Of Breath and Hope

“For to him that is joined to all the living there is hope: for a living dog is better than a dead lion.” (Ec 9:4 AV)

 The idea of Ecclesiastes is the point of life as if there was no God.  In attempting to prove life can be lived without a God, the writer proves just the opposite.  In the above verse, Solomon is simply stating that when one dies, there is no longer any hope.  That is if there is no God.  If there is no God, then once a body has ceased to live, there is no hope of change.  All things return as they were.  The body rots in the grave as is turned back into the dust from whence it came.  That is it.  There is nothing else.  Again, this would be true if there was no God.  In this verse, we can actually see the conclusion from the perspective of creation with a God.  The conclusion is the same.  If there is a God, once life ends, there is no hope of change for those who reject Him.  For those who know God, there is no hope left of affecting God’s kingdom by service and faith.  When death comes, that is the end of temporal opportunity.  No more chances to overcome sin by an act of our own volition.  No more chances to share the gospel with those who do not know Him.  No more opportunity to please Him by serving Him in His creation.  All is permanently set.  What I see above is encouragement.  I see a challenge to all those struggling to overcome faults or faithlessness.  I see a truth that as long as there is breath in our lungs, then there is hope for change.

One of the hardest cases to deal with while serving as a chaplain is helping a patient deal with regret.  Those who lay at death's door all of a sudden go through a time of self-evaluation which should have happened decades ago.  They sob over lost opportunities with children.  They weep over unfaithfulness towards one’s spouse.  They regret all those times they got drunk and now lay in bed with a rotted liver.  They lay there, often very much alone with their thoughts, wishing they could turn back the clock and make different decisions.  They are trying to find some kind of peace.  Some form of encouraging words that will assist them as they pass off into eternity.  More times than not, there are no words.  The agony of wasted opportunities or foolish life choices plagues their mind.  As they slip off into eternity, the pain of what they failed to do is written on their faces.  As a chaplain, there is little one can offer.  We can speak of God’s forgiveness.  This is the only hope they have.  That is the only hope any of us have.  We can share that even when they cannot forgive themselves, God can forgive them.  We can share that mankind may never forgive them.  But God always does.  This is the only hope of peace at such a time as this.

For those who are not quite there yet, there is even more hope that God’s forgiveness.  Prior to divine forgiveness, repentance must occur.  That is a change of mind and heart that results in a change of direction.  The saint who wishes to avoid as much regret as possible can change the direction of his or her life.  As long as we are among the living, there is still hope for a different life.  We are not destined to live in any way at the mercy of failure.  Failure does not have to be a forgone conclusion.  We do not have to look in the mirror and think that what we see is the best it will ever be.  As long as our lungs operate, there is hope.  As long as we have our abode on this sin-sick orb, there is a great chance the Holy Spirit can and will do a work with our plagued hearts.  There is always hope.  We are not helpless.  We have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit that cleanses us from all sin.  He enables us to live for the glory of God.  All we need to do is to yield.  I don’t know about you, but I do not want to lay on my death bed wishing my life could have been radically different.  I know there will be some regret.  It is inevitable.  But my hope is that from this day forward, and every day until my home going, the Holy Spirit will perform a work in my wretched heart that this soul might please the God who created him and redeemed him.  May God do a work in all our hearts before our body ceases to live!