Seize the Day

Several years ago there was a popular bumper sticker and t-shirt slogan the man who dies with the most toys wins. Not long after this slogan came out there followed a number of responses. One memorable response was “the man who dies with the most toys still dies”. This sentiment would connect with the writer of Ecclesiastes. The reality and finality of death is behind much of the book. There is a time for everything under heaven but the righteous and unrighteous all share a common destiny. The teacher even admonishes the reader to enjoy your time with you wife your work for you are all headed to the grave where you will not enjoy anything else. Not only is death common to all but the way to death is not a straight line. It doesn’t seem fair that some die young. When I was first out of college there was a tragedy that occurred that still unnerves me. On the highway one of those large mowers was cutting grass and one of the blades struck a stone and broke off. The broken blade went off into the highway and struck a passing car killing one of the occupants. This tragic and bizarre accident is a reminder of how fragile life is.
We all have experienced in some way this reality. You may be familiar with the fable Meeting in Samara. A man has a terrible dream where it is revealed to him that he is going to meet death in the afternoon. He wakes up terrified and tells his friend the dream. He decides to leave town. He decides to go as far away as possible to Samara. Mid morning the friend goes to the market where he bumps into death. They strike up a conversation and death tells the man he has to be going he has an appointment in Samara. This view of death that it is just a part of a person’s fate is not the full Biblical witness. Ecclesiastes is not the full picture. It is an important reminder to us about the preciousness of life, but it is incomplete.
In the New Testament we find the clear teaching that the natural death that we all will inevitably experience is not the end. For it is appointed once for man to die and then after that to face judgment (Hebrews 9:27). The major issue the teacher wrestles with is the reality of death for both the good and the bad. In fact he says it is better to be a live dog than a dead lion. In the New Testament we learn that God the Son became a man he took on flesh and lived not to be served by people but rather to serve. He came to give his life as a ransom.
In the west there are many cities that at one time were frontier forts for example Fort Worth in Texas. These forts were places that settlers were able to go settle nearby and if there was trouble they had some security. The church is one of the forts of God. An outpost to proclaim the good news that death is not the final word. That God the Son came and died that those who believe in him may be raised to new life. We are an outpost of hope and refuge in a world that desperately needs help.