Thursday, 2 May 2013

Where to from here


Where to from here

A national leader who died after suffering from cancer and being bed ridden for a long time called out in his last moments of life, ‘I don’t want to die someone please help me!’. What will you use your last breath to communicate? For many, this leader’s cry is a reality they will share with him.  If the Lord tarries, we all have to face death in due course. However, it is normal to want to live and bizarre to want to die. Wishing to be dead is a mental disorder of being suicidal. At times, we know the season[1] but the day of departure must come upon us as one of the mysteries of life. Death finds us fighting to the end. The demarcations of human life are God’s business; our business is to delay the inevitable and make the most of our lives.

We hold solemn ceremonies to send our deceased off with honor. The fact though is they will have already taken off. We conduct the ceremonies very well, even though sometimes the unexpected happens. Perhaps the casket handles break off; the base comes off or the parlor belts go loose setting the casket loose in a downward free fall to the bottom of the grave pit. Amidst all this, lingering in the minds of many is the question of where their loved ones have gone.

With that aside, the good news is you can know where you will go and how you will get there by knowing where Christ went and how he got there. Peter and the disciples asked Jesus where he was going at the end of His human life and He answered - Where I go, you cannot follow me right away; but you shall follow me later[2]. However, do not let the news of my imminent departure trouble you. Trust the Father and me. I go to prepare a place for you in my Father’s house where there are many mansions, then I will come back to fetch you so that we can be together again[3]. Until I come, follow what you know of me for I am the way the truth and the life. Moreover, love one another, which is the universal sign to all people that you are my followers[4].


[1] 2 Timothy 4:7, 8
[2] John 13:36
[3] John 14:1-2
[4] John 13:34-35; 14:6

No comments:

Post a Comment