Come on. Be truthful. If you are really there on page 4 of the Hindu (an Indian daily), chances are you can’t be telling me about it. Since I discount the possibility of your achieving something of note (granted, notoriety is a possibility) that has caught the attention of the Press, I have to conclude that you are dead and it is your obituary that’s there!
I checked out. Yes, you are indeed there. Grinning like a Cheshire cat. Most inappropriate for a dead man, if I may so so! I rather suspect your sense of humour has rubbed off on your family for them to choose a photo like that. Most other gentry there look suitably grave!
Also you look pretty young. It is somewhat unfair on God. Suggests He took you away long before your time. Any way I guess your folks wanted you to look good – at least in death, seeing it was a long shot in life. Very kind of them.
And is that a verse appearing above your mug shot, like you were a Bible scholar or something? Let me see. The print is small. Ah…I got it “Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints” Ps.116:15. Fair enough, but where do you come in? Are your folks really suggesting that you were a saint? You? A saint? Lol. That’s pretty rich, man.
Wait a minute. What if you made the grade after all and I didn’t know about it? Never mind that I’ve never ever heard anyone say anything good about you while you were around (your Mama excepted). Maybe you waited till the very last minute to confess? Must have been a rather long list, I dare say!
But I can tell you, you took a huge risk man. Just imagine what the case would have been if you didn’t have that one last opportunity to set your house in order– just before you made your exit. I guess somebody was praying for you real hard. Your Mama likely.
Don’t you think it would have been better if you’d turned around earlier in your life, man? Oh, but you can’t think any more – I forget. Any way I thank God that you didn’t leave it until it was too late. Like the thief who was hanging on the left side of Jesus. Very sad man. While his colleague in crime made it by the skin of his teeth, this guy lost out – for eternity.
Yeah, it is no good running frenetically in the fast lane of life like there is no tomorrow man. Slow down. Hit the ‘pause’ button now and then. Stop. Sit down. Take time to dwell on things that really matter. Spend time with your family; play with your children. Read the Word.
Then when you finally go (OK, you’ve gone. I’m talking about others man), you can make it to page 4 comfortably; no sweat. Who knows, they might even put a verse around you that reads:
Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord
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