Thursday’s Devotion: Thoughts from a Country Churchyard

Genesis 3:19  “By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.”

 Joe and I took a drive to Christ Church today.  Founded in 1736 it was served by both Charles and John Wesley although not in that exact building.  Today it is an active Episcopal Church. As we walked through the old cemetery and the sometimes crumbling graves, lines from a Thomas Gray poem came to mind.
 
Here rests his head upon the lap of Earth
A youth to Fortune and to Fame unknown.
Fair Science frown'd not on his humble birth,
And Melancholy mark'd him for her own.
Large was his bounty, and his soul sincere,
Heav'n did a recompense as largely send. .
                       From  Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard

The subject of this poem was one of humble birth but with a soul sincere.  I thought that death is the great equalizer.  Once we die and shed our skin for a heavenly home, we have no more time left to save the world, further the kingdom, mend a broken relationship or make provisions for loved ones.  Rich and poor, powerful and weak are all the same in this.  Whatever we might achieve after death can only come through others with provisions we have made while alive.  I think that death is the great equalizer in another way. In heaven we will all be rich in the grace of God who will wipe our tears.  “He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” Revelation 21:4   Right now we are alive and our task is to live a life that leads into this kingdom life and to grasp opportunities while we have them.

Gracious God, Help us to live life to its fullest, to know that while we walk this earth there is much to do, many to love and blessings to receive.  Give us strength for today and hope for tomorrow.  In our Savior’s name we humbly pray. Amen.