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The Clock of Mortality

 


We humans have great self delusions. We live our lives as if we have infinite amount of time, putting off reconciling with a loved one, certain that there is time to say what we need to say. Part of this delusion is founded in the nature we are born with. We were meant for paradise, to live 

Forever in the Garden of our God. So we carry on in that manner, ignoring the signs of decay and requiems around us. At funerals we have a moment of reflection, a passing jolt that  time is not infinite, that death, separation will come, and then when we put away the black clothes (white & other colors in other cultures) we forget all over again. We become deluded once more that we can postpone those goodbyes, words we have left unsaid, and connections we wish to make before Christ takes us home. 


There is a movie I highly recommend, Meet Joe Black, starring Sir Anthony Hopkins and Brad Pitt. The story is Death, the Grim Reaper takes a human body(Brad Pitt) to see what life is like before he takes William “Bill” Parish who is about to turn sixty-five years old. The movie is melancholic, and the love story sub-plot between Joe Black (Death) and Bill’s daughter Susan may be jarring to the sensibilities of some Christian brothers & sisters, but the overall theme of the film is cherish those you love, leave no words unsaid, reconcile, tell people how much you love them, and live with honor, virtue, and thought of others. Bill played by the masterful Mr. Hopkins is a window into how we ought to treat the time we have left, less board meetings and more dinners with best friends and those we have deep bonds with. Because at the end of the day we will not regret the money we did not make, but the words unsaid. The moments we let slip past when we could have cherish someone, settled grievances, and told people specifically what we love about them. Too often we settle for silence, again in our self deluded hubris believing we shall have another chance to tell someone what they mean to us. Do not delay, the clock of our mortality will one-day strike midnight, and we never know when that will be. We really should heed the apostle’s words, “Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” (James 4:13-15). We are mist indeed, and we miss our opportunity to let the water of our words reach others. 


Do not take for granted this life. Do not waste the opportunities to let those you love know you love them. If there is a rift, reconcile in so much as you can, swallow your pride, and anger, because a time will come when you cannot bury the hatchet and be heard. Our days are like grains in an hour glass, we think we see it is full, but it may not be. For you no not the hour The Lord may call you as the Aerosmith song goes, “maybe tomorrow the Good Lord will take you away..” (Dream On). Amen. 










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