DEAD MAN STANDING

The other day I was running past a cemetery in our neighborhood and it really got me thinking. I've probably passed hundreds or thousands of these in my life without a second thought but what happened the other day for some reason was different. As I passed by, I couldn't help but stare at tombstone after tombstone and it suddenly hit me that each one represented a life just like mine. Each of those buried people were once alive and like me, grew up, probably went to school, got a job, were married, raised a family, and then eventually died. Sure everyone's story is a little different, but the reality of this thought was humbling to me. That's because there is this tendency I have, and maybe you do to, to think that I'm super important, that my life is the one that matters the most in the world, and that the things I'm doing and thinking are earth changing and have never been thought or done before. Prideful and selfish I know.

The crazy things is, if we stop to think about the millions upon millions that have lived before us and all the great men and women that currently reside six feet under, one cannot help but be humbled and feel incredibly insignificant. I realized the other day that the people in that cemetery lived amazing lives at a level of greatness I will likely never reach but even if I could, would it make any difference? What if I did become famous for doing something great one day and they buried me in a prestigious cemetery with a big headstone so that people could drive by to see where Drew was buried? It wouldn't matter because I would be no different than any other person in any other cemetery anywhere else in the world. What I do in life, the discoveries I make, the money I earn, the awards I win, and any status or reputation that I have when I die will go with me to the grave whenever that day comes. None of that stuff matters when you're dead. The worst part is, that regardless of how I live or what I accomplish in life, some twenty-four year old guy will one day run by the cemetery where I'm buried with his dog and have absolutely no idea who I am.

This makes you and I nothing more than dead men standing and it's only a matter of time until the inevitable fate of death overtakes us all. Listen to how the wise King Solomon came to this same conclusion:

"So I reflected on all this and concluded that the righteous and the wise and all they do are in God's hands, but no man knows what awaits him. All share a common destiny - the righteous and the wicked, the good and the bad, the clean and the unclean, those who do religious things and those who don't....for the same fate of death overtakes us all." - Ecc 9:1-3

There is nothing you or I can do to add days to our life. Eating our veggies and exercising can't promise that we won't drop dead to the floor at a moments notice. And the crazy thing is that really good people die unexpectedly sometimes while really bad and mean people get to live a long and prosperous life. How does that work out?

I don't know all the specifics of how God works all thing for the good of his glory (Romans 8:28) but I know that he does. I also know that when King David prayed to God, "My times are in your hands," in Psalm 31:15, that he was right. Our times and our lives are ultimately in God's hands and while we don't have any say as to how long we'll be around, we can make choices while we're here to invest in things that matter. Money, fame, and recognition have never been able to satisfy the human soul and they never will. So what should we do about all this craziness? How should we live in this world where few things really matter? Let's see again what Solomon says:

"Go eat food with gladness, and drink your wine with a joyful heart...Enjoy life with your wife whom you love, for this is the lot God has given you under the sun. Whatever your hands find to do, do it with all your might, for in the grave, where you are going, there are none of these things." -Ecc 9:7-10

To elaborate on the idea of working with all your might, Paul says in 1 Corinthians 10:31 that "whether you eat, drink or what ever you do, do it all for the glory of God."

And in Colossians 3:23, "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as if working for the Lord and not for men."

God, for some reason, has created this world and placed you and I in it. He hasn't put us here to enjoy life like a theme park where we play all the games, try all the rides and cash out on our tickets at the end for some great prize before we leave. That's just not how it works. He's put us here so that we can enjoy the life he's given us, thank him for it and tell other people about how great and glorious our God is. Investing your life in the things of this world will afford you no gain on the day that you die. On the other hand, investing in the kingdom of God by sharing with others and about the peace, hope and love that he offers will leave a mark on this world that will last for eternity. What's you motivation for living today?