Living in Shadows: Respice Finem

i'm reading the Death of Ivan Ilych, which i've read before. more light reading never hurt anybody, and--in fact--it has been sobering. the observance of death and obeisances doesn't scare me but many fear this. Gerasim, the sick nurse for Ivan Ilych calmly states, "it's God's will. we shall all come to [death] some day." his contentment unnerves one observer who concludes "why, that might suddenly, at any time, happen to me", which is fitting, for Gerasim was correct. we shall all die, and as Christians, we might say "i desire to depart and to be with Christ, which is better by far, but it is more necessary for you that i remain..." a life lived for Christ, grows in purpose and vision as we adhere to the leadership of the Holy Spirit. then we might "rejoice and be glad, for [our] reward in heaven is great", as Christ's words fill us with hope. greater still is the understanding of our eternal company; the saints who've gone before; the cloud of witnesses, and those who will follow in our example, which most magnaimously must be the servant-leader example of Jesus. doing so takes punctilious strides to labor over the Scriptures. apart from, yet a part of all that, in the presence of God, that which has been dimly revealed will be illuminated "for now we know in part, but then we shall know fully, even as we are fully known" as "the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself perfect, confirm, strengthen, and establish you." respice finem--consider the end as affecting the present...(photo by: Tatsuya Sato)