The House of Mourning

We read in the Scriptures, “And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die” (Genesis 2:15-17). We all know how that turned out. Adam sinned and death has been every man’s (and woman’s) final appointment since that time. In fact, the author of Hebrews calls it just that, i.e. an appointment. He writes “it is appointed unto man once to die, but after this the judgement” (Hebrews 9:27).

Death is inevitable and yet few of us actually give it the consideration that it merits. Solomon, the Preacher of Ecclesiastes, shared this admonition. “It is better to go to the house of mourning, than to go to the house of feasting: for that is the end of all men; and the living will lay it to his heart” (Ecclesiastes 7:2). Death is all around us. We all come into close contact with it sooner or later. Solomon urges us to use the opportunity to “lay it to…heart.”

There is profit in reflecting on that encounter. That is why he tells us “it is better to go to the house of mourning.” We are to use the occasion to reflect on the solemnity of the event. Paradoxically, there is an element of both finality and eternality bound in death’s arrival. It is the final event in one’s life while at the same time it ushers its guests through the door of eternity. We shall all find ourselves standing at the door eventually. Because death is irresistibly certain each of us would do well to heed Solomon’s advice and give earnest consideration to that appointment.

Daniel Webster, a 19th century American lawyer and statesman made this pointed observation. “The most important thought that ever occupied my mind is that of my individual responsibility to God.” He clearly understood the implications of “after this the judgement.” This life is brief and just as our appointment with death is inescapable, so is that judgement. None shall escape that. Paul wrote to the believers in Rome, “So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God” (Romans 14:12; emphasis added).

We would all do well to let our hearts be stirred unto earnest contemplation by the house of mourning. Death is a cruel master, but there is one who has overcome death – Jesus Christ! Our Lord suffered death on the cross for our sins, was buried, and rose again the third day. In victory He declares “I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: and whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die” (John 11:25-26). And what he said to Martha, he says to each of us today, “Believest thou this?”

Giving Thanks to God

This week we want to consider the important exercise of giving thanks to God.  I’m sure that none of us would think of ourselves as unthankful, but, really, when was the last time you bowed in prayer and thanked God specifically for something of his unfailing care and provision.  If all we can conjure up is a culturally correct prayer at mealtime, then we have grounds for earnest reflection. 

Often times, we do not offer thanksgiving because we do not “feel” thankful.  But thanksgiving does not flow out of a feeling, but rather finds its origin in a conscious recognition of benefit derived and enjoyed.  Take time to read that sentence again.  The Scriptures remind us that the LORD “daily loadeth us with benefits” (Psalm 68:19).  The words “daily” and “loadeth” are inescapably convicting and remind us of God’s unrelenting goodness and our own spiritual dullness. 

Surely, God is good, unceasingly good, and ever only good!  Our failure to note and observe his goodness is just that – our failure!  We must take note of his goodness.  David was so convinced of the importance of thanksgiving as a necessary element of worship that “he appointed certain of the Levites to minister before the ark of the LORD, and to record, and to thank and praise the LORD God of Israel” (I Chronicles 16:4).  Thanksgiving was an essential part of their liturgy.  It must be ours as well.

Is there something however small or seemingly inconsequential that refreshed your soul and brought joy to your heart?  Of a truth, it came from God.  The Scriptures declare that “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights” (James 1:17).  Perhaps, a cool breeze on a hot afternoon, a good night’s rest, or the communion of a good friend – the list is limited only by our own lack of wonder. 

We would do well to take note of his goodness and give thanks.  As the Psalmist related, “Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!  And let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving, and declare his works with rejoicing” (Psalm 107:21-22).

Conversely, Paul taught Timothy that an “unthankful” heart (among other things) would characterize those living in the last days making those days indeed “perilous times” (2 Timothy 3:1-2).  We are not surprised.  An unthankful heart is symptomatic of those who have chosen to live unto themselves declaring they have no need of God.  How foolish!  How proud!  How self-deceived!

Let us not be deceived.  God is unfailingly good because it is his nature.  He cannot be otherwise.  This goodness that flows unhindered and unceasing from his nature purposefully leads us to repentance (Romans 2:4).  This is another one of God’s good gifts, that we might know him who is the giver of life itself.  Are you thankful? 

Love Necessarily Involves Others

Paul has been providing some inspired insights to the true nature of love in action in his first epistle to the Corinthians. We arrive at “love…bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things” (I Corinthians 13:7). To truly comprehend his teaching here we must remind ourselves that love is always viewed in the context of relationship to others. Consequently, each one of these behavioral patterns that Paul commends is understood best in how it operates toward others. (I use “patterns” to emphasize that this love is not some isolated occurrence but a deliberate practice that we choose to follow consistently in our relationships.)

Love bears all things for the sake of others. To bear simply means to carry. One thing that love does is that it helps carry burdens. Paul wrote “Bear ye one another’s burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2). While we are called upon to carry our own burdens as a general rule, some burdens in life are too great to bear alone. (These kind of burdens cross each of our paths.) A financial crisis, the care of aging parents, the loss of a loved one are all burdens that each of us will likely be required to bear in our lives. Love helps carry those burdens. Sometimes with a card, sometimes with a meal, sometimes a gift of cash, caring for children to provide relief, and even mowing the grass or some other job that just needs done. (After back surgery years ago I was bedridden as you might imagine. A friend called me and “out of the blue” told me he was on his way over to mow my grass. I literally wept.) And while all these are tangible ways of helping bear a burden, we must never forget praying for one another.

Life is hard and full of hard things. Love cares and helps carry the load. Love as it shows itself in this context has one indispensable quality. It is willing to endure inconvenience. Helping to bear the burdens of another will require investment on my part. Human nature being what it is does not readily invite being inconvenienced. To love someone in this way requires an interruption to my schedule, the surrendering of my time, the yielding of my resources. That is what makes true love so necessarily divine. Many can make a one-time excursion in this arena, but to make it a pattern of life requires the grace of God!

At the very heart of this kind of love is an unselfishness that actually enters into the other person’s hardship or difficulty. It is the kind of love that Christ showed when he left heaven and inconvenienced himself to come to earth as a man that he might suffer for our sins on the cross. He saw us each in our lost estate, helpless and hell-bound, and in love died in our place at Calvary. He bore the burden of our sins, each and every one of them, before the judgment bar of heaven and redeemed us with his blood. Love bears all things!

We do not need to bear our own sin burden. Christ has borne it all. Give it to him and know the blessing and joy of his love.

The Day of Death

Solomon wrote “A good name is better than precious ointment; and the day of death than the day of one’s birth” (Ecclesiastes 7:1).  What an odd pairing it might seem at first glance of these two statements.  Yet the author has a clear truth he intends on communicating if we take the time to reflect on his assertion in the context he gives.  He follows up this statement with “It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting: for that is the end of all men; and the living will lay it to heart” (Ecc. 7:2). 

A good name speaks of reputation earned by the consistent pursuit of that which is wholesome, good, and virtuous.  Precious ointment was indicative of affluence or wealth in his culture.  Simply speaking, Solomon declares that character is more important than wealth.  But the opportunity to cultivate a good name is limited to this life for it is only at death that a good name is no longer at risk. 

We all know how easily a reputation is tarnished by some momentary indiscretion.  Solomon wrote “Dead flies cause the ointment of the apothecary to send forth a stinking savor; so does a little folly him that is in reputation for wisdom and honor” (Ecc. 10:1).  Recognizing the brevity of life and the certainty of death, Solomon is challenging his audience to number their days and with deliberation choose those paths that make for a good name.  This we learn by going to the house of mourning. 

When we go to the funeral of a friend or family member, we are confronted with death’s certainty and a wise man will learn from that experience.  We see the frailty of life and sense our own mortality.  It is a teachable moment as Solomon calls it.  We are confronted with the opportunity to weigh our own pursuits in the context of eternity and note their worth. 

Are we following after the things that make for a good name?  Do we value character over wealth and material gain?  For the Christian, the choice is simple.  But the pursuit is hard!  Yet, by the grace of God and with the light of his word to guide us, we can craft lives that are pleasing in his sight.  We can make choices that impact eternity in our otherwise brief and transient walk here on earth.   

                                    This one life will soon be past;

                                    Only what’s done for Christ will last!

The Next World

The Scriptures tell us that after Christ was raised from the dead that the Father “set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come” (Ephesians 1:20-21; emphasis added).  It is fascinating, engaging, and somewhat overwhelming to take note of the truth that there is another world yet to come!  We have only a brief exposure to it in the word of God, but there is enough there to convince us of its reality and a beauty that far surpasses our meager understanding or imagination.

One would expect it to be beyond our comprehension, and rightly so, because God himself dwells there (Revelation 21:3).  It will be characterized by righteousness because the Lord reigns there (Zechariah 14:9).  It will be a place of unsurpassable glory because God is all-glorious (Revelation 5:13).  It is a world that we aspire unto though we have not seen it. It is a place that our hearts long for because Christ himself is there and where Christ is there is righteousness, peace and joy unspeakable.  This sounds almost too good to be true were it not for the promise of Christ himself.  “I go to prepare a place for you and if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself that where I am, there ye may be also” (John 14:2-3).  Yes, friend, there is another world to come.  It is real; it is unimaginably joyful; and, it is forever!

We could spend more time filling in some gaps in our expectations about this world to come from what has been revealed to us in God’s word.  But the point of this writing it this – there is a whole new world coming after this one has expended its strength and vigor on wickedness.  Christ is coming again and when he does there will be peace and righteousness (Micah 4:3-4).  Truth and holiness will be the key characteristics of this new world order.  Note the contrast to this present world.

Our world is full of lies, unbridled wickedness (or so it seems), selfishness, hatred and every form of impurity the mind can conjure.  Would anyone debate that?  Do we really need convinced of man’s intrinsic wickedness and rebellion against God?  But when Christ comes he shall put down every resistance, silence every foe, root out and vanquish all wickedness (Revelation 19:11-21).  The inauguration of his kingdom shall be glorious indeed! Even so, not everyone will enjoy the benefits of this coming world.  It is a prepared place for a prepared people.  Only those who have washed their sins in the blood of the Lamb and are dressed in his righteousness will be able to participate.  The Apostle John tells us that “there shall in no wise enter into it anything that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie; but they which are written in the Lamb’s book of life” (Revelation 21:27).  Is your name there?

Vanity of Vanities

Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes, “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity” (Ecc. 1:3).  He wrote this from the vantage point of what he called “under the sun,” reflecting on his pursuits and relating their summation to his audience.  His pursuits, as king in Jerusalem, were limited only by his imagination.  He used his position and vast wealth to pursue whatever his heart desired, whether it was building great cities, enjoying the pleasures that life offered, or even exploring the benefits of wisdom and knowledge.  His conclusion – life’s pursuits as lived out under the sun offer no substantive value or gain.  Rather, they are fleeting and unsatisfying.

One important key to understanding the message of this inspired book is that phrase “under the sun.” The Preacher (as Solomon calls himself) sees life as the natural man sees life, i.e. human existence without the presence and overriding influence of God.  Man is born; he lives and pursues life in an unchanging and impersonal world; he strives for those things he believes will bring endurance and satisfaction; then he dies.  There is “nothing new under the sun.”  These fundamental features of life have been the same since man’s fall in the Garden of Eden. Some have more and some have less, but all die.

Life’s pursuits and achievements without God are indeed vain.  They are empty, elusive, unsatisfying and require unrelenting, tireless, repetitive labor.  These labors are for our own benefits and comforts.  Yet those benefits and comforts do not last.  We work for our food, clothing, and housing.  But food needs replenished, clothing wears out, houses need maintenance and repairs.  We hope for small vacations, escapes from the routine of our labors.  But they are just that – small.  We work hard so we can send our children to college that they might carry out these pursuits of their own, but on a grander scale.  And all the while this path is peppered with sickness, disappointments, griefs, and a myriad of other frustrations.

When sin entered the world, it brought chaos, confusion, difficulty, hardship, and consequent suffering.  Sin brings darkness for light, disorder for order, falsehood for truth, and ultimately death for life.  Truly, from this vantage point, there is nothing new under the sun.  But Christ has broken that paradigm.  He brings hope for despair, peace for anxiety, strength for trouble, and life for death – for where sin abounds grace much more abounds (Romans 5:20).  Christ brings a new covenant by which a man or woman can experience the new birth and become a new creation.  In so doing, we rise above the confines of life “under the sun” as the Preacher related to a life under the Son as Christ has promised.  He brings meaning to a life otherwise characterized as “vanity of vanities.”

Take Time to Reflect

This pandemic has been characterized often by weeks of confinement, restricted gatherings, and social isolation. This is hard on all of us to one degree or another.  After all, we are by design and nature creatures of community.  But even more so, we are creatures of activity and engagement.  The silence that accompanies our inactivity is foreign to us.  We are often not comfortable with our own thoughts.  Consequently, we wear our headsets, turn on our televisions, search the internet, and scroll through Facebook.  Busy-ness becomes us.

Yet times like these are genuinely good for us.  They teach us to wait and give opportunity to reflect earnestly on our direction, our pursuits, and our priorities.  Solomon wrote, “Ponder the path of thy feet and let all thy ways be established.”  (Proverbs 4:26)  To ponder means to think about something seriously.  Important things demand serious considerations.  The direction of our life, our pursuits in life, and the priorities we establish are important matters worthy of pondering.

But such pondering will only be as good as the value system employed to evaluate such matters.  Moses taught us that life is fleeting and, consequently, not only demands such considerations, but that such considerations require us to appeal unto true wisdom.  Listen to his inspired testimony from Psalm 90:12, “So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.”   He (Moses) acknowledges that this ability to both soberly and profitably examine our lives comes from God for he says, “teach us.”

It is God Who teaches us what things are truly worthy of our consideration and embrace.  It is God Who gives direction to our path and strength to our steps that we may pursue those things.  And, it is God Who enables us to discern our priorities among the many choices that confront us each day and to follow after them.  Conversely, many men (and women) have climbed the ladder of success as they defined success only to find their ladder was leaning against the wrong building. 

Take the opportunity that this “down” time has provided to give earnest consideration to things that really matter.  I commend to your reading as part of this endeavor the Gospel of Luke, chapter 12.  Read through it thoughtfully and reflect not only on the passage, but on your own life as well.  I leave you with these words by Christ as he concluded (what we know as) the Sermon on the Mount.  “Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock” (Matthew 7:24).  Then we shall apply our hearts unto wisdom!

The God of Peace

The unpredictability of life can oftentimes put us on “edge,” making us hesitant, cautious, and even fearful.  When we don’t know how things will turn out, our imagination, however rooted in education and experience, works to create alternate “endings” to the current chapter in our lives.  Generally, these only contribute to our angst. 

We are living in uncertain times, unpredictable times, perhaps, even dangerous times.  There seems to be little help as we survey our surroundings.  Surely, truth is a rare commodity and confusion seems to have its way with our society.  We ask ourselves where is this leading and how will it leave us.  Is instability, uncertainty, and their resulting strife and anxiety the new normal?

Augustine, one of the early church fathers, asserted that “Man shall never find rest until he rests in Jehovah.”  The plain truth is that man was made to be satisfied with God and Him alone.  In our society we have looked to our jobs, our houses, our credit scores, our families, our schools, government, and even our churches.  But, our current events highlight plainly that such things cannot bring about tranquility.  Man is incapable of creating his own peace. 

Only God gives peace.  Job tells us that “man is born unto trouble, as the sparks fly upward” (Job 5:7).  Experience teaches us that life is full of storms, but we can weather them all in quietness of soul if God is our refuge.  But to know and enjoy the peace of God, we must first have peace with God.

Since Adam fell in the Garden of Eden, man has been at war with God by virtue of his sin.  Man’s sin is an affront to a holy God.  The Psalmist relates, “For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness: neither shall evil dwell with thee” (Psalm 5:4).  But God, who is rich in mercy, sent his Son, Jesus, to redeem us from sin and reconcile us to God.  Christ did this by dying for us on the cross and shedding his blood in payment for our sin.  It is through this blood-bought redemption that we have the forgiveness of sins and, consequently, peace with God.

As we see, this peace with God comes at a great price though not a price exacted upon us, but upon God himself, i.e. the death of his Son.  His word declares, “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us…for if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life” (Romans 5:8-10).

This peace purchased by the blood of Christ is available to all, but it is only granted to them that believe. Put your faith in Christ.  Know peace with God and “the Lord of peace himself give you peace always by all means.  The Lord be with you all” (I Thessalonians 3:16).    

We Need Truth

Over 2,700 years ago Isaiah, the prophet, wrote “judgment is turned away backward, and justice standeth afar off:  for truth is fallen in the street, and equity cannot enter” (Isaiah 59:14).  The foundation of any and every civilized society is truth.  Relationships require truth to prosper and society is nothing more than the collective reflection of those relationships.  Without truth there is nothing but chaos and confusion.  Without truth we call evil good and good evil.  Without truth every man does what is right in his (or her) own eyes and we become our own judges of what is or is not truth.  That is, if it suits my purpose or interest then it is truth to me and what is truth to me may not be truth to someone else.

We need truth today as much as in any time.  It is interesting to note that Isaiah lamented the rarity of this precious commodity in his day.  Yet fallen man has always despised, rejected, and suppressed truth.  Is it any wonder that Paul declared “the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness” (Romans 1:18).  Man’s resistance to truth is rooted in his rebellion against God for God is “a God of truth” (Deuteronomy 32:4).

In spite of the willful blindness of his own heart, man is not far from truth.  Jesus Christ confessed before Pilate that “for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth” (John 18:37).  What then is the truth?  It is this – man’s sin has separated him from a holy God.  That is truth.  Christ suffered the wrath of God on the cross in full payment for that sin.  That is truth.  All who believe upon him will know the forgiveness of sin and be reconciled to God.  That is truth.  And, finally, we cannot be reconciled to one another until we are rightly reconciled to God.  That is truth.  All other truth begins and ends there.

Truth, indeed, is fallen in the street.  But, it still speaks to those who will listen for it and submit to it.  This truth is not an easy truth to embrace, but it is needful for our healing.  Just as a doctor’s unwelcome diagnosis must first be known and accepted before treatment can begin, so it is with this truth.  Listen to the God of truth for it is “impossible for God to lie” (Hebrews 6:18).  And this truth He speaks in love for our good.

The Test of a Man’s Character

Someone wisely said, “The test of a man’s character is what it takes to stop him.”  Life is full of challenges, difficulties, frustrations, disappointments, and setbacks.  Such things are woven into the fabric of our very existence.  No one is exempt from these trials and tribulations – great or small.  They inevitably, regularly, and frequently cross each one’s path.  Yet it is in how we respond to the hard things of life that makes all the difference in shaping our character and defining our success in this thing we call life.

Those who have a sense of duty to their daily walk are keen to feel the winds of resistance that color their circumstances.  Who hasn’t gotten up in the morning, dressed themselves to go to work knowing that a difficulty of some nature and degree awaits them and moved on with only a sigh?  Life is hard and it takes courage and perseverance to make something of it.  The longer we live the more we recognize that our desires are visited with disappointment, goals are aborted by our circumstances, and success as we define it seems further from our reach by the hardships we face.

Return to the opening statement.  “The test of a man’s character is what it takes to stop him.”  For the Christian, God uses all the events of our lives – both good and bad – to shape our character into that image of Jesus Christ.  His image in us is what glorifies God and is the true measure of success.  So, believer, take heart for God’s purpose in making you like unto his dear Son shall not fail.  Rather, in the often overwhelming circumstances of life, rest in this truth: “They that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk and not faint” (Isaiah 40:31).

Perhaps you do not know this God who is the sovereign God over all of life’s circumstances.  Listen to his voice as he speaks to you in the midst of your difficulties.  “Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near.  Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon” (Isaiah 55:1-2).