“There is a time for everything and a season for every activity under heaven: a time to be born and a time to die… …a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance.” Ecclesiastes 3:1,2a, 4
Lately, conversations about death abound. Sometimes the conversations are woeful, while other times they are lighthearted. One theme that keeps resurfacing is the courage of the person facing death, facing the unknown.
As my mind spins around the sickness and the death which was (and still is) a reality for friends, I wonder… “Would I be brave enough to worship and dance in the face of the greatest and most mysterious adventure known to mankind?” “Would the time to weep be overshadowed by the desire to laugh?”
There is no way to know for certain. I can hope. I can pray. But, none of us can know how we will face death until it knocks on our door.
But, perhaps there is an indicator to how we will respond to our physical death in our daily choices. Perhaps there is a way to check our heart and prepare for that monumental moment. God calls us to die to ourselves daily.
Daily, we are asked to die to our own desires, and live as Christ.
Daily, we are asked to place someone else’s needs (or wants) above our own.
Each time we deny what we want, in respect of serving another person, we are dying to ourselves. These things are most often done without glory. Unnoticed moments of humility.
In a small way, we are rehearsing for the big moment when we will have the attention of others, so that we may travel through the season of weeping and mourning with laughter and dancing. Even humbling myself, with a spirit of laughter and joy, in the face of another’s selfish desires, is preparing me for the bigger moment when I may have to humble myself to the failings of my own body.
Today my death dance may go unnoticed. But, it is still shaping me and it is never overlooked by the One who determines my future.
5 comments
Dee Wood
June 7, 2012 at 11:01 am (UTC -7)
Love everything you write…thank you!
David Sill
June 7, 2012 at 12:06 pm (UTC -7)
Awesome post. I love the way you make things so applicable to our daily lives. You do make everyday an Adventure.
Sylvia R
June 7, 2012 at 12:10 pm (UTC -7)
Wow. Really good and true message. What more can I say?
Sylvia R recently posted..What Brother Lawrence said about “Can’t!”
Bridget Blackard
June 7, 2012 at 1:24 pm (UTC -7)
Thank you for sharing such an awesome message! I love the part about the “unnoticed moments of humility”.
Grace Kennedy
June 7, 2012 at 9:53 pm (UTC -7)
Wow, that was great sharing. The idea of death freaks almost everyone but you have made it look like something that is so normal and easy to accept. The way to be ready for that moment is to check our hearts and just be prepared for moment.
Grace Kennedy recently posted..kimkardashiantapes.org