Good morning…
As I came upon this grasshopper, motionless on the rocky road, I thought of one of the most sobering segments in Scripture. Powerful and poetic, Ecclesiastes 12:1-7 describes in great detail our natural aging process. Here we visit the verses in the VOICE translation.
And so we come to the end of this musing over life. My advice to you is to remember your Creator, God, while you are young: before life gets hard and the injustice of old age comes upon you—before the years arrive when pleasure feels far out of reach— before the sun and light and the moon and stars fade to darkness and before cloud-covered skies return after the rain.
Remember Him before the arms and legs of the keeper of the house begin to tremble—before the strong grow uneasy and bent over with age—before toothless gums aren’t able to chew food and eyes grow dim.
Remember Him before the doors are shut in the streets and hearing fails and everyday sounds fade away—before the slightest sound of a bird’s chirp awakens the sleeping but the song itself has fallen silent. People will be afraid of falling from heights and terrifying obstacles in the streets. Realize that hair turns white like the blossoms on the almond tree, one becomes slow and large like a gluttonous grasshopper, and even caper berries no longer stimulate desire. In the end, all must go to our eternal home while there are mourners in the streets.
So before the silver cord is snapped and the golden bowl is shattered: before the earthen jar is smashed at the spring and the wheel at the well is broken—before the dust returns to the earth that gave it and the spirit-breath returns to God who breathed it, let us remember our Creator.
If we live to a ripe old age, many of us grow slow and large like gluttonous grasshoppers. Our bodies are wired to slow down, our eyes and ears naturally dim, and our connection to the outside world increasingly fades silent. At the very same time, our inner voice grows strong, bold, clear, “Remember our Creator.”
We share the same spirit of faith as the one who wrote the psalm, “I believed; therefore I spoke.” We also believe, and that belief leads us to acknowledge that the same God who resurrected the Lord Jesus will raise us with Jesus and will usher us all together into His presence. All of this is happening for your good. As grace is spread to the multitudes, there is a growing sound of thanks being uttered by those relishing in the glory of God.
So we have no reason to despair. Despite the fact that our outer humanity is falling apart and decaying, our inner humanity is breathing in new life every day. You see, the short-lived pains of this life are creating for us an eternal glory that does not compare to anything we know here (2 Corinthians 4:13-17, VOICE).
Might the injustice of old age spur us to remember and to relish the eternal and incomparable glory of our living God?
Just think. All this musing over life was inspired by one motionless grasshopper. How much more might we inspire before our spirits return to God?
…Sue…
