The Bulletin
of the
Church of Christ at
New Georgia
Tim Johnson, editor
March 23, 2003
In
This Issue:
What
Does it Mean to be a Disciple?
By
John A. Smith
Dreaded
Death
By
Owen D. Olbricht
A Lump of Soft Clay
Pottery is a fascinating art. The ability of skilled potters to take what is essentially a pile of mud and make things that are useful or beautiful is amazing. But far more wondrous than this is what God has done in creating you and me.
Not only has the Lord molded and shaped us from dust, but He also created the dust itself out of nothing. The composition and form of our physical bodies then is God's handiwork. Isaiah states, "But now, O LORD, You are our Father; We are the clay, and You our potter; And all we are the work of Your hand" (Isaiah 64:8). In Job 10:9, Job asked the Lord to remember that "You have made me like clay." And Elihu declares "I also have been formed out of clay" (Job 33:6).
As God has had His way in forming us physically, He also desires to mold us spiritually. We are to be His new creation (cf. 2 Corinthians 5:18). Whether or not we will be is up to us. The dust from which He made our physical bodies had no choice in the matter, but the spiritual clay of the human soul is different. We can choose to be soft and malleable, or we can be hard, unyielding and inconsistent. No potter can effectively work with clay that is hard or inconsistent.
Let us determine to be clay that is workable in the hands of the Lord. Let Him have His way. Be willing to change and ready to yield. Be soft.
Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way!
Thou art the Potter, I am the clay.
Mould me and make me, after Thy will,
While I am waiting, yielded and still.
-- by Steve Klein
Of all the appointments man has to keep, death is the most certain of them all. It is the end of all living (Heb. 9:27; Eccl. 2:15, 16). Each person knows he will die, but no one knows how much longer he will live; yet all are hurriedly preparing for the uncertain - life, while few are preparing for the certain - death.
Death is near from the hour of birth. Joseph Hall observed, "Death borders upon our birth, and our cradle stands in the grave" (Epistles, Epis.2). In Essays, Montaigne wrote, "From the day of your birth you begin to die as well as to live."
This may have been what God meant when He told Adam concerning the tree of knowledge of good and evil, "Thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die" (Gen. 2:17). Physical death came to man that day, for man was the same day separated from the tree of life, the fruit that sustained physical life (Gen. 3:22).
Death, therefore, is the punishment God gave to man because of Adam's sin (I Cor. 15:22). None of us can point an accusing finger at Adam for bringing death on us through his sin, for every finger which may point at Adam is stained with guilt (Rom. 3:23).
In some cases, death may seem a blessing instead of punishment, but the tragedy and punishment of death is clearly seen when one, in the vigor of youth, is taken by its hungry clutch. When old age comes and death may seem to take one from prolonged pain, one may lose sight of the fact that the infirmity is deterioration of vigorous youth, who after the passing years, is receiving the punishment of death.
Almost all mankind views death as an enemy, a dreaded foe to flee. Although some may seek death for self, yet none can honestly desire death for a loved one. Some, who have thought they could welcome death, in those closing hours have sought to avoid their passing. Queen Elizabeth of England in despair cried out as death approached, "All my possessions for a moment of time."
Man may seek to escape that hour of punishment, but he cannot, for it is the lot of us all (Eccl. 2:14; 8:8; Josh. 23:14). Aeschylus in Niobe long ago stated, "Alone of the gods, Death leaves not gifts; no, not by sacrifice, nor by libation, canst thou aught avail with him; he hath no altar nor hath he hymn of praise; from him, alone of gods, Persuasion stands aloof." Poetically, in Fables, John Gay wrote:
"The prince, who kept the world in awe,
The judge, whose dictate fix'ed the law,
The rich, the poor, the great, the small,
Are levell'd: death confounds 'em all."
Man stands helpless before death, for it surely must come. The big question, therefore, is not whether or not one can avoid death, but whether or not one is ready to step into that door which so quickly brings one before the judgment seat of God (Heb. 9:27). Inasmuch as death may come at any hour, at any age, each person should be prepared at all times to take that lonely walk into death's corridor.
"The rising sun cannot assure
That we shall end the day,
For Death stands ready at the door
To take our lives away."
Death may come within the next hour for you. Are you ready? Are you like the rich fool (Lk. 12:16-21) - ready to live but not ready to die? The dreaded fact of life is death. One is not facing one of the basic facts of his existence if he is not preparing to die.
-- By Owen D. Olbricht