|
 By Rob Des Cotes
[other pieces by Rob Des Cotes]
Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints. Psalm116:15
Imagine the precious hour of your own death. What relationship do you think you will want to have with God at this moment? What type of familiarity, confidence or trust will you hope to have cultivated with the Lord by now?
No matter what age you are, it is good preparation to ask how you might apply your life today to that which will best serve you at your final hour. Consider this inevitable moment in your life and what relationship you might want to have developed with the Maker you will someday meet. Here are some familiarities you might hope to have cultivated.
In the final realization that you are approaching God's judgment, where everything hidden will be revealed, it will be good for you to have developed an honest acceptance of the whole truth of who you are. It will be especially important for you to be certain of your theology of salvation that Jesus accepts you as you are, and that His sacrifice on the cross is truly sufficient to forgive all your sins. If you think you might wish you had more time to prepare yourself before meeting God, it might be a sign that you have missed the very point of Christ's sacrifice for you.
Perhaps, as you approach this greatest unknown, you will be glad to have cultivated a life-long disposition of yielding to God's will in all things. In these final moments, when all your faculties for self-direction are useless to you, it will be good to have developed faith in God's direct hand on your life, and confidence that His sure guidance will continue to lead you at this moment, as it always has.
If you have lived a life of detachment it will naturally be easier for you to accept loss than if you have always found your bearings according to what you do, or to the things you own. It will be good for you to have lived according to Job's sober remembrance that naked I came into the world, and naked I will depart (Job 1:20).
Continue article >>
|
If you have any trust issues with God you will be glad to have taken the healing of your relationship seriously, while you could still do so at your own pace. It will be better to have developed a healthy and genuine relationship with God beforehand than to be approaching this moment of uncertainty with unnecessary fears and misgivings about the character of God.
It will be good as well to have learned how to genuinely accept the truth of God's particular love for you. If you are confident that you are preciously loved, it will make it much easier for you to abandon yourself into the Lord's arms than if you are uncertain how God really feels about you.
And finally, if throughout your life, it has been your disposition to offer all that you are and all that you do for the Lord's purposes, it will be natural, once again, to offer the time and means of your death as a final way to serve God's purposes in life. If you have given yourself in this way, you will have good reason to anticipate that whatever happens in this final stage of the journey will be in accordance with this prayer.
Lord, I will trust You.
Help me to journey beyond the familiar
And into the unknown.
Give me the faith to leave old ways
And break fresh ground with You.
Christ of the mysteries, I trust You
To be stronger than each storm within me.
I will trust in the darkness and know
That my times, even now, are in Your hand.
Tune my spirit to the music of heaven,
And somehow, make my obedience count for You.
-St. Brendan (Irish contemplative)
Rob Des Cotes is a spiritual director and pastor of Fairview Baptist Church in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. He teaches Contemplative Traditions at Trinity Western University, as well as courses on spirituality and the arts at Carey Theological College and Columbia Bible College. Rob also directs Imago Dei (www.imagodeicommunity.ca) a network of faith communities that encourages the practice of prayer and a transforming relationship with God. Rob is a regular contributor to canadianchristianity.com To obtain 'Higher than I' go to: www.clementspublishing.com
August 14/2008
|
