Take a perspective of death
[Ecclesiastes 7:2]
In this New Year 2008, I already attended the funeral twice. That's also within a week. As I attended the two funerals, I came to think about Ecclesiastes 7:2 again. As I thought about the truth that the destiny of everyone is death and the living should take this to heart, I asked myself again “How shall I live?” In particular, after I heard my third uncle pastor Andrew Kim’s doctor saying that my uncle had about two or three weeks to live, I meditated on Ecclesiastes 7:2 again. And the challenge that I got was I should live with a death perspective.
Why should we live with the death perspective? The reason is because it is beneficial to us. What are some benefits? There are several benefits, but I want to share only three.
First, when we live with the death perspective, we become more and more dependent on God because we acknowledge our inability and helplessness.
What I felt again when I attended two funerals in this New Year was the fact that we humans come from the earth and return to earth. And as James 4:14 says, I came to think again about our lives that “is a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.” In front of death, we can not help but feel incompetent and helpless. No matter how strong, no matter how famous and rich people are, before death everyone cannot but feel the inability and helplessness of human beings. Especially young people like me should go to a funeral more and more so that I can fully realize my inability and helplessness. Why should I do this? The reason is to get rid of my strength. In other words, I need to take away my strength and rely on God's strength and power.
I think we need to be humble. We need to be humble before God rather than in front of people. When we think about our coming death before God, we should not rely on our own strength but depend on God’s strength and power. We must learn through funerals that God is in control of life and death. In other words, we must learn to recognize God's sovereignty. We must acknowledge that our lives depend on the Lord. To do so, we must face ourselves in terms of death.
I personally like to sing hymn titled “Simply trusting every day”. This is verse 1 and chorus: “Simply trusting everyday, Trusting through a stormy way; Even when my faith is small, Trusting Jesus, that is all. Trusting as the moments fly, Trusting as the days go by; Trusting Him whatever befall, Trusting Jesus, that is all.” God is making how fragile my faith is through the difficulties that my beloved people are experiencing. Therefore, God is making me to depend on the Lord more and more. As the years pass, I am learning about the weakness of humanity and the strength of God by experiencing the realities of humanity, which grow old and become ill. Therefore, I would like to look back on my life with a view of death more and more.
Second, when we live with the death perspective, we pursue the eternal things rather than the temporary things.
We often say we come with empty hands and that we leave this world with empty hands. Even though we know it, we are busy trying to fill something in our hands. Then, when we participate in the funeral of our beloved, we are stimulated again little bit and think about how we should live rest of our lives in this earth. But when time passes by, we tend to forget about decisions we made after the funeral and again we make a busy life trying to grab somethings in our hands. What is the result of working hard without rest? In the end it is going to the grave with our empty hands.
At least those who believe in Jesus will look back on their lives from the point of view of death through a funeral and think about how to live for the days on this earth that God allows. In doing so, we think of things above, rather than thinking of things in the world, and we think that we should pursue eternity rather than seek temporary things. We realize that this world is not our home, and we are going to the heaven like the ancestors of faith in Hebrews chapter 11. The reason is because from the point of view of death we agree with the Word of Solomon that the things we pursue in this world are meaningless and meaningless. Also, we realize that all the temporary things will fade away and only the eternal things will remain forever. So we determine to live for the things that last forever. We live for the eternal Lord, according to His eternal Word and preach the gospel of Jesus Christ to the eternal souls with His eternal love.
I think about my death often at the beloved people’s funerals as I see the bodies of the beloved who return to the dust. And I will think about what does "the day of death is better than the day of birth" means (7:1). Furthermore, I think about what King Solomon said in Ecclesiastes 7:1 – “A good name is better than fine perfume, and the day of death better than the day of birth.” Will my beloved people around me remember my name “James Kim” as ‘a good name’? Sometimes I imagine how many people would say, ‘James Kim went to eternity after pursuing eternal things all his life’. In order to live in this world like the one who lives in the coming world, we must live with the death perspective. In other words, while living in this world with an eternal perspective, we must live for eternity.
Third, when we live with the death perspective, we can save time.
A person who lives with a view of death is a wise man. And the wise man pursues eternal things. He is very careful how he lives, not as unwise but as wise (Eph. 5:15). As an example, the wise man does not pursue debauchery like getting drunk (v. 18). It is because he knows that such a life is a foolish life (v. 17). Instead, he makes the most of every opportunity knowing that the days are evil (v. 16). Moreover, he understands what the Lord’s will is (v. 17) and tries to fulfill His will. That’s why, being filled with the Holy Spirit, he speaks to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs (v. 19). He sings and makes music in his heart to the Lord (v. 19). He always gives thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ (v. 20).
I think we are realizing that the time is passing so fast that the more we get older, the more we realize it. Of course, there are some people who are ignorant of this fact that the time is passing by so fast as they get older. How can we save the time that is flowing so quickly? I think one of the ways is to attend a funeral and think about our own death. If we are busy think that we will live forever in this earth, we should look at our life at least once by attending to our loved one's funeral. And we should think about how to live my life and how to finish it. The reason is because our funerals are not too far away.
I am already 40 years old. If the average life expectancy is 7-80, then I already lived half. Of course I do not know when God will call me to heaven. Somehow nowadays I think about the importance of living day by day. It is because no one knows tomorrow's work. Since God has allowed us to live today, we try to live today for the glory of God. And if God allows us to have tomorrow, we will live tomorrow in the same attitude as today. I don’t think it’s wise to be obsessed with the past and to worry about future too much. I think it is good to enjoy day by day in gratitude to walk with the Lord. Then I believe we can go to the Lord with thanksgiving even if we die tonight. I don’t know how many years God has left me on this earth (I do not think it is necessary to know), but I just want to pursue eternity while relying on the Lord day by day. I would like to live for the glory of God while I walk with Him and be faithful in the ministry that the Lord called me to do.
My dear Pastor Andrew Kim is now in a very weak physical condition. I think of the pastor who was hard to get up on the couch himself. In the midst of that, I recall the image when he relied on God and praised “How Great Thou Art” to God in loud voice. Though his body is very fragile, his soul is like an eagle flying toward the sky. His soul was depending on the eternal God alone when he was praising God's greatness. As I want to participate in his earnest prayer of glorifying God alone, this is what I want to confess: ‘I was to live like a dead person’. I want to live with the death perspective. To do so, I would like to take the advice from the Teacher King Solomon and go to more funerals. And I want to think about the end of life that is death as the living person when I go to the funerals. I want to feel it and experience it. And I want to write it on the tablet of my heart. And from the death perspective, I want to continue living this day, pursuing eternal life while trusting the Lord more and more. I believe that when I die, I will live forever. Amen.