Framed by Death

… and the day of death than the day of birth. It is better to go to the house of mourning
than to go to the house of feasting, for this is the end of all mankind, and the living will lay it to heart. (Ecclesiastes 7:1b-2)

For all the living we do, all the days we celebrate, all the vanity and frustration we experience, life is framed by death. The writer of Hebrews echoes Solomon’s words on the end of all mankind when he says: And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment (Hebrews 9:27). Solomon says we ought to lay this truth to heart; that is, this truth should have an impact on the way we live.

This is not a call to fear death; it is a call to be prepared for it. There is a quote attributed to Saint John Chrysostom that says, “Those who fear death do not believe in the resurrection.” Death died in the resurrection. For the believer, the last day of this life is the first day of eternity in the presence of the Savior (2 Corinthians 5:8).

The challenge for us is to live every day for the last day. Not to be tending the grave or sitting on the sidelines afraid to engage in the conflict -- like the man with a single talent who decided to bury it lest something bad should happen (Matthew 25:14-30). Luke’s account of the Parable of the Talents tells us that the nobleman instructed his servants to engage in business until he returned (Luke 19:13).

To borrow the Apostles Paul’s words in 2 Timothy 4:7, we are called to fight a good fight, to run the race with patience, and to finish the course. This might seem like a daunting, or perhaps impossible, assignment. The truth is we can’t do it on our own, but we have the Spirit living within us to guide us and empower us. What a difference it will make if we rely on the Lord to order our steps (Psalm 119:133) and patiently run the race to the finish.

By Jesse Smith