Last week, we heard of the death of Queen Elizabeth II at the age of 96. She was the longest serving monarch of the United Kingdom having reigned for 70 years. This week, these devotionals will be reflections on what we can learn from loss.
The death of Queen Elizabeth brings us face to face with the reality of the shortness of life. Loss teaches us to value time. Most of us waste our precious time because we fail to realise that it is precious and passing by very quickly. We read in Ecclesiastes:
‘It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting, for death is the destiny of everyone; the living should take this to heart.’ (Ecclesiastes 7:2)
The ‘house of feasting’ - the noise and vacuous entertainment culture that surrounds us, distracts us from the important lesson that life is short and so must not be wasted! Psalm 39 contains this prayer:
“Show me, Lord, my life’s end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting my life is. You have made my days a mere handbreadth; the span of my years is as nothing before you. Everyone is but a breath, even those who seem secure.” (Psalms 39:4-5)
The Queen seemed ‘secure’, almost timeless; last week the reality of her and all of our mortality slapped us in the face. This is good for us even if it is also painful. The Queen's life was ‘fleeting…a mere handbreadth…a breath'. The three pictures at the top of this blog show Queen Elizabeth as a baby, young mother and elderly woman. God wants to teach all of us to value the few days that we have in this life.
RESPONSE
As we remember the death of The Queen, we are reminded of ‘how fleeting even a life of 96 years is… a mere handbreadth… as nothing before you… but a breath.’ Will you allow the death of our Queen to remind you of the shortness of life and the importance of not wasting your time?
TOGETHER IN SEPTEMBER
During September 2022, at CCP, we are having 'Together' meetings instead of our usual Community Groups. You are very welcome to attend these gatherings.
Please come to the church building at 7:30 pm on Wednesday evenings - refreshments and a meal will be available.
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