“Death is an angel sent down
from above. Sent for the buds and the flowers we love. Truly tis so for in heaven’s own way. Each soul is a flower in the
Master’s Bouquet.” (1st verse of the old hymn, The Master’s Bouquet)
Today’s editorial, the
first of a new year will be different from my usual New Year’s message.
Because sometimes recent events have a way of dictating the subject matter of a
lesson. Such is the case today. I suppose that were I to entitle this
message today, I’d call it “An Inconvenient Truth.”
The events of which I
speak are ones that occurred this past week and combined in my thoughts to talk
a bit about an inconvenient subject and draw a spiritual lesson from
them. The proverbial “angel of death” was very busy in our area last week
in that several people’s earthly lives came to an end and all of them I’m going
to cite to you came before what we’d consider to be “their time.”
I’m speaking of the
untimely deaths of the singer, Natalie Cole, and the five people killed in a
two-car collision and the passing of our Sister Conae Robertson (nee
Frisby). “Untimely” to us because of the ages of the departed and, to our
way of thinking, it occurred “before their time.” It’s this frame of
reference that brought my thoughts to our subject today.
I’ll be using a couple
of words throughout this lesson so I’d like to start off by providing you with
the definitions of those words. The word “convenient” means something
agreeable or suitable while the word “inconvenient” carries the connotation of
“inopportune” or “untimely.”
The phrase “in due season” is found in
many passages in the Bible. You’ll also find the similar phrase “in its season” on several
occasions. Of course these phrases are referring to something occurring
at the appropriate time. I believe though that many occasions
occur, shall we say, “out of season.”
Even though Solomon
tells us in Eccl. 3:2 that there is “a
time to be born and a time to die” it seems to me that many times
it comes at an inconvenient time. This is what leads me to discuss this
phenomenon in a little more depth and with a spiritual lesson in mind.
I can’t write with any
knowledge or authority about the death of Natalie Cole, nor of those poor souls
in the traffic accident. However, I believe that I can write about Conae
because I knew her and I know her family. I think that I can succinctly
sum up my knowledge of her by saying that she was a faithful Christian and a
true child of God. That she was also a faithful and beloved daughter,
wife and mother.
And, that there is no
doubt in my mind that the words the Apostle John wrote by inspiration in Rev.
14:13 apply to Sister Conae. “Blessed
are the dead who die in the Lord from now on. Blessed indeed, says the Spirit,
that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them!”
But still it’s an
“inconvenient truth” that, on many occasions, we lose our loved ones “out of
season.” That death, many times, comes at an inconvenient time. It
just doesn’t seem appropriate for parents to bury their children. So,
let’s see if we can’t use these recent tragic events to learn some spiritual
truths.
Earlier I used the
phrase “before their time” and I’ll use that thought to focus on another aspect
of truth. It’s “an inconvenient truth” that we don’t know how long our
earthly “time”
will be. For the “truth”
of this thought I’d like you to consider that “time” equals “opportunity.” And my point is, that
while we have “time”
on earth, we have “opportunity”
to prepare our soul for its reunion with God. The “inconvenient truth” of
the matter is, that death eliminates “time”
thus eliminating “opportunity.”
Solomon also said in
Eccl. 8:6 that “to every
purpose there is a time.” I would proffer to you that the number
one purpose for our “time”
should be the care and preparation of our souls. And Paul tells us in
Eph. 5:16 that we should be “redeeming
the time” we have available to us. Meaning that we should
make the best use of the opportunity to save our soul.
In furtherance of this
point, I’d like to borrow a phrase spoken by John in Rev. 1:3 where he said “for the time is at hand” and
apply it to our thought here in this way: it is only while alive that we have “time at hand” to be
obedient to the Gospel. We should “redeem
it wisely.”
Another “inconvenient
truth” is something we touched on earlier, that being the truth of not knowing
when our time on earth will expire. I cited Solomon’s words in Eccl. 8:6
on that earlier reference and now I’d like you to hear what he says in verses 7
and 8. He goes on there to tell us that no one knows what is going to
happen and that no one “has
the power to retain his spirit” when God calls it home.
Knowing this truth, it
should teach us to have our soul ready at any time and is a lesson so
meaningfully brought home to us by the life and death of Conae. Her
faithful life and unexpected death should furnish us with an excellent example
of understanding this principle. With that thought in our mind, notice another
thought penned on this subject: “Death,
the one appointment we all must keep, and which no time is set.”
Let me close our
thoughts here by reiterating that Sister Conae’s life in faith, works and love
serves as a great example for us to follow. Of course we’d like to
selfishly keep her here with us but, as Solomon so wisely told us, “no one has the power to retain their
spirit” when God calls it home.
And now, for our final
thought today, I’ll leave you with a “convenient truth” and it is one that I
hope you’ll truly understand and consider the magnitude of its message.
It was penned by John Oxenham and I quote it as our last thought.
“Death begins with life’s
first breath, and life begins at the touch of death.”
Respectfully submitted,
Ron Covey
