memento mori

Today we read from Ecclesiastes 7:1-9:18 in the One Year Bible. Solomon once more lays down the wisdom smack. He tells us that "sorrow is better than laughter, for sadness has a refining influence on us. A wise person thinks alot about death, while a fool thinks only about having a good time."

Just pondering those words alone without explanation is pretty profound. We have all, I think, experienced that particular sobering effect when death becomes a reality to us. When we realize that we, too, will one day shuffle off the mortal coil. The phrase, "it really makes you think," is a little of an understatement. We all consider what will happen when we draw our last breath and find out empirically what comes next, rather than just what our rational minds tell us, with or without faith.

Like most things, especially pain, it's better when we CHOOSE to experience this sudden sobriety than to have it forced on us. When we actually TAKE a moment to think about the end of this life and the beginning of the one to come... it makes us rethink our priorities.

But it's not all doom and gloom. We are Christians. We believe, first and foremost, that Jesus died and rose again from the dead, not just as a neat parlor trick, but the first of MANY who will do the same thing, us (God willing) included. When you look at the tattoo in the picture above (which I might just have to add to my collection), you'll notice that the butterfly is made up of skulls. Which seems all metal and stuff. But when you THINK about it, it's pretty profound. Death is for us just a cocoon, where we sleep for a short time before being transformed into our eternal bodies, which will live in glory forever.

So memento mori. Remember that you, too, will one day die. But don't be bummed, and don't be afraid. It's not the end of the story, it's just the preface before the first amazing chapter.

God, thanks for teaching us to memento mori.