DEATH

by Simeon Nkola Matamba ( Follow on Twitter )

Last Sunday I came across the news that a person I knew, a quite beautiful girl, was shot dead by robbers. This news was saddening and up to now I still think about it and it's really touching and shocking. In this I came to realize once again that human life is so fragile. I compare it to a man walking on a very small rope, without being certain of how long he'll go, being quite aware that he can either make a mistake and fall down, or the rope can break, making him wander in void space and fall on the ground in terrible destruction. That's the image I think is suitable to describe our fragile existence.

The lesson I learn from this event and that I'd like to share with you is that we don't know when we'll be leaving this place. We came here on earth without our will as we were never asked wheter we wanted to be born or  not. Dad and Mum decided to bring us. So it is for death. We don't have a word to say about it, but the One who controls it can direct it our way whenever He wants.

The main concern is for us to be ready to meet the unknown reality that unfolds after death. To be sure that we're not dying like cowards, that we're not flies vanishing, but we're the supreme form of life that exists. There's a supreme condition awaiting us if we have lived right all the way and have made ourselves ready to face death. With courage, strength, we can leave behind us footprints that others can follow, memorial to the world around us. That's the only way death will be precious to us, a deliverance from sufferings and struggles in this difficult life.