Aug 02, 2022
Daily Devotion:
"Beneath The Gravestones…"
Isaiah 14:10-11
New International Version
10 They will all respond, they will say to you, “You also have become weak, as we are; you have become like us.” 11 All your pomp has been brought down to the grave, along with the noise of your harps; maggots are spread out beneath you and worms cover you.
When we think of a cemetery, our mind's eye typically envisions marble tombstones and bronze vases full of flowers, all in a beautiful park-like setting. Want to know who was successful in life? The larger and more ornate the tombstone, the more prominent the deceased. Then again we all know that cemeteries are mostly window dressings, perhaps reflecting one's position in society, but telling us little about a person's character. Even when scripture verses or pious phrases adorn the tombstone, the person being remembered might not have been particularly religious or even virtuous. However beautiful, cemeteries are deceptively beguiling.
Who wants to contemplate the harsh reality beneath the gravestones, especially after the loss of a loved one? Yet it has to be said that the tranquil beauty of the cemetery belies the ghastly decomposition taking place within the grave. For no matter how carefully bodies are sealed in coffins and crypts, they inevitably decay. Though we shudder to think of maggots and worms, the fact remains that (if not cremated) our flesh inexorably will deteriorate into nothing. If the Lord tarries, we are all going to disintegrate. At which point the hard truth emerges: when the process of purification is complete, the body no longer counts, only the soul. The mystery is-why doesn't this truth have a far more meaningful impact on us than it does? Out of sight, out of mind might work well for flower-bedecked cemeteries, but not for souls serious about what happens when there is nothing left but rotting bones.
The macabre question is: Do I ever dwell long enough on the prospect of my decomposing body to be prompted for good by that gruesome thought?
