What’s to Die for?

I’m going to die. And…, well, so are you. No, I have no terminal illness. I’m just musing. We’re mortal. It happens to the best of us. Young or old, ready or not, able bodied or ill, some with advanced warning, many with little or no warning at all, our time ends and we’re taken out of the game. Walt Whitman says it best:

In the day, in the night, to all, to each,
Sooner or later delicate death.

It’s not like we don’t know that it’s coming. It’s just we don’t think it should be now. We’re not ready. We never are. But can we ever be? And like so many other unpleasant things in life, death’s timing is always so inconvenient. (Though, as if intent on being totally disagreeable, Death also tends to deliberately linger before it takes those who are quite ready, longing for relief, whose only desire is to escape their wretched condition here on earth.) What to do?

I wonder. Does this truth—the inevitable certainty of our demise—affect how we live now? Perhaps we are too busy merely surviving, trying to make the best of living, to worry about such incidentals as our dying.

But there’s the rub, isn’t it, if we don’t think about, plan for, understand the place of, and meaning of DEATH, can we really LIVE?

Might the following questions help us face our ending with as much interest as we face our beginnings, that is, our growth and development years?

1. Am I living intentionally? Is my life/time well spent? To what end or purpose am I living for? What is my ultimate pursuit in life and is this pursuit worth dying for? That is, on my deathbed will I be pleased with its outcome?

2. Am I able to accept death when it does come? If not, what’s my greatest fear, doubt, or hesitation? That is, what might I need to complete, take care of, or set in order before I may have peace of mind and be able to leave with dignity and grace? Are there relationships that need mending, unspoken words that need expressing, or evaded duties that need completing? Can I take care of these now?

3. Am I ready to give an account? Will I be pleased with what I’ve left behind or will I be ashamed? Do I need to make amends, makes things right, correct past mistakes, repent of a hardened heart, bitter spirit, or ill will? In short, do I need a cleansing of the soul, a renewing of the heart, an enlightening of the spirit before I expire?

4. And finally, am I passing on the Hope to the next generation? Being able to die well is a gift of Faith. “Die well”? Sounds weird doesn’t it? But yes, dying well allows one to say goodbye, to demonstrate peace and courage in the face of death and pass on faith and hope to surviving loved ones. Even children understand when they are privileged to see Living Faith in the face of Death.