Reflections on Life

The two greatest certainties are death and the second coming of Christ. This ancient tale makes the point about death. A slave travels with his master to Baghdad. Early one morning, while milling through the market place, the slave sees Death in human form. Death gives him a threatening look. The slave recoils in terror, convinced that Death intends to take him that day. The slave runs to his master and says, “Help me. I have seen Death, and his threatening look tells me he intends to take my life this very day. I must escape him. Please, master, let me leave now and flee on camel so that by tonight I can reach Samara, where Death cannot find me.” His master agrees, and the terrified servant rides like the wind for the fifteen-hour journey to Samara. A few hours later, the master sees Death among the throngs in Baghdad. He boldly approaches Death and asks him, “Why did you give my servant a threatening look?” “That was not a threatening look,” Death replies. “That was a look of surprise. You see, I was amazed to see your servant today in Baghdad, for I have an appointment with him tonight in Samara.”

As for the second coming? Jesus, speaking to his disciples, makes the point. (John 14:3) “And if I am going away to prepare a place for you, I will come again and will welcome you into my presence, so that you may be where I am.” Whether we are rich or poor, believer or unbeliever, high or low in status, the fact remains: we all die and Jesus will return. Why do we sometimes live then as though we are invincible and we hold our future in our hands? Perhaps, men are fools. But certainly not as foolish as that?

None Are Perfect

No one is perfect. God has so ordained it, that we bear one another’s faults and burdens. For there is no one without fault or burden. Therefore, until God ordains otherwise, we should bear patiently the faults of others, whatever they may be, because we also have many faults; with which others must endure. Do not be self-sufficient but place your trust in God who helps the humble and humbles the proud. No one is perfect.

To Err is Human

Most of us have heard this before – to err is human. This quote also brings to mind a common attack on the Bible. It goes something like this – Man wrote the Bible. Man is imperfect. Therefore, the Bible is imperfect. So why should we believe the Bible? This argument is not a valid one. The issue really is whether man is responsible for the Bible or whether God worked through men and inspired the Bible. It does not follow that if man is capable of error, then he always commits errors. If that was true for the Bible then it is also the case that your argument, offered by you, a man. And if your point of view is flawed, then why should anyone believe it?

Everyone Did As He Saw Fit

What could modern day Barbados possible have in common with ancient Israel? The commonality is found in Judges 21:25, ‘In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes.’ The lawless attitude prevalent in Micah’s day also exists today in our country. With little respect for God, fellow citizen or even self; this should come as no surprise. People want to do their own thing; and they resent being told what they can or cannot do. Human opinions have usurped the law of the land, as well as God’s Word, as a guide for our lives.

We should be careful though. As Proverbs points out, human thoughts and opinions are a poor judgement of what is right. Human history is replete with examples of this lesson – people who do what is right in their own eyes, inevitably do what is evil in God’s eyes. Two kinds of people exist. Those who say to God, ‘Thy will be done.’ Then there are those who say to Him, ‘No, my will be done’. To which he says something to the effect of ‘Alright then, have it your way.’

Disregarding God’s absolute standard, in favour of humanistic wisdom (an oxymoron if ever there was one), results in chaos. It results in chaos spiritually, morally and socially. We could learn a lot from Israel’s mistakes as recorded in the book of Judges. Somehow though, it seems that the only lesson we learn from human history, is that we are doomed to repeat it. No wonder it is written, ‘For just as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be when the Son of Man comes.’ People will be doing what is right in their own eyes. That's how it will be when the Son of Man comes.