Are you ready to die? When I was a hospital and hospice
chaplain, I would often help my patients work on what they needed to prepare
for their final journey. I never did ask my patients the question I posed at
the beginning of this paragraph in such a stark manner. However, if I
determined that the patient had some acquaintance with the Christian faith, I
might ask this question, “Are you prepared to say the last words of Jesus:
Into your hands I commit my spirit.” This words are found in
Psalm 31:5.
When I asked my patients this question, I would receive one
of two responses: yes or no. For those who felt they had made peace with God
and those around them, it was easy to say, “yes.” For others who said, “no,” we
began to explore what needed to happen for them to come to peace with God, with
themselves and with those around them. Gradually as we worked together, the “no”
became a “yes.”
What about you and me? Are we prepared to say the last words
of Jesus: “Into your hands I commit my spirit?” – Ron Friesen
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