If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. Romans 14:8 (NIV)
I recently visited an old friend, a former professor of mine who just turned ninety. A classmate alerted me that he was very sick. She knew I would want to say good-bye.
My teacher hugged me when I stepped through the door. I could feel his bones. His hands shook while we sat across from each other in his living room visiting. One of the things we talked about is how strange it is to interface with death for a long period of time and what it does to your psyche. “I never planned for this,” he said of hospital visits, loss of appetite, and loss of strength. “It’s like my body betrays me.”
On the drive home, I thought about how hard that must be– dying—and how I haven’t planned for it either. I’m focused on living life to the fullest, on all the things I want to accomplish and do and be. The visit with my teacher made me think about how I want to die well whenever that time comes.
We make our plans, but Paul said that, in a sense, it’s all the same. If we live, we live for Jesus, and if we die, we die for Him—it all belongs to Him. That’s a comfort if I let it be. All that my life is, all I accomplish or don’t, belongs to Him. It is Jesus Who infuses it with meaning. Not the doing or the being. And death also finds meaning in Him. Whatever happens, He is with me. I belong to Him.
Faith Step: What does it mean to you to belong to Jesus? Do a word study on belong. Write down any new insights that come to you.
