One of my favorite books is Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. I read it every year during Advent. On June 8 1870, Charles Dickens had a stroke while working on The Mystery of Edwin Drood. He died the next day, June 9. 154 years ago today, one of the greatest writers in the world passed away. The illustrator for Edwin Drood, Samuel Fildes, was staying at Gads Hill Place with the Dickens family at the time of Charles’ death. After the funeral, and with the permission of the family, Fildes went into Dickens’ study and painted “The Empty Chair.” The painting is powerful in its simplicity. Nothing in the room had changed, yet everything had changed. The room was the same, but the spirit that once occupied the room was gone.
The first time I saw the work, I embraced its lesson and said to myself, “an empty chair will be in your study one day.” Death is part of life. Sadly, the fear of dying prevents a lot of people from living. The Christian life is about trusting God and going forth to do daring things for the Kingdom of Heaven. But the Christian life is also about being humble, that is, humble enough to remember that we came from the dust and to the dust we will return (Genesis 3:19). The Bible teaches us that reflecting on death can actually help us live better lives.
Psalm 90:12 ~ So teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.
1 Peter 1:24-25 ~ “All flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of the grass. The grass withers, and its flower falls away, but the word of the LORD endures forever.” (Peter is quoting Isaiah 40:7-8)
James 4:13-15 ~ Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit;” whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.”
These passages are intended to encourage us. Like “The Empty Chair,” they remind us to use each day that God gives us for His glory and honor. What is God challenging you to do today? Get up and do it. What are you afraid of today? Let faith overcome your fear. Recall the hope of eternal life that God gives His children.
1 Thessalonians 4:13-14 ~ But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus.
Be blessed this Sabbath Day and as always…
God before government,
Rit