Beginning a new year is a great time to consider how we view the world, what is central and meaningful to a purposeful life, and how we can live significantly in that dash between our birth date and death.
Here in Arlington lie ordinary women and men, many only boys. They honorably served their country, and many tragically sacrificed their lives so that others might enjoy freedom. Deserving of our respect and gratitude, they are remembered in this special way at Christmas. Unlike their simple, stark, generic tomb stones, their personal stories are varied, colorful, and mostly unknown to us. Even though they gave up dreams and loves when they died, they remind us that we the living are privileged to be still writing our stories. They demand we think about meaning and purpose of our lives.
Sometimes we fail to recoginize the commonality of our humanity. Birth and death are great reminders! Regardless of our self-perceptions, we enter the world and will leave it in the same way we arrived, a fact lamented by Job, Kings David and Solomon (Job 1:21) (Psalm 49:17) (Ecclesiastes 5:15), and the Apostle Paul, who wrote to Timothy: “For we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of it.” (1 Timothy 6:7) Death is a leveling influence. The uniformity of these simple grave markers at Arlington testify to the fact that ultimately all that matters is the state of our souls. Power, status, wealth and fame are left behind; we take no treasure with us.
Although we may be courageous, generous and kind, we all share the vulnerabilities and self-centeredness which lead to flawed lives and to a world that needs redemption. We are on a very short road to eternity. That raises questions. Is life just about me, my body, my choices? Scripture indicates that life is not just about us and that God in His sovereignty and authority has persistently and lovingly given humanity guidelines for health, peace, contentment and joy. He has eternal purposes and desires for us. That is why Christ came to be “God with us” and to be “the Way” back to God by not only showing and teaching us how to live but, more importantly, by dying on the cross, shedding his blood to mend our rebellion and brokenness, and making possible forgiveness of sins and reconciliation with God when we repent and believe.
While the solemn scenes of Arlington are replete with stories of courage and valor, they also speak of war, death, and the sadness of man’s depravity. Above all, they remind us that one day God will right all wrongs. He will restore creation to its original innocence, but until then, Christ has come to solve our moral and mortal dilemmas. God’s perfect redemptive plan promises that those who have faith, those who believe and trust will discover forgiveness and everlasting life (John3:16). No longer condemned, believers are free to be who they are intended to be and live their best possible stories in relationship with God forever.
That “good news” is worth pondering as we begin another trip around the sun.
Sweet Words from Maine 