Propheting: Living Like We’re Dying

Propheting: Living Like We’re Dying

Nahum 1:14-15, 3:19

Country music star, Tim McGraw, sings a song called “Live Like You Were Dying.”&nb= sp; You’ve heard it, haven’t you? In this song, he’s having a conversation with a man who got some bad news from his doctor. It begins like this:

He said…I was in my early 40's, With a lot of l= ife before me,
And a moment came that stopped me on a dime.
I spent most of the next days, lookin' at the x-rays,
Talkin' 'bout the options and talkin' 'bout sweet time.

You get the picture.= So, how does this news affect his life? Or to draw upon the theme of a rec= ent movie, what did he put on his Bucke= t List—you know, the things he wanted to do before he “kicked the bucket.” Well, in McGraw’s song, the fellow says:

I went sky divin', I went rocky mountain climbin’,
I went 2.7 seconds on a bull name Fumanchu.
And I loved deeper, And I spoke sweeter,
And I gave forgiveness I've been denying,
And he said someday I hope you get the chance,
To live like you were dyin'.

I like that song--the movie too. Fact of the matter is, though, we = ARE dying. Most of us just haven’t had a doctor spell it out to us; but if the Lord tarries, lif= e on this earth is terminal for all of us!

So…whether we think about it this way or not, we= are LIVING as people who are DYING. The = song just nudges us a bit to give a little consideration to the implications.

Okay, by now, you may be wondering what this has to do= with our Minor Prophet for today, Nahum. Well, I can answer that with just one verse from this prophecy. It happens to be the very last ver= se in this short book. It’s f= ound in chapter 3, verse 19:

“Nothing can heal your wound; your injury is fatal. Everyone who hears the news about = you claps his hands at your fall, for who has not felt your endless cruelty?= 221; (Nahum 3:19)

Do you hear what’s happening? The prophet says that somebody has= a wound that cannot be healed. = Their injury will be fatal. And what’s more, everyone who hears this news will be happy about it. They will clap their hands. They’ll applaud!

Yes, I know that sounds insensitive, even for a Minor Prophet! “Not gonnaR= 17; make it, huh? All right!!!= 221; So what’s going on here?

Nahum directs his prophecy against the Assyrian Empir= e, represented in his book by its capital city, Nineveh—yes, the same place Jonah= went to preach--eventually! Unfort= unately, Jonah’s preaching didn’t cause the Ninevites to change their wa= ys—at least, not for long.

The Assyrians dominated their part of the world for 2= 00 years; and it was always a reign of terror. They were more powerful than any of their neighbors, so they conquered them at will--and plundered, ravished, a= nd enslaved everyone in their path.

You pick up on this as you read through the rest of N= ahum. Nineveh’s neighbors all lived in fear that they would be the next to fall. But the prophet Nahum had heard a = word from the Lord. Nineveh’s days were numbered. Listen to what he says:=

“The LORD has given a command concerning you, Nineveh: ‘You will have no descendants to bear your name. I will destroy the carved images and cast idols that are in the temple of your god= s. I will prepare your grave, for you = are vile.’" (Nahum 1:14)

Well, in the year 612 BC, that great fortified city o= f Nineveh did indeed= fall, never to rise again. And the = people of Israel, along with everyone else in the ancient world, were glad! Again, Nahum pictures them applaud= ing Nineveh’s destruction!

The story of how it happened is interesting. The city was famous for the tall, = thick walls which surrounded it, complete with a wide mote located just beyond the walls. She was well-protected= ; and inside, their Kings had built beautiful palaces, and a great library.<= /o:p>

Descriptions of Nineveh were so spectacular that many scholars assumed it was mythical--that it never really existed—but th= en archeologists found the ruins of Nineveh.&= nbsp; Excavations revealed that it was just as grand as the ancient histor= ies had claimed.

Here’s what happened. In the year 614 BC, a coalition of nations decided they had to do something about the Assyrians. The Babylonians, the Egyptians, the Medes and Persians were all represented.&n= bsp; Together, they laid seige to Nineveh; but for two years, they were unable to conquer the city.

What finally led to the downfall of Nineveh was not that coalition of natio= ns and weapons. Instead, it was a na= tural disaster. The Tigris River overflowed its banks, and = the force of the water caused a section of Nineveh’s wall to collapse. The soldier= s were then able to rush into the city and conquer it.

Just as the prophet predicted, = Nineveh was totally destroyed; and on the city’s tombstone, Nahum carved this epitaph: “When Nineveh fell, the people clapped their hands!”

Last week, I walked through our church’s cemetery. That’s probab= ly a good experience for anyone to have occasionally; but on this day, I was specifically looking for epitaphs. <= /span>

Close to the front of the cemetery lies a Mrs. Reed w= ho died in 1887 (Sonny?). Her st= one was inscribed with a verse of Scripture from Proverbs 31: “Her childr= en arise up and call her blessed.”

Also there’s Fredrick Hervitt, son of Fredrick = and Cassandra Hervitt. He died be= fore his second birthday. His stone included a quote from Jesus: “Suffer the little children to come unto= me, and forbid them not: for of such is the Kingdom of God.” (Mark 10:14)

William Bullein Johnson’s grave marker is out t= here. It’s a new one, put in place= by SC Baptists. It reads: “Preacher, Teacher, Patriot, President of the Triennial, Southern, an= d SC Baptist Conventions. Loyal to= his Master, honored by his brothers, loved by his friends.” Not a bad way to be remembered, is= it?

So…have you ever given any thought as to how YO= U will be remembered some day? Do you think it would affect how we live if we lived like we were dying—or, = if we lived like we knew that one day somebody would actually remember how we lived? It’s a sobering thought, friends; but then, Nahum is a sobering book!

It used to be common to put epitaphs on tombstones. If you’ve never walked throu= gh an old cemetery to read them, I encourage you to do so. It will certainly give you a lot to think about!

In a Waynesville, North Carolina c= emetery, there is a grave marked Effie Jean Robinson, 1897-1922 (25 yrs.), which includes this epitaph: “= ;Come blooming youths, as you pass by, And on these lines do cast an eye. As you are now, so once was I; As = I am now, so must you be; Prepare for death and follow me.”

Now, that should give= us something to think about, no matter what our age. It obviously made someone think, t= hough, because underneath those words, they scribbled: “To follow you / I am= not content / How do I know / Which way you went.”

In Boot Hill = Cemetery out in--of all places--Tombsto= ne, Arizona, there’s a st= one that reads: “Here lies / Lester Moore. / Four slugs/ From a forty-fou= r. / No Les. / No More.

Another stone in that= same cemetery says: “He was young / He was fair / But the Injuns / Raised = his hair.” Tombstone sounds like the kind of town = where you’d better be “living like you were dying!” Maybe that’s how it got its = name!

Of course, if we’re living—given the natu= re of this life—this also means we’re dying. Physically, I’m talking abou= t, we aren’t going to stick around forever. And when we are no longer here, somebody, for better or worse, is going to remember us.

Among the things that you and I will leave behind—in fact, this could be the most important of all the things we leave behind—are the memories, the impressions that our lives have ma= de, upon our families, along with = our neighbors, our fellow church members, and business associates. Good memories—we hope!<= /o:p>

I trust they won’t be anything like the memories this man had of his wife: “Here snug in her grave my wife doth lie; N= ow she’s at peace, and so am I!”

Hey, that may be funny to us. But for that poor guy, I don’= ;t think this was any laughing matter! How much better to be remembered like this: “A loving wife and tender mother / Left this base world t’enjoy the other.”

Those are real epitaphs, by the way. The point is…you and I are creating memories for those who know us best, our families. We need to be asking ourselves how= these very important people are going to remember us when we’re no longer around. It matters!

How do you think “living like we’re dying= ” would affect our family life? Would it, perhaps, improve it some? Just think about it!

And what about those folks we relate to out in the community—at work, school, = or the grocery store. This epitaph i= s in a cemetery in Nashville, TN: “His accounts were found squ= are to a cent.” Now, this may = not be the first thing that comes to mind for us, but this is also part of living = like we’re dying.

We all make impressions out in the work-a-day world--= impressions concerning our honesty and fairness, our work ethic, and the way we treat others. These things are scrutinized even more closely if we claim to be Christians—as they sh= ould be.

Our business dealings not only create memories, they = bear witness to the genuineness of our faith.&n= bsp; So, I encourage all of us to give some thought to the kind of memori= es we’re making!

Our church f= amily will remember us. Hopefully, = they will hold us in similar high esteem to this man. His marker is dated 1691, by the w= ay. It’s in a church cemetery in= Middleton, Conn. Listen:

“Here lies our deacon Hall, Who studied peace w= ith all,

Was upright in his life, void of malignant strife,

Gone to his rest; left us inner sorrow,

Doubtless his good works will him follow.”=

Shouldn’t it be our prayer that we all could le= ave such inspiring memories with our brothers and sisters in Christ—memor= ies of us as reconcilers, peacemakers, generous and faithful servants?

There is actually one verse in Nahum that gets quoted fairly often. It’s foun= d in chapter one, verse 15: “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet= of him who brings good tidings, who publishes peace.” (Nahum 1:15)<= /o:p>

What do you think?&n= bsp; Will our lives be remembered as beautiful witnesses to the peace and goodness of God? Or will we be remembered instead as proclaimers of bad news and instigators of discord? We have to make choices--something= else to think about.

Finally, and most importantly, how will the Lord Himself remember us? When, in His infinite wisdom, He r= eviews our lives, what will His thoughts be? What kinds of memories are we making for our Heavenly Father?

The Bible actually speaks about the memories God has = of us. For one thing, it assures= us that He doesn’t remember everything.= When we confess our sin and receive Christ Jesus as Savior, God forgets our sin. We find this promise in Hebrews 8:= 12: “I will forgive their wickedness and remember their sins no more.R= 21;

I don’t know about you, but I’m glad this promise is in God’s Book! I need this assurance…that if my repentance is sincere, God’s forgiveness is complete—so thorough, in fact, that God won’t ev= en remember my sin!

And you know what?&n= bsp; I really try to have this kind of amnesia when it comes to the sins = of other people. I believe this = is a healthy way to live in relation to others; but sometimes it’s hard. And we only forget so long as it&#= 8217;s convenient, or when the sin was no big deal anyway. God is so much better at this than= we are!

Now, there’s another powerful truth that comes to mind when thinking about God’s memories of us.= The Bible says that God never forgets His own. Listen to these words of Jesus:

My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and th= ey follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. (= John 10:27-28)

The Lord remembers US. We belong to Him forever! One of my favorite epitaphs was wr= itten by Benjamin Franklin when he was just a young printer in training. He wrote these words and asked tha= t they be inscribed on his tombstone:

&#=
8220;The body of Benjamin Franklin, Printer (Like the Cover of an Old Book,=
 Its Contents torn Out And Stript of its Lettering and Gilding)<=
/span>

Lies Here, Fo=
od for Worms.  But the Work shall not be Lost;

For it will (=
as he Believ'd) Appear once More In a New and More Elegant Edition Revised =
and Corrected By the Author.”

This is our faith: that God remembers His own. When we’re gone from this li= fe, and even after all other memories us have long faded away, God will still h= old us in His care. And after He = gets through with all His much-needed corrections and revisions, we will both LO= OK and BE…better than ever!

In the meantime, friends, we need to live like we’re dying—but not JUST dying; dying in Christ--knowing that in Him, we will live again. // But at the very least, we ne= ed to do better than the Ninevites. I mean, when our time comes, we don’t want anyone clapping, do we?!?!