Not To Be

In Hamlet's famous soliloquy -- perhaps the most famous soliloquy ever -- he claims, "To be, or not to be: that is the question." He is, of course, considering suicide. And, of course, "not to be" is a misnomer. When we die, we cease to be in this physical world, but we don't cease to be. On the other hand, I can see in the contemplation an echo of Paul's words, "For me, to live is Christ and to die is gain" (Php 1:21), except that Paul gives value to "live" and "die" -- Christ. One serves Him; the other gains Him.

But it got me to thinking, that "not to be" concept. While we will continue to "be" whether it is here or after death, there is a sense of "not to be" in our lives. There are a lot of things in our lives that are "not to be." I did not die at 3 years old when I had spinal meningitis with a strain that kills in 24 hours and I had had it for that long already. Dying then, for me, was not to be. There were careers I didn't pursue which, as it turned out, was a blessing because they would have been really bad, but they were not to be. I cannot tell you how many traffic accidents, diseases, injuries, and the like I did not experience that were not to be. We can't actually know the extent of what did not happen in our lives, but, looking at what has happened in the lives of others, I would imagine the list is extensive.

The belief today and even in biblical times has been that if you suffer, it is because of sin. It comes from a basic belief that you get what you earn in life and if you earn evil, you'll get it. It even comes from a biblical perspective when God promises good things for those who obey and bad things for those who don't. And, while Scripture itself debunks the notion that all suffering is the direct response to sin, it is true that, in general, suffering is the result of sin (Rom 8:20-23). That's why all this "not to be" I'm talking about is staggering. I cannot even begin to guess how much mercy God has exercised towards me by preventing the pain and suffering I've rightly and thoroughly earned from actually occurring. We all think we suffer too much, but I can tell you without a shadow of a doubt we have not suffered what we deserve in this life. Jesus said, "Your Father in heaven ... makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust" (Matt 5:45). That's grace -- getting favor we don't deserve. All this "not to be" that I know and don't know is mercy -- not getting what I so richly deserve. Unfortunately, since much of it is unknown, I don't think I'm sufficiently thankful for it. But I do recognize it. And I thank God for it.