Saturday, January 14, 2006

Daily Thots: Die, die lah! So what?

In case you think some Ah Beng or Ah Lian spouted that, well, Queen Esther in the Bible actually said that, minus the Singlish of course. Esther 4:16 "... if I perish, I perish!"

Shadrach, Meshach & Abed-nego (no, these are not The Three Amigos, but King Nebuchadnezzar thought the furnace would have turned them into The Three Charcoals [note the extra black fonts]) said something similar in Daniel 3:17-18 If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up."

The apostle Paul even sounded optimistic when he said Philippians 1:21 "For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain."

And Jesus Himself implies that it's actually good to die, when said in John 12:24-25 "I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life."

Hey, what's this morbid talk about dying? Are we advocating reckless living or suicide here? Shouldn't this article be banned?

No, God forbid, and it won't be banned because it's not evil, like chewing gum;)

On the contrary, I think it's healthy to talk about dying. Death, like sex, is taboo and seldom discussed at home or in school, although nowadays, the schools are trying to do better in the latter. It's puzzling to see something as absolute as death swept under the carpet, so that most grow up not thinking about death until someone in the family passes on. It's like not preparing for a major exam until the day of the exam (did some Singaporean mother say "God forbid"?).

Well, at least for the exam, if you fail, you can attempt the paper again, and even if you flunk for good, there are other alternatives (like maybe take part in Singapore Idol). In death, there's no RE paper for you to take. You get only one attempt at only one question with only 2 answers to choose from (not like some mind-blowing multiple choice questions that have more than one possible answers, or a choice that says "All of the above" or "None of the above").

That question is: Do you know Jesus?

If you pass, you have just secured yourself a direct admission (not whole-day but whole-life) ticket to God's theme park in heaven. That's why Esther, Shadrach, Meshach & Abed-nego, the apostle Paul, Jesus, and many others look beyond death with certainty and hope.

If you fail, you take the elevator that has buttons which read B1, B2, B3, B4 ... B tormented forever.

Matthew 10:28 says "Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell."

Take death seriously, start planning today what answer you can give God on the day of your exam. It's your choice, and you can only choose once.

May God bless you,

Thomas
Category: cf_tht, sounding board

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