Memento Mori

The title of this post is a Latin phrase.  It may not at first seem like a very uplifting one-- it means "Remember you will die."

This phrase has been a motto of the Christian faith throughout its history.  Does it sound morbid to you?  It did to me at first... but as I've been thinking about it more I think it's one of the most important thoughts that has ever been expressed.

And believe it or not, it's in the Bible.  Ecclesiastes 7:2 says "It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting, for death is the destiny of every man; the living should take this to heart."

Yeah, houses of mourning are pretty much our favorite places to be, right?  I was trying to think about what these places would be today, and what came to mind was funeral homes.  How do you feel when you go to a funeral?  I know I just want to get out of there as soon as possible most times.  If there's a choice between a funeral and a feast, I know which one I'd normally choose.

But Solomon is challenging us with something here, challenging us to deal with the real issues of this messed up world we find ourselves in.  When we're partying, we often don't have to deal with any of this-- it's like the food and drink and entertainment are specifically designed to keep us from having to think.  Actually it's not like that, it IS that in many cases.  As Solomon points out elsewhere in his book, this isn't always a bad thing-- too much thinking can be just as bad as not enough.  The lesson of the funeral, however, is said to have more lasting value.

What's the lesson?  Essentially, it's that we are all going to die.  And we don't know when-- could be tomorrow, could be fifty years from now.  As Francis Chan said in his (excellent and highly challenging) book, Crazy Love, "You might not finish this chapter."  Or this blog.  Comforting, right?

Actually, I think it is.  Here's why: something happens when we die.  You might be thinking, "we go to Heaven!" and yeah, that's obviously what we're shooting for.  (Remembering to live in the light of our future hope in heaven is really important too, but that's really a whole different post. I'm just talking about death here. Let's keep it focused on death.)

See, while our spirits are going to meet Jesus and face the last judgment, something is happening here on earth too.  The best way I can describe it is that things are ceasing to matter.  Think about it-- when you die, do you think anyone will care at all what clothes you wore, what job you had, how much money you made at it, or where you lived?  I doubt it-- they'll care about who you were, not what you did.  So all those other things will entirely cease to matter because the only person who ever really cared about them will have just left the premises.

Remembering that we will die just puts in perspective the things that are really important.  Did we live life striving to become more like Jesus and to bless those around us, both our Christian family and the lost around us?  Or were we too selfish?  As I've been thinking about this for myself, I've realized that a lot of the things I'm focused on are so dramatically self-centered that they completely lack importance.

Remembering that we might die soon provides the impetus we need to do something about this self-centeredness.  There really isn't time to deal with our own priorities and then move on to what God cares about and what will bless others.  We have to do the important things NOW.  I know I don't want to scrape my way into Heaven like someone escaping through the flames (see 1 Corinthians 3:11-16).  I want to devote my time to things that will last.

Now, obviously this mindset could lead us into frenzied panic: we have to know right now what God wants and do all of it right away with no breaks because we could die any minute!  But that isn't really the point.  I'm convinced that almost anything can have eternal value... if it's offered to the Lord.  We become more like him in our everyday work if we do it for him, in our resting if we rest in him, in our worship if our hearts are really inviting him.  We also bless our community by working, our friends and family by resting and recharging, and our God and church family by worshipping with all our hearts and inspiring others.

"So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God" --1 Corinthians 10:31

The coolest thing that's been happening in my life recently is that I've started seeing how God desires to meet me and grow me up in all these different situations.  I feel a lot of times like my thoughts and feelings are all over the map, but God pursues me in all of them.  All of these things then become windows into his love and ways to become more like him.  As I offer them to him, some he takes away, some he gives back, and some are multiplied several times over!  But all of it matters-- yet only to the extent that it stops being about me and starts being about God's plan being worked out in my life and in the lives of those he has placed around me.

So, I'm not planning on going anywhere anytime soon, but I have to remember that I will die.  I just don't want to waste my time alive on cares that will perish with me.  My life will have impact on the future only as I care about the things the eternal God has always cared about: the rescue and restoration, salvation and sanctification, of broken souls in a fallen world.  As I learn to live like this, I can be free from the stress of all my own plans and worries (which, incidentally, I don't have power to do anything about because God isn't terribly concerned about them) and begin to walk in the freedom that comes when you're working for the plans of the One who has the power.

And all that just from remembering that one unspecified day, I'll die.  Not so bad, is it?

Memento mori.