" O n B e i n g B o r n , B o r n A g a i n a n d B o r n F i n a l l y "
(C) 2000 W. Duane Clark
WorldSource Publishing
Death ?
No . . . I will not call it that.
My homecoming will not be such a despairing thing.
For I was "born" of water (from my mother); then I was "born again" of the Holy Spirit; then I will be "born finally" by the hands of angels, into that Place where I so deeply long to be.
And if I have truly lived as a Christian, life here on Earth will have involved a daily visitation of death.
Death to pride.
Death to ambition.
Death to the fear of man.
Death to vain imaginings.
Death to everything of self.
No . . . the conclusion of my time here will be better called The Release.
Being released into the arms of my Savior. Or . . . The Passage. (And not "a passing". This has too much a negative connotation still.
As in, "he passed away".)
At my dear aunt's funeral, the pastor used the term "graduation exercise". I appreciate the concept for all of its positive inference, but the words are yet too institutional. They fall so far short of expressing the overwhelming grandeur of what it must be like.
The poignant recollections of those who have been at the bedside of a saint who is finally going home have never implied that anything regretful or sorrowful is happening.
The glorious expressions of peace and joy that come upon their faces. The lifting up of hands to The One Who has come to carry them Home. The great proclamations and songs of praise for Him.
Surely for me to live is Christ, but then for me to be "born finally" will be all gain.
