Living Well 智慧人生
Dexu Xia
Death is the destiny of everyone; the living should take this to heart. Ecclesiastes 7:2
Free funerals for the living. That’s the service offered by an establishment in South Korea. Since it opened in 2012, more than 25,000 people—from teenagers to retirees—have participated in mass “living funeral” services, hoping to improve their lives by considering their deaths. Officials say “the simulated death ceremonies are meant to give the participant a truthful sense of their lives, inspire gratitude, and aid in forgiveness and reconnection among family and friends.”
These words echo the wisdom given by the teacher who wrote Ecclesiastes. “Death is the destiny of everyone; the living should take this to heart” (Ecclesiastes 7:2). Death reminds us of the brevity of life and that we only have a certain amount of time to live and love well. It loosens our grip on some of God’s good gifts—such as money, relationships, and pleasure—and frees us to enjoy them in the here and now as we store up “treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal” (Matthew 6:20).
As we remember that death may come knocking anytime, perhaps it’ll compel us to not postpone that visit with our parents, delay our decision to serve God in a particular way, or compromise our time with our children for our work. With God’s help, we can learn to live wisely.
What changes will you make in your life today as you think about death? How can you be more conscious about death amid the hustle and bustle of life?
Loving God, help me to remember the brevity of life and to live well today.
To learn more about what happens after death.
死是众人的结局，活人也必将这事放在心上。—传道书7章2节
南韩有一间机构的服务项目，是为人提供免费的“生前告别仪式”。这个机构自2012年成立以来，已经让超过25,000人（年龄层包括青少年至退休人士）参加大规模的“生前告别仪式”，主要是希望能藉此让大家开始思考死亡，并活得更有意义。这个机构的高层主管表示：“在生前告别仪式中，能让参与者对自己的生命有更真实的感受，激发感恩的心，并能促使家人和朋友彼此饶恕、重新连结。”
这番话反映了传道书的作者睿智的教导：“死是众人的结局，活人也必将这事放在心上”（7章2节）。死亡提醒我们生命是短暂的，我们只能在有限的时间里好好生活、付出关怀。死亡让我们不再紧紧抓住上帝所赐的恩福，例如财富、人际关系和享乐，而是让我们懂得享受当下的这些福分，同时我们也能积攒财宝在天上，因为“天上没有虫子咬，不能锈坏，也没有贼挖窟窿来偷”（马太福音6章20节）。
当我们时时想起，死亡可能随时会临到，或许这能使我们不再藉故推迟去探访父母、去事奉上帝，也不会为工作而忽略儿女。藉着上帝的帮助，我们可以学习过一个有智慧的人生。
当你想到死亡，你会在今天的生活中做些什么改变？在喧嚣忙乱的生活中，你如何更敏锐地觉察死亡呢？
慈爱的上帝，求祢帮助我时时谨记，生命何其短暂。求祢让我能好好地把握今天，充分利用每分每秒！