In the movie Citizen Kane, one of the richest men in the world mutters ‘Rosebud’ as he lay on his deathbed. Spoiler alert, we find out later that it refers to a sled he used and joyful memories he had of his childhood. He could seemingly care less about the millions of dollars of things he had, but still longed for the innocence of his youth. We all likely have memories and things from our childhood and youth that we still enjoy and may even long for. The good old days when we could run around and didn’t have many cares in the world. Or maybe you still have a box of things that you can look through that bring back lots of memories when you look at them. What items of nostalgia do you still hold on to?
Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 1 John 2:15
Yesterday, I was bidding on 10 or so items that were being auctioned off from my alma mater, Iowa Wesleyan as they are liquidating most everything from the college. I don’t need anything from there, but just scrolling through things brought back memories of people and places and things that were part of my life for several years. One item was a print that my roommate had made and donated to staff at the school. I recall some days when he was working on these things on the desk across the room from me. He had given me several other pieces he had done, but I was able to get one other I did not have. Again, its just a thing without much monetary value, but for me it has significant sentimental value. We can look at all the things around us and think that we don’t really need most of them, but we still attach value to much of what we have in our possession, or are stewarding for the short time we have here. What things do you hold most close to your heart, and where do you want them to go when you are gone?
Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ. Philippians 3:8
When we lay on our deathbed, what things will mean the most to us? Will you be whispering something from your youth, talking to your loved ones, or whispering the name of Jesus, who you may be seeing in the near future? When we are faced with death, it makes us consider what things mean the most to us, and how we spend the limited time that we have left. Its worth pondering for each of us.
Yours in Christ,
Clark
