I know a man who seemed to have it all together. And I respected him. And then I saw that man becoming more and more aware of his need for more of Jesus. And I was moved. And then I saw that man humbling himself and seeking God. And I experienced a certain awe. And then I saw that man completely broken by circumstances in his life. And I wept. And then I saw that man wait on God. And I was inspired. And then I saw that man beginning to be restored. And I rejoiced. And then I saw that man choose to live the rest of his life for others. And it settled my soul. Yesterday that man, in Sri Lanka building houses for tsunami victims, had a heart attack. And how am I supposed to feel?
I got Henri Nouwen's devotional today. It's called Dying Well. David will probably recover from this heart attack. But he won't live forever. Nor will any of us. So how should we live? How should we die? Here's what Nouwen wrote:
We will all die one day. That is one of the few things we can be sure of. But will we die well? That is less certain. Dying well means dying for others, making our lives fruitful for those we leave behind. The big question, therefore, is not "What can I still do in the years I have left to live?" but "How can I prepare myself for my death so that my life can continue to bear fruit in the generations that will follow me?"
Jesus died well because through dying he sent his Spirit of Love to his friends, who with that Holy Spirit could live better lives. Can we also send the Spirit of Love to our friends when we leave them? Or are we too worried about what we can still do? Dying can become our greatest gift if we prepare ourselves to die well.
What an awesome thought. Instead of living for retirement (saving our life), we can die for others. I wrote back in January about dying to live. Henri Nouwen wrote about living to die. The truly powerful in life are the ones who have reckoned with their own death, the ones who live as if their death is sure. But the one who has overcome the world is the one who doesn't live as if he will die, but rather as if he has already died.
It strikes me whether we are looking forward or looking back, the Way of life is only seen clearly through the window of death.
1 comment:
David has died well that is why he can live well. I pray that I can do the same. He did survive this heart attack. However,if he had not survived, he was ready to go and would have left behind a great legacy.
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