From Dust You Have Come ...

During Lent, we are encouraged to reflect on our mortality.  Admittedly, this is not something we enjoy doing.  Who wants to die, after all?  But die we will, each and every one of us.  That means you.  That means me.  Someday, each of us will shuffle off this mortal coil, kick the bucket, go to meet our Maker.

Think about that: go to meet our Maker.
Do we live our lives as if that's true? Do we honestly live our lives as if that's true?  I suspect not.  Even though we may go to church and profess a love of God, our actions often reflect otherwise.  Lent is a time to come clean with God and ourselves about this truth.
The reality of death need not be rushed into but it also need not be avoided.  We should make the most of the time we have here on earth - after all, this is the world that God created.  But when we die, our faith and the tradition of the church tells us that Jesus will be waiting for us. That should not be feared, but seen as a comfort.  And it's a heck of a lot more appealing and reassuring than the idea that when we die, we're done, off to oblivion, with no future at all for us.
Lent is a reminder of our mortality.  But it's also a reminder of the larger reality in which we exist, one created by God.  Think about that. Then repent.  And then give thanks.

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