I heard a publication advertised on the ABC sometime ago by the name 1000 Paintings You Must See Before You Die. I thought, “What things do I really need to see before I die?” The tourism people have promoted the idea of “Seeing Australia First” (it struck a cord, especially after plane hijackings began etc.). Many agree with the sentiment. At any one time there are upward of 20,000 retirees on the road around Australia. They want to see certain places before they die. We are all curious and all like to see things (Eccles. 1:8), but we can imagine how much more urgent it may appear to those who have no eternal expectation and think that this life is all there is. The blackness of darkness forever, is not something to look forward to, and Eccles. 9:10 takes on a certain meaning to one who has no eternal expectation (Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, where you are going). I know there will be a lot of things and places that I will never see, and for a number of reasons – time, money, responsibilities – but in the end the consolation in Heaven is going to be better anyway and what will be seen and experienced there is going to be truly amazing. Thoughts about what I need to see before I die led to thoughts about what I need to do before I die and so on.
What things do I need to do before I die?
1. Get an education.
This would be something that is on most people’s list. Increasingly, parents are being encouraged to take out insurance policies that will enable their children to get the best education in the best schools; primary, secondary, and tertiary. Certainly ours is a world in which, with the explosion of technology and knowledge, education is important.
One of the problems is that many of our institutions of higher learning do not give the true knowledge of God. Jesus didn’t get a tertiary education but that didn’t mean He didn’t use the intelligence He was born with – He surprised people (John 7:15). When He came to the earth He came having to accept the time, place, and circumstances of His birth. When He is described in the Bible as a poor man, that is just not by way of comparison with the riches He had in heaven – He could have come as a Gates, Musk, Rockefeller or a Murdoch and He would have been poor by that comparison. He came into very humble circumstances, his parents not even being able to offer the standard price of redemption for the firstborn (Luke 2:22-24) which was a year-old lamb and a young pigeon or turtledove. The law said in Lev. 12:8 that poor parents could substitute another bird for the lamb, which they did. All of us have to deal with the circumstances of our being, not wishing we had been born at another place, another time, and to another set of parents. Perhaps in our youth we all wished at some time that our parents were in a position to indulge us more, but I’ve noticed that rarely do adults continue with those thoughts, realising that wealth is not the measure of life, nor a ticket to happiness (A most common statement amongst older people is, we didn’t have much, but we were happy). I suspect most of our forbears weren’t able to get a comprehensive education. I’m not suggesting to be lazy, young people, for you will work, one way or another, and in most cases hard work in your education will pay dividends in life. But if you missed the boat on education, you haven’t missed the boat on life. You can still get an education on the things that are most important.
2. Get married.
This is a reasonable expectation and goal, and one that most people aspire to. If a man finds a wife he finds a good thing (Prov. 18:22) testifies to the blessedness of the married state, but also to the lack of guarantees in this regard (if a man finds). Many have entered into marriage only to find somewhere along the line, despite their expectations, their rapture has been ruptured. It’s not a unilateral arrangement, but a bi-lateral arrangement, meaning both must work at it in order for it to attain to any degree of happiness. Some of the disciples were wary of its binding nature (Matt.19:10) and ventured it was better not to get married.
Jesus didn’t get married but I reckon there would have been many a woman who would have agreed to be His wife. Very possibly His decision to remain single was predicated upon His mission in life and premature death, not wanting to leave a young widow and children. Whilst it must be stressed that the celibate state is not holier than the married state (Heb. 13;4), it is no less holy either.
3. Have children.
For many people the idea of begetting children is an attempt at immortality. This is, one can live on in his or her progeny – they sort of become something of us and our handiwork that we can bequeath to the future generations. There’s an element of truth is this. Without the begetting of children the world would die out in quick time. Children brought into the world can be a blessing to the world. Many regard it as the best blessing they could bestow upon the world – women hated being barren. Give me children or I die was a common lament (eg. Gen. 30:1). But sometimes circumstances and medical problems conspire to leave people childless. There was a Skyhooks song, All My Friends Are Getting Married, which finishes with the line, Maybe I’ll never have a son. It got a lot of press as being corny and a rather strange topic for a pop culture song. Maybe it reflected some sober reflections of the group.
However, we need to remember Jesus never fathered any child. Obviously He didn’t feel personally responsible to replenish the earth. Some things are given as generic commands with no one individual responsible for it all. Another example would be the Great Commission.
4. See the world.
Some people have as their goal to visit the North and South poles before they die. Others want to climb the seven highest peaks in the world, the highest on each continent. Certainly there are many wonderful sights in the world. It’s part of that body of evidence that testifies to the existence, power, and intelligence of God. People want to travel for all sorts of reasons – cf. Paul (Rom. 15:23,24). A couple of generations ago there were people who had never travelled out of a 5 suburb radius in Sydney all their life. My father used to relate telling a Melbournian he was from Queensland during WW11. He replied, It’s too hot for me up there. Only last Christmas I took my wife up north for a holiday and the heat distressed her so much, the doctor ordered me to bring her back here to Melbourne. My dad then asked whether they had gone to Cairns or some similar place, to which the man replied, Don’t know where that place is, but it was way up north on the Murray!
On another occasion during the war when he was in Brisbane on leave, he went by bus to Lismore. At Tweed Heads an old gentleman got on and was obviously known to two ladies already on the bus. He asked where they were living now and they told him Brisbane. He said, Oh! Brisbane!; tell me, are there many white people living there now? They asked how long since he had been to Brisbane and he replied, Why, I’ve never been there in my life.
But consider this: Jesus didn’t travel more than 150 kilometres from His birthplace – an ordinary life. So what’s really important?
1. Get an education in Christ – John 6:44,45 Know Christ (Phil. 3:10; remember Titus 1:16). Rather, be known of Christ (Gal. 4:9; cf. Matt.7:21-23)
2. Be a member of the Bride of Christ
3. Father people in the gospel – 1 Cor. 4:15
4. See Heaven