DoublePortion_October2023_8.5x5.5_REV.indd

According to Scripture, there is “a time to be born and a time to die. For death is the destiny of destiny of every man; the living should take this to heart” (Ecclesiastes 3:2, 7:2). “It is appointed for men once to die and after this comes judgment” (Hebrews 9:27).Woody Allen said: “It’s not that I’m afraid to die, I just don’t want to be there when it hap pens.” 1 Well, it’s going to happen and we’re all going to be there. Legend has it that on one particular day a merchant in Bagdad sent his servant to the market. Soon thereafter, the servant came back in a state of great fear, saying, “Down in the marketplace I was jostled by a woman in the crowd, and when I turned around I saw it was death that jostled me. She looked at me and made a threatening gesture. Master, please lend me your horse, for I must hasten away to avoid her. I will ride to Samarra and there I will hide, and death will not find me.” The merchant lent his horse to the servant, who hastily rode away. Later, while in the marketplace himself, the merchant spot ted death in the crowd, saying to her, “Why did you frighten my servant this morning?Why did you make a threatening gesture? “That was not a threatening gesture,” she responded. “It was only a start of surprise. I was astonished to see him in Bagdad, for I have an appointment with him tonight in Samarra.”Truth be told, we all have that Samarra appointment.The key is being spiritually prepared for the day whenever it comes along. For some, death comes knocking in the younger years. Oth ers, like Elisha, live well into old age. If that’s the case, one must avoid becoming a grumpy octogenarian, choosing contentment over resentment, or, as I like to say, learn to keep singing when the phone quits ringing. Let me tell you what I mean. Elisha is now 90 years old. Forty-five years have passed since his last act of public service, a supporting role in the anointing of Jehu as King of Israel. Obvious-

130