Thursday, March 30, 2006

Mobiles in your Coffin

According to a recent BBC report more and more people are requesting that when they die their mobile phones are placed in their coffins. The first noted cases of this were from South Africa. Some in the Cape Town area spoke of their fear of a voodoo spell which they believed would make them appear to be dead. Their concern was that they would then be buried alive by well meaning relatives. The idea of the mobile was that when they came to in their coffins they could phone a friend. I suspect however that the reception isn't that good from under 6 feet of soil! As the trend circumnavigates the world the placing of such goods in a coffin appears to be because people want buried with totems that represented their lives. For some there may also be the Tutankhamen effect, i.e. that these goods will be of help in the life to come. One undertaker wil even slip in a spare set of batteries - just in case!
This recent trend speaks to us clearly about important spiritual issues. Again we are reminded that knowledge of a life to come is wired into the very fabric of our being - we know deep down that there is life beyond the grave. But the new craze also highlights the spiritual ignorance of our generation. How sad that people consider these pieces of electronic gadgetry so vital that they just can't bear to be parted from them even in death. The Lord Jesus has a clear warning concerning such idolatry, For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Luke 12:34
How tragic too that men and women so misunderstand what lies beyond the grave. How heart breaking that men and women would make such a foolish preparation for the grave as a list of favourite goodies to accompany them and not make that most vital preparation of becoming right with God. The Bible makes it very clear about how we leave this world, Naked a man comes from his mother's womb,and as he comes, so he departs. He takes nothing from his labor that he can carry in his hand. Ecclesiastes 5:5. Equally the Bible makes it clear that when we leave this world heaven or hell is our instant destiny and that the only way of being bound for heaven is to have the Lord Jesus Christ as our personal Saviour and Lord. Are you ready?

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