Wycliffe College - Cap and Gown Yearbook (Toronto, Ontario Canada)

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A Matter of Time Michael Li, M. Div. II Very often you will hear this kind of re- mark concerning a grave sickness of a person. All hope of his recovery has been abandoned. lt is only a matter of time. Only a matter of time! It is always only a matter of time . We are born to die. Some people think it melancholy to re- member that fact and positively morbid to mention it. They may regard death as the worst thing that could happen and fear to look it square in the face. The fear of death is composite. Some people fear the prospect of pain. Some people with much on their con- science fear the prospect of judgment. Some fear most the pain of parting with their dear ones and with all that is sweet in this world. With others, it is sheer fear of the unknown. It is normal for a person away from God to have fear. The abnormal ones are those who are lost and couldn't care less. lf there is a hell to avoid, there will be a heaven to gain. We should be careful to avoid the one and gain the other. If we are unprepared for eternity we should be scared to death. People often corne to God because they have fear of death. Fear is not a bad thing. lt is nature's built-in mechanism for our safety. For instance, fear of fire keeps you from getting burnt. Fear of height may keep you from being careless when in high places. Fear of an accident makes you drive carefully. Faith in God is a cure for the fears that are negative and paralyze us. An interesting feature of New Testament teaching on death is that the emphasis is on life. Death, the negation of life, is the devil's proper sphere. But Christ came to put an end to death. lt was through death that He defeat- ed Satan fHebrews 2:14l. lt was through death that He put away our sin. ln that he died, he died unto sin once flflomans 6:1Ol. He died that men may live. The extent of the victory over death that Christ won is indicated by His resurrection Christ being raised from the dead dieth no morepdeath hath no more dominion over him' fRomans 6:91. His victory over death is com- plete. And His victory is made available to His people. The believer has already passed out of death and into life fJohn 5:24l. Jesus said, lf a man keep my saying, he shall never see death Uohn 8:51l. The believer will in due course pass through the gateway we call death. The death of a Christian means going home . Bishop Westcott once said, Death is not an interruption of being, but a change in the mode of being. ln the perfect joy of heaven, we will wonder why we clung so tightly to earth. t Then shall I end my sad complaints, And weary sinful days, And join with the trimphant saints That sing Jehovah's praise. lVly knowledge of that life is small, The eye of faith is dim, But 'tis enough that Christ knows all, And l shall be with Him. flilichard Baxter H615-1691l

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pair? Hopelessness 13. . .. It was not one of the larger offices, but it had a 'Vice-President' sign on the door and the furnishings were discreetly sumptuous. The little man behind the desk was fittingly attired, but the hour being late and all the staff gone, he had removed his jacket and loosened his tie. There were papers all over the desk, files piled at the corners and both baskets full to over-flowing. He was not work- ing but sat slumped in the chair, a half-empty liquor glass in his hand. His tired, heavy lidded, half closed eyes peered vacantly into space. His thoughts roved. lt's hopeless . . . l'll never win out- never be solvent . . . I'm tired of fighting. . . It's too much . . .Jenny and the kids spend it faster than I can make it ...I'll be 68 before the house is paid for . . . That ' ---- ' car!!! What do we want with a colour TV? The old one was good enough . . . 55's too old to get anotherjob . . . made me a VP so they wouldn't have to give me a raise . . . Keep loading on the work with a shovel . . . got me in a cleft stick . . . staff - Why should they beat them- selves? Pressures too high anyway . . . Can't get out of it till I'm 65 . . . 10 years. . . God, it's like a sentence . . . Probably not last that long . . . Who'd care . . . worth S100,000 dead . . . Jenny'd have a ball . . . 'D- -m them all to h- -I !!! They found him in the morning dead of an overdose. T Norman Edwards, Theology III Hopelessness of a' Termlhal Patient He is dying! These words keep echoing in my ears - Dying! Dying! They all hover above and around me. These strangers trying desperately to help -to help me in my time of death. Why do they try so many things? The noise seems so loud and harsh, and soon I feel that they will convince even myself that death is the next step for me. I just wish everyone would leave me alone to sort out my thoughts. Ideas and fears swim around in my mind and the result is con- fusion. That along with these strangers makes me want to scream - to scream out to the world - I'm not dying! I do not want to die. We are just two things that should never meet - at least not yet - death and I. This just isn't true - my time cannot be up as they say. Life! I want to live - to grasp on to some thin thread of hope is all I ask. What comes after life but nothingness This state of nonexistence scares me. Anxiety gnaws away at me - I'm losing my being - my existence will be lost forever and I am afraid. Coward! lVly conscience yells at me. Some- how I know this name tells the truth, for that is the way I am. Afraid. Afraid to die. Afraid to face this nothingness. Afraid of the un- known abyss which lies out there before me. Scared! Yes scared because I'm helpless to stop this ending. The strangers seem help- less to stop the darkness from closing in around me also. As I lie here - the scream for help is caught in my throat - an inaudible plea. Do not leave me - I am afraid - yet there is no- thing but I am hopeless. Help me! T Gary MacDowall, Theology II

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