Lord, you have been our dwelling place in all generations. 2 Before the mountains were
brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting
to everlasting you are God. 3
You return man to dust and say, "Return, O children of man!" 4 For a thousand years in your
sight are but as yesterday when it is past, or as, a watch in the night. 5 You sweep them away as with a
flood; they are like a dream, like grass that is renewed in the morning: 6 in the morning it flourishes and
is renewed; in the evening it fades and withers. 7 For we are brought to an end by
your anger; by your wrath we are dismayed.
8 You have set our iniquities before you, our secret sins in
the light of your presence. 9
For all our days pass away under your wrath; we bring our years to an end like
a sigh. 10 The years of our
life are seventy, or even by reason of strength eighty; yet their span is but
toil and trouble; they are soon gone, and we fly away. 11 Who considers the power of your
anger, and your wrath according to the fear of you? 12 So teach us to number our days
that we may get a heart of wisdom." Psalm 90:1-12
The past ten days I was involved in a motorscooter accident, that should have either killed me or left in a coma, and my dear father, Colonel Don Robison, suddenly died three days later. I have been deeply reflective on the fact that last Monday was my father's last day on earth. Ten days ago could have been my last day on earth, but here I am writing this blog, a little beat up and bruised, but alive.
I am thankful that my father lived a long life of almost 84 years. It was his time to go. Spurgeon has given me great comfort in what he wrote about the loss of a loved one:
Suppose you are a gardener employed by
another. It is not your garden, but you are called upon to tend it. You come
one morning into the garden, and you find that the best rose has been taken
away. You are angry. You go to your fellow servants and charge them with having
taken the rose. They declare that they had nothing to do with it, and one says,
"I saw the master walking here this morning; I think he took it." Is
the gardener angry then? No, at once he says, "I am happy that my rose should
have been so fair as to attract the attention of the master. It is his own. He
has taken it, let him do what seems good." It is even so with your friends. They wither
not by chance. The grave is not filled by accident. Men die according to God's
will. Your child is gone, but the Master took it. Your husband is gone, your
wife is buried—the Master took them. Thank him that he let you have the
pleasure of caring for them and tending them while they were here. And thank
him that as he gave, he himself has taken away."
My own mortality and the loss of my father has
made me realize the closeness of death like never before. Death snatches
us all. In Hebrews 9:27
we are told, “And
as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment.” In
Ecclesiastes 7:2 Solomon wrote, “For
death is the destiny of every man.”
How do you feel about your death? Are you prepared for your own inevitable last day of your life? Jonathan Edwards.lived his life by 70 resolutions to
help focus his thinking. Several were in regards to thinking about his own death:
#7 Resolved, never
to do anything which I would be afraid to do, if it were the last hour of my
life.
#9 Resolved, To
think much, on all occasions, of my own dying, and of the common circumstances
which attend death.
#17 Resolved, that
I will live so, as I shall wish I had done when I come to die.
#19 Resolved, Never
to do anything which I would be afraid to do, if I expected it would not be
above an hour before I should hear the last trump.
An entry in his diary reads: Monday, Feb 24, 1724. Let everything have the value now
which it will have on a sick bed; and frequently, in my pursuits, of whatever
kind, let this question come into my mind, How shall I value this on my
deathbed? “ Jonathan Edwards
lived with an awareness of his death. I’m asking myself I do this. I wonder if
you live aware of your death as well? Does this affect your daily actions?
I have had a
reality check, that has caused me to do some real thinking about my life. Listen to the insight God gave to Moses. Standing on THE SHORES OF THE Jordan
River. Moses looks over the Promised Land and cries “Lord teach us to number
our days!” “Let me be aware of the limitations of my life. Let me have a
outlook on my death and my life. Let me remember.
"Happy is he that always has the hour of death before his eyes,
and daily prepares himself to die." Thomas A. Kempis
“Teach
us to number our days” Moses paints a picture
of life being like a book. Each day is a new page. Each night another page is
turned. We don’t know when the final page will be turned. Moses says, “You return man to dust and
say, "Return, O children of man!... You sweep them away as with a flood;
they are like a dream, like grass that is renewed in the morning:in the morning
it flourishes and is renewed; in the evening it fades and withers… The years of
our life are seventy, or even by reason of strength eighty; yet their span is
but toil and trouble; they are soon gone, and we fly away." (Verses3,5-6,10) Moses concludes: “Teach
us to number our day’s.” Little children don’t number their days; they don’t think
about the reality that they will die. Most teenagers don’t either; rather they
are indestructible and immortal. When someone close to us dies we are shocked,
especially if they are our age or younger. Every day someone dies. We sneak a
peak at the obituaries, we hear the news, we see it on T.V.. Yet we still deny
it will happen to us. Though we deny it, it means nothing to it, since death
doesn’t have to ask for our permission. Death is coming and everyday is
someone’s last. In spite of the
prevalence of death, we prefer not to talk about it. Most of us recognize that
we will eventually die, but this recognition is reserved for a distant event
decades from now, not today, not this week, not this month, not this year. Death is a foreigner, not a close neighbor.
William Law wrote that
the living world's brilliance blinds us from eternity and the reality of
death. "The health of our bodies, the passions of
our minds, the noise and hurry and pleasures and business of the world, lead us
on with eyes that see not and ears that hear not."'
It is this
unexpectedness of death that should encourage us to take a second look, to
reconsider our pleasant denial, to admit that, yes, death might visit us as
early as this week. Jesus tells a story that illustrates this. Luke 12:15-21, “Then he
said to them, "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a
man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions." And he
told them this parable: "The ground of a certain rich man produced a good
crop. He thought to himself, 'What shall I do? I have no place to store my
crops.' "Then he said, 'This is what I'll do. I will tear down my barns
and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And
I'll say to myself, "You have plenty of good things laid up for many
years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry." '"But God said to
him, 'You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who
will get what you have prepared for yourself?' "This is how it will be
with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God."
General William Nelson,
a Union general in the Civil War, was consumed with the hostilities in Kentucky
when a brawl ended up in his being shot in the chest. He had faced many battles, but the fatal blow
came while he was relaxing with his men.
As such, he was caught fully unprepared.
As men ran up the stairs to help, the general had just one request:
"Send for a clergyman; I wish to be baptized." He never made time as
an adolescent or a young man and he was too busy as a general, with too many
pressing concerns. In half a second, the
general's priorities had been turned upside down. The war raged on, but suddenly his interest
had been captivated by another world.
Who cared about Robert E. Lee now?
And it was too late to bother with a doctor. Get me a clergyman! With only minutes left before he died, the
one thing he cared about was preparing for eternity. He wanted to be baptized.
Thirty minutes later he
was dead. How was this general served by the remembrance of death? Hardly at all, because he remembered it too
late. To help us avoid such a gross oversight, Thomas A Kempis urged, "Thou oughtest
so to order thyself in all thy thoughts and actions, as if today thou were
about to die. What ways shall I wish that I had taken when I am leaving this
world?"'
When
we find out we have only thirty minutes left to live, as General Nelson did, we
can't do much more than prepare our own souls.
Even worse, the moment of death could prove that our whole life has been
a lie. The thought of death came too late for the fool and the
general. Will it come too late for us?
When confronted with the reality of death, it is amazing how we begin to see
what is really important in life. That
is why young people give little thought to the significance of their lives,
while the elderly think about it all the time.
In the face of the end of life, questions about its significance loom
large. There comes a time when we stop
denying our death and start numbering our days.
Do you?
Moses goes on and writes, “that we may get a heart of wisdom.” What is a heart of wisdom? Let’s look at the
opposite. It is one who does not number his days aright. The fool who lives in
denial of death! “The heart of wisdom is
the one who lives his or her life in view of the reality of their death.” I want to challenge us to look death in the
face, to seize its reality, and make it the very tool that inspires us to live.
Deuteronomy 32:29, “If they were wise, they would
understand this; they would discern their latter end!” Psalm 39:4, “O LORD, make me know my end
and what is the measure of my days; let me know how fleeting I am!” Ecclesiastes 9:10, “ Whatever your hand finds to do, do
with all your might, for in the grave, where you are going, there is
neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom.” Ephesians 5:15-17, “See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise,
redeeming the time, because the days are evil.
Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is.”
What
happens when we reflect on our death?
1. Reflecting
on our death refocuses our perspective
Remembering my death is acting like a filter, helping me to hold onto what
is essential and to let go of what is trivial. Why let trivial things capture
our hearts? When we forget death we lose
perspective. Eternity turns everything
around. On judgement day I suspect, the
things that bother us now, that force us out of our agenda's and
schedules-taking the time to help someone, reading our bibles-will be the very
things we deem most important. We may
not remember the t.v. show we skipped, the surf session we missed to do God's
will, but in eternity we'll be so g!ad we did.
A group of 50 elderly people over
95 years old were asked one question: “If you could live your live over again,
what would you do differently?” The three most dominant answers were: I would
reflect more, I would risk more, I would do more things that would live on
after I am dead. When confronted with the reality of death, it is amazing how
we begin to see what is really important in life.
2. Reflecting on our death filters our passions
and priorities
What person in his right mind would continue contemplating an affair if he knew he
wasn't going to wake up the next morning?
What person would risk eternity in a drunken stupor? What fool would
ignore his loved ones and his God for one last night so he could make an extra
thousand bucks just before he died? "Death is the best rule which we can make for all of
our actions and undertakings.” Fenelon
When we schedule our priorities and follow our passions without regard to
eternity we are essentially looking out of the wrong end of the telescope. Instead of seeing things clearly, our vision
gets distorted. We miss the big
picture. It will cause us to continue
rebelling against God thinking later on we'll set things right, then death
comes and surprises us, because we soon forgot we were presuming.
Remember
Jonathan Edwards 17th resolution? "Resolved
that will live so, as wish I'd done when come to die." Paul exhorts Timothy in
2 Timothy 4:5-8, “But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work
of an evangelist, and discharge all the duties of your ministry. For I am already being poured out like a
drink offering, and the time has come for my departure. I have fought the good fight, I have finished
the race, and I have kept the faith. Now
there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the
righteous Judge, will award to me on that day- and not only to me, but also to
all who have longed for his appearing.”
Jesus teaches us in the parable of the talents
that each person's perspective affected how they lived. "His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful
servant You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of
many things. Come and share your
master’s happiness!” (Matthew 25:21-30) John Maxwell says, "In order
to hear well done from the Lord, we have to well do for the Lord. John Mason says, “Do today what you
would postpone until tomorrow.” The
only thing that comes to a procrastinator is death. Do it now! Start living for
God, start serving Him and His people. Find out His will and do it.
How to keep death
alive-“Remember”
When my dad died last week it reminded me in a way that nothing ever
had that one day my body, my bones will be lying in a casket. My work on earth will be done. What will matter than? What should matter now? What should matter in
the light of my future death? I would
encourage you all to remember,
1. Remember in reflecting on those who have lived
and died before you
Hebrews 12:1-4, “ Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let
us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run
with endurance the race that is set before us,
looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the
joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is
seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured from
sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or
fainthearted. In your struggle against
sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.”
We are here for such a limited time, and
it may be shorter than I think. What did
their life mean? What does my life mean?
Paul said,
Philippians 1:20-21, "It is my eager expectation and hope that I will not at all be
ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my
body, whether by life or by death. For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain."
Acts 20:24, "But I do not count
my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course
and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel
of the grace of God."
2 Timothy 4:7, "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith."
2. Remember Jesus death.
John 19:30, “ When he had received the drink, Jesus said,
"It is finished." With that, he bowed his head and gave up his
spirit.”
What is your "it"? What must you accomplish so that, like Jesus,
at the Hour of your death you can look up to heaven and say. "I've been faithful."? Thomas Kempis said, “Before
night; and when evening comes, dare not to promise thyself the next morning. Be thou therefore always in a readiness, and
so lead thy life that death may never take thee unprepared …”
3.
Remember we glorify the Lord by our death
"Truly,
truly, I say to you, when you were younger, you used to gird yourself and walk
wherever you wished; but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands and
someone else will gird you, and bring you where you do not wish to go."
Now this He said, signifying by what kind of death he would glorify God. And
when He had spoken this, He said to him, "Follow Me!" (John 21:18-19) Jesus told Peter about the fact that he would
die in his service. It was indirect, but Peter probably got the message. And
who knows what look was on Jesus' face when he said it. But such is the price
of following Jesus Christ. This isn't so different from what he predicts for
each of us. "If
anyone comes to Me, and does not hate . . . his own life, he cannot be My
disciple" (Luke 14:26). "He
who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep
it to life eternal" (John 12:25). "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up
his cross and follow Me" (Matthew 16:24). "They will put some of you to death, and you will be hated by all
because of My name" (Luke 21:16-17).
John said Peter's death was to glorify God,
"This He said, signifying by what kind of death he would glorify
God." The way John said this seems to show that he considers all our
deaths as appointed for the glory of God. The difference is: with what kind of
death will we glorify God? Are you ready
for this? Will you show God great in the way you die? Will you say like Paul, "To
live is Christ and to die is gain"? Will you call this ugly, defeated,
torturing enemy sweet names? Will the loss of all your earthly family, friends,
and possessions fade at the prospect of seeing and being with Christ?
Are you ready for the end of time? Psalm 90:12, “So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom. ” Ecclesiastes 7:2 "Death is the destiny of every man; the living should take this to
heart"
It’s
been said, “When you were born,' he said, you alone were crying and everybody
else was happy. Live your life in such a
way that when you die you alone going to be happy, leaving everybody else
crying. ? Jonathan Edwards resolved, “Resolved to
live with all my might while I live!”Are
you ready for the day of time?
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