 |
| Life and Death |
We continue this week with the story of the sick man healed at the Pool of Bethesda. [John 5:1-15].Now a certain man was there who had an infirmity thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he already had been in that condition a long time, He said to him, “Do you want to be made well?” (John 5:5-6, NKJV)
Wisdom, life, and living require that we be quick to remember the things we ought to remember; [Matthew 16:5-12; 1 Samuel 17:32-37] and quick to forget the things we ought to forget. [Isaiah 43:18-21, 25; Hebrews 8:12] It is taking charge of what plays in our active and subconscious memory. For, what plays in our memory controls our life.
"Wisdom...is taking charge of what plays in our active and subconscious memory."
It is never to lose sight of our mortality. [Ecclesiastes 12:1-7; Psalm 103:14-16] For, to learn how to live is to learn how to die. And, to learn how to die is to learn how to live. “For life and death are one, even as the river and the sea are one.” (Kahlil Gibran) They are the "yin-yang" of nature. That is why in ancient Rome, a servant is tasked with reminding the victorious general of his mortality.
He whispers in his ears, “Memento mori” (Latin for “Remember that thou art a man [that you will die]”). Why? For, a man in his vanity is so quick to forget. Our memory is short, unfortunately, in the wrong way. It takes a conscious effort to right it. It takes a conscious effort to steer it in the path of life. It takes a conscious effort to steer it in the path of victory.
It takes a conscious effort to not only win the battles but also win the war of life. Memento mori...can you hear the whisper? Don’t we all need this reminder? Don't we all need to be reminded, "we are but men?" Don't we all need to be reminded, "we will one day die" (irrespective of the several kinds of research being performed otherwise)?"Man in his vanity is so quick to forgetting."
Couldn't we all do with a reminder, "we will not live forever on this side of eternity?" What kind of a person should that make of us? Do you have a picture of your dying day? Do you knowing where you are going after you die? Have you settled in your mind what you want to be remembered for? What are you doing about it?"It takes a conscious effort to steer it (our memory) in the path of victory. It takes a conscious effort to not only win the battles, but also win the war of life."
© 2017 Akin Akinbodunse
Links to Study Series:
Links to Other Resources:
No comments:
Post a Comment