March 11, 2014 (Tuesday)
Shakespeare’s play, “Hamlet,” presents the young prince with his companion, Horatio, at a gravesite, where the skull of a court jester named “Yorick” lies on the ground. Hamlet picks up the skull, holds it in his hand, and gives an oration:
“Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him, Horatio; a fellow of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy; he hath borne me on his back a thousand times; and now, how abhorred in my imagination it is! My gorge rims at it. Here hung those lips that I have kissed I know not how oft. Where be your gibes now? Your gambols? Your songs? Your flashes of merriment, that were wont to set the table on a roar?”
The famous soliloquy is memorable because it reminds each and every one of us that our journey upon this earth is temporary. Some day others will speak of us in the past tense and we will be but a memory. Humbling thoughts, these.
The Apostle Paul made a statement that reminds us of Hamlet’s words, but fills the thoughts with much deeper meaning: “To me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” The presence of Christ in our hearts here and now is assurance of eternal life, which began when Christ entered our lives and shall never end. Life for a child of God is abundant and eternal.