I was listening to some Crowded House from their 2007 Album Time on Earth. Seeing as we are going to their concert later in the year, it's always good to re-familiarise oneself with some of the material. I was struck by the song Silent House, which seems give the thoughts of a person walking through a house where a cherished relative has passed away, or perhaps moved on to more appropriate living circumstances;
I'm missing you
And I stand alone
Inside your room
Everything that you made by hand
Everything that you know by heart
I will try to connect
All the pieces you left
I will carry it on
And let you forget
I'll remember the years
When your mind was still clear
All the flickering lights
Filled up this silent house....
Needless to say, I could relate to it. The storytelling of the living becomes part of our history and identity as we recall those who have gone before. Yet we re-member them in our own particular way, which is necessarily enhanced and possibly corrected by the memories of other family and friends. Out time on earth is limited, but often enriched by thanksgiving for those who have gone before.
Isn't the church like this? Certainly the Bible is a record of what has gone before, the mighty acts of God, with Israel trying to remember and stay faithful, assisted by various prophets like Hosea, who writes; "Yet I have been the Lord your God ever since the land of Egypt; you know no God but me, and besides me there is no saviour." (Hosea 13:4) Israel has a mixed result in staying faithful, as does the Christian Church. However, let us not be discouraged from reminding ourselves every time we meet of the salvation story and the amazing grace of God to us in Jesus Christ. This is our time on earth. "Everything that you know by heart, I will try to connect. All the pieces that you left, I will carry it on..."
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