different worlds. One is eternal life, the other is eternal damnation.

Eternal life or eternal damnation. Which one will be the end of your story?


Seasons of Death
"...a time to die..." Eccl. 3:2.

When will I go?
Unless we are living during the time of the rapture; like birth, death is a part of our destiny. We don't get to ask: When will I be born? We do, however get to ponder about the time of our departure. While some dodge the very thought of death and dying, others claim to know the day and hour of it.

Each have their own ideas about death, and each deal with it their own way. Weather it be a loved one's or their own. One thing is for sure, it runs true throughout the Bible and our lives; death will come.

Miracle in the Dust
"...all turn to dust again." Eccl.3:20

Only in death or the fact of death does man have no preeminence above a beast (see v.19).

Dust. The stuff we were made out of. Just within this one thought; the fact that we were made out of dust, lies a miracle! Our emphasis as a child of God is not to be on the dust, rather it should be on the miracle that came out of it. Also our emphasis is not to be on the fact that to dust we shall return, but on the glorious fact that our immortal souls will return to God who gave it.

Our focus then, is not on the temporal, or as St.Paul puts it: "our earthly house of this tabernacle", but on the eternal, again quoting Paul: "...a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens (2 Cor.5:1)."
C.S. Lewis once said that there are no ordinary people.

At this very moment, my mind is flooding with memories of people who had a real impact on my life, as well as those who are right now. Perhaps they have forgotten the things that they've said or did that influinced me so, but I havn't.

In the hands of our loving Creator, we are nothing less than a miracle. The writer of the book of Hebrews saw no ordinary men or women. He saw Heroes. When was the last time you looked into the mirror and saw someone who is extra-ordinary? In a small yet profound way, one particular man who had a impact on my life and ministry was old Brother worsham. He didn't know it, but God used him to point me in the right direction, to heed my call to the ministry.

We must be willing to perceive the miracle in the dust.