What lies In the Cemetery?
Today my family and I had a chance to visit a cemetery. We weren’t at a funeral – we were getting a tour of one of the most historical cemeteries in our country. We love doing these live history trips with our boys to reinforce learning that’s happening at home. Getting in touch with concepts and lessons that you’ve heard with your ears by transferring real images through your eyes has a way of making things stick. So as we made our way into Bonaventure Cemetery in Savannah, GA my son Greyson asked a question from the back seat.
It started with a comment that I made as we pulled into the drive. “There’s a lot of history buried under this ground.” Greyson replied, “What history is under the ground Dad?”
Hopes and Dreams
Love and Loss
Pleasure, fulfillment, and also despair.
Opportunities taken, and opportunities missed.
Achievements and awards along with failures and shame.
Faith now revealed, and lack of faith now also revealed.
All of those things are buried here my son. As we pass through the stones that rest over dust and dry bones, we are given a marvelous moment to evaluate our past, present, and future aims to test them for their truth and their depth.
The cemetery can teach you a lot about the path you’re pursuing. One of my favorite quotes is by D.L. Moody when he says, “Our greatest fear should not be of failure, but of succeeding at something that doesn’t really matter.” The things that didn’t really matter are long forgotten beneath the dirt in the cemetery. The things that mattered? Well…those are alive and well in Heaven.
Before we go there I think it’s important to remember just a few verses that help us to keep our mortality front and center. This is not to depress us. It’s to inspire us to live a life that’s worthy of the gift of time. Because it expires is the very reason why it’s so valuable.
“My days are like an evening shadow, I wither away like grass.” – Psalm 102:11
“Show me, Lord, my life’s end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting my life is.” – Psalm 39:4
“Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.” - James 4:14
“Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” – Psalm 90:12
That last verse rests on my office wall. My sons see it often as I mark off week after week on my 80-year dot calendar. 4,160 dots represent the 4,160 weeks I’ll live if I’m blessed to live a life of 80 years. They know that this is not a countdown just for fun. This is a weekly ritual to remember that these weeks will fly by, and that the next 7 days should be lived as intentionally as possible. What mission are we on? What are the things of life worth pursuing? What will last beyond the grave, and not become a distant memory or dust like the bones in the cemetery?
These are the questions of life that sit deep within us. They bug us from time to time, and cause the constant evaluation of the state we find ourselves in. But there are other verses for us to lean on as well.
“And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.” - 1 John 2:17
What lasts forever? The faith and action that we put into place that aligns with the will of God. In my experience these are the things that build our relationship with Jesus, and what we share with our neighbors who are also in need of his love. These are the things that will last forever. These things will show up in eternity. As C.S. Lewis once said, we’ve never met a mere mortal. Every person here on earth is an immortal creation. Spirit, Soul, and Body. As we align our life with the will of God, he will give us opportunities each day to do his eternal work. Some within, and some for others. I believe that.
The cemetery has a funny way of bringing these thoughts to life. In a way there is a piece of earthly life that can only be fully appreciated due to death. Time is such a gift. Such a process. I’m happy that today we got to learn. We heard about lives well lived, and we were able to glance over the graves of so many lives that have been forgotten. All matter to God, and all had the opportunity to do his eternal work.
In closing – my urge for you today is to succeed at things that matter. The mundane and the day to day actions of life matter. The once in a lifetime moments matter. The spurts of large influence matter, and the small quiet conversations with just one person matters. God is in each of these moments asking us to align our hearts to his will. My prayer is for those reading, and for me and my family, to take small steps to maximize our time today to make an eternal impact.
-Mark