(by Lorie Codispoti)
Did you know that daisies have an average lifespan of seven to ten days? For those of us who enjoy them the only consolation is that these perennials will rise again next year.
The Bible compares our earthly existence to the fleeting lifespan of a flower (Psa.103:15, 1Pet.1:24). It’s “here today and gone tomorrow,” as the song goes. Compared to the vapor that James likens it to (Jms.4:14), I’d say a flower is pretty generous. (A nod to the octogenarians among us.)
What do you think about death?
Everyone has a theory on what will save them from the inevitable, but do any of their suggestions really offer a plausible solution to the problem of death? Whether you are a Christian, agnostic, atheist, pagan, or something else, you adhere to some kind of belief about death.
According to one poll, 54% of Americans said they didn’t spend much time thinking about death. But, when you consider that the stakes are eternal, maybe it would be wise to spend some time considering the location of your forever home.
Humans are eternal beings living in a temporary body.
That means that where you live now is going to change, and the last piece of real estate you will inhabit on this earth is your coffin. Think about it, because the way you live between locations is a direct reflection of what you believe.
The writer of Psalm 49 must have pondered the subject deeply. He found it interesting enough to begin his discourse with a riddle about life and death.
He interjects wisdom as he makes plain the not so easily understood enigma of death. His realistically grim picture is painted this way: “Like sheep, they are laid in the grave; death shall feed on them…” (vs.14). He’s saying that no matter who we are - wise, foolish, rich, poor - we all die. It’s the inevitable truth that looms over every human being, and none of our material wealth can be used to either ransom another’s life or buy ourselves more time.
There’s nothing we can do to save ourselves!
The mystery of death is dark and scary, but the psalmist points out the only thing that has the ability to save us when he says, “But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave, for He shall receive me.” Christians know that death is merely a portal to the afterlife. The grave is not our final destination. The incarnate Christ paid the ransom to redeem us. Through the work of the cross, He and He alone seized death’s power over us, securing the authority to control our eternal destiny.
How should we then live?
If you are a Christian then you know that we die twice. The first death awakens us to the brevity of this life and reshapes our thinking on how to live out the remainder of our days, and the closer we get to the second death the more focused we become on what really matters.
Theologian and philosopher, Francis Schaeffer, was an agnostic who was radically transformed after reading the Bible. Schaeffer’s first death changed the trajectory of his life and he spent the rest of it communicating that the way we interpret reality will determine how we live.
“I’ll be there in a minute!”
It’s the excuse we’ve all used when we’re not ready to stop doing one thing in order to comply with another.
Nobody likes to think about death, but what if your clock is wrong and all you have is a minute? With only seconds before death comes knocking at your door with an eviction notice, will you use the same excuse the rich man did in Luke twelve? Confident in all that he had amassed, he thought he had plenty of time to “eat, drink, & be merry.” God responded by calling the man a fool because he had no idea that he was going to die that very night.
I guarantee that if you had a terminal illness, thoughts of your mortality would move from the back of your mind to the forefront.
One palliative care nurse reports that all of their patients fall into one of two categories: those who focus all their energy into beating the odds of their illness, and those who opt to reflect on their lives and pour themselves into their loved ones. The thing they have in common is the sobering reminder that their clock is about to stop and their life is about to end. What they do with the time left becomes their focus.
Did you know that daisies have a mind of their own - that no matter where they are planted they bloom facing the sun?
Be that flower!
The one whose clock tells her that every second of this short life matters. The one who determines to fix her eyes on the Son, knowing that the day is coming when she will be uprooted and death will no longer be a part of life. Be the flower who is confident that the clocks in heaven measure time by the Son who promises that His flowers are neither perennial nor annual, but eternal.
Be the soul who pushes up the daisies when your grave uproots death and puts it to sleep forever.
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