Life Before Death

For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; a time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace. What gain has the worker from his toil? I have seen the business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with. He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man's heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. I perceived that there is nothing better for them than to be joyful and to do good as long as they live. (Ecclesiastes 3:1-12 ESV).

All questions at the public meeting that day were about life beyond the grave. The Master only laughed and did not give a single answer. To his disciples, who demanded to know the reason for his evasiveness, he later said, "Have you observed that it is precisely those who do not know what to do with this life who want another that will last forever?" "But is there life after death or is there not?" persisted a disciple. "Is there life before death, that is the question!" said the Master enigmatically. Diplomas or degrees never impressed the Master. He scrutinized the person, not the certificate. He was once heard to say, "When you have ears to hear a bird in song, you don't need to look at its credentials."

It is very easy to become enamored with tomorrow. Somehow it always seems to be a better choice than today. Solomon’s wisdom is so contemporary. “God has made everything beautiful in its time.” All of those opposites that he recites in the Scripture today seem so contradictory. Yet, when we understand the wonder of living life in the present instead of in the past or future, we may begin to see the marvelous truth that all things are necessary. Even when some of those things are not good things, they provide for us a backdrop of good. The real key is in continuing to press forward in our lives, trusting Him to work His grace in our lives.

A young coed had two problems common to many students: low grades and no money. She was forced to communicate both to her parents, who she knew would have trouble understanding. After considerable thought she used a creative approach to soften the blows of reality and wrote:

Dear Mom and Dad,

Just thought I'd drop you a note to clue you in on my plans. I've fallen in love with a guy named Jim. He quit high school after grade eleven to get married. About a year ago he got a divorce. We've been going steady for two months and plan to get married in the fall. Until then, I've decided to move into his apartment (I think I might be pregnant). At any rate, I dropped out of school last week, although I'd like to finish college sometime in the future.

On the next page, she continued: Mom and Dad, I just want you to know that everything I've written so far in this letter is false. NONE of it is true. But Mom and Dad, it IS true that I got a C in French and flunked Math. It IS true that I'm going to need some more money for my tuition payments.

Even bad news can sound like good news if it is seen from a certain vantagepoint. So much in life depends on "where you're coming from" as you face your circumstances. The secret in this case and in yours is perspective.