For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:
a time to be born, and a time to die.
Ecclesiastes 3:1&2 (ESV)
Scripture teaches me that the Spirit of God made me, and the breath of God gave me life. It also
teaches me that being mortal means I will eventually die someday because He has appointed a time
limit that I cannot pass.
Every life is a story. A story has a sense of the whole, and its arc is determined by the significant moments, the ones where something happens. Measurements of my minute-by-minute levels of pleasure and pain miss a fundamental aspect of my human existence. My seemingly happy life may be empty, or my difficult life may be devoted to a higher motivation because God has purposes so much larger than myself. Like every story, however, the ending matters.
The battle of being mortal is the battle to maintain the integrity of my life—to avoid becoming so diminished or dissipated or subjugated that I become disconnected from who I really am or who I want to be. When life’s fragility comes into play, goals for my everyday life will shift completely. Heaven forbid I should experience the three unhappy plagues of existence: boredom, loneliness, and helplessness, but, if/when I do, I will be grasping for stimulation, companionship and help in meeting even the simplest needs.
Whenever serious sickness or injury strikes and a mind or body breaks down, the vital questions are the same: What is my understanding of the situation and its potential outcomes? What are my fears and what are my hopes? What are the trade-offs I am willing to make and not willing to make? And what is the course of action for me that best serves this understanding?
I know my coming into this world and my going out are in accordance with Your perfect
purpose and will, O Lord. I also know that if I could see my entire life now through Your eyes, I
would find my going out to be in the fittest possible time that infinite wisdom could ordain. So
prepare me for the moment I lay down being mortal and take up the blessed experience of Your
timeless eternity!