Is the Dead Alive?

 

 

 

What do the dead know?

I surely would like to know,

No, not that I want to die

Oh, dear me, No! No!

 

I am so enthralled with life

I could live forever,

That’s why I consecrated my life

To the heavenly Father.

 

Some believe the dead lives

And they are definitely sure,

Others will tell you straight up

The dead lives no more.

 

Atheists believe the latter:

When one dies, that is the end,

There is nothing after death

For either foe or friend.

 

That is a good conversation

But for another time,

Right now, let me get back

To what’s foremost on my mind.

 

Is the dead alive?

It would appear so for some

Given what they say at funerals

When one’s life is done.

 

 

Rest in Peace (RIP)

Is conferred upon the dead

Certainly, giving the impression

The dead is living instead.

 

A rest in peace

Indicates there is a rest otherwise

And any kind of conscious rest

Doesn’t fit the demise.

 

So, why do we say rest in peace

When the individual is dead?

He hears and knows nothing

The grave is his final bed.

 

Maybe it is because

The dead is not really dead

But somewhere the dead is alive

And living life instead.

 

Sounds like pure madness

That the individual could be alive

And we hold a funeral service

For someone that survives.

 

 

And we say rest in peace

As though the dead can hear

But then hurry him off for burial

In a hearse and bier.

 

If death is a rest,

Is it only peaceful for some?

Are some therefore in turmoil

When this life is done?

 

In either case I dare say

That none can be dead,

If they can experience any rest

They must be alive instead.

 

I pose the question again:

Is the dead alive?

If your considered opinion is yes

Then how do they thrive?

 

No doubt some will say

Not in their bivouac of the flesh

But surely in their spirit or their soul-

Their answer would be yes.

 

For others, I can tell you

It would be a resounding no

For from dust they were created

And it’s back to the dust they go.

 

No spirit and no soul:

They believe that nothing is left

Barring the result of ongoing decay

From at the point of one’s death.

 

Psalm 146:4

 

In the day a man dies

His thoughts also die with him,

His breath goes from him

And he returns to the earth.

 

Ecclesiastes 9:5

 

What do the dead know?

The dead know they shall die

But the dead know not any thing

When in the dust they lie.

 

John 11:25-26

 

We still hold to Jesus’ words

Regarding all that are in Christ,

They that live shall never die

And they that die shall live.

 

I have never experienced death

So, I cannot say I know

And I am in no hurry to die

To see if I can tell you so.

 

 

Let me repeat again,

I am not excited about death

But I will refrain from saying RIP

And simply say, at rest.

 

Stewart Russell © September 11, 2022

 

 

A Thought

 

Some thoughts are so fleeting

And sometimes are gone so fast

That if we had to recount them

It would be an impossible task.

 

Try tracing a thought

From its inception to its end:

Even to contemplate this

It is difficult to comprehend

 

Though we often think

We seldom analyze our thoughts

And the times we do

We’re either excited or distraught.

 

A thought is sometimes referred to

As a brilliant idea

Though just as often too

It can run the other way.

 

A thought may be sinister

Or it may be saintly like,

Of course the former is darkness

While the latter is light.

 

 

Thoughts are linked to our senses

They are received in five ways,

They are reflected in our actions

As we live out our days.

 

Some thoughts are bothersome

And load us down with care:

These we wish we could forget

But they don’t easily disappear.

 

Some thoughts make us happy,

These are the desired experience

But unlike the other thoughts

They are not as intense.

 

Enough about thoughts though,

Let me concentrate on just one:

It will take just a few more verses

And then I will be gone.

 

 

When is the last time

You thought about your soul?

Can you trace it from its inception

Regarding the word you were told?

 

Please don’t dismiss that thought

Unceremoniously

For it bears a direct link

That speaks to your destiny.

 

For certainly that is a thought

That has eternal repercussions,

To ignore this particular thought

Is to court eternal damnation.

 

I know this sounds harsh

 And perhaps a little absurd

But you can verify it

If you search in God’s Word.

 

 

This thought comes from God

You are fortunate to have received it,

Make the best of your opportunity

Don’t resist the Holy Spirit.

 

Stewart Russell © October 2018

 

To Fix a Broken Scale

One day I got to thinking

And my thoughts made me livid,

Yes, I know I said I was thinking

But what I thought seemed so vivid.

In my thoughts, I saw a scale

And on that scale, there were some items,

The items were all to one side

Every single one of them.

As could be expected

The scale was down to that side,

These things were heavy without doubt

So I was not surprised.

My scale was terribly lopsided

But at first, I did not mind

Until I got to thinking…

This was thinking of the spiritual kind.

But then suddenly a single item

Was placed on the opposite side

And would you believe me?

Those things went on an upward ride.

I thought, how could a single item

Outweigh a world of others?

And it seemed so insignificant

To me, that was the bother.

On one side there was wealth

Also fame and popularity,

Add to that, great possessions

And loads and loads of money.

Perhaps the scale wasn’t working

Or I was being deluded,

What a strange phenomenon

Into my thoughts had intruded!

I looked again and there it was

Just as I had seen before,

It had to be illusory,

It certainly was nothing more.

  

All these tangible things I saw

Were to one end of the scale

But when matched to the single one

All these items had failed.

I wondered and I wondered

How could this really be?

What I saw didn’t make any sense

Must be something I didn’t see.

Then in my thoughts, I saw a heart

Well, more like a human soul,

A longing there for something more

After having achieved its goal.

The scale that was really broken

Was inside my very own soul,

I possessed much with more to spare

Yet I was not feeling whole.

I was weighted heavily down

With all the world’s trinkets,

The gold, the wealth and fame

But my broken soul they couldn’t fix.

Further down I could not go,

I had now reached rock bottom,

I looked up the scale to the other end

And that’s when I felt so rotten.

I had fed my soul on worldly husks

And such is never soul food,

I was still starved as starved could be

I had to make a move.

There was one item that I needed

That would far outweigh all these,

It was the wonderful love of God

That would rid me of my disease.

My scale had long stopped working

My priorities were all mixed up

And though I had the world’s goods

Mine was a bitter cup.

I remembered King Solomon’s words

All is vanity and vexation of spirit

Hence, my scale so gravely top heavy

Had issued me with an edit.

Get right! Get right! It said to me

Fix your broken scale,

The values thereon are way off mark

You are doomed to fail.

With the correct item at the other end

All those things were jettisoned,

Love controls my scale and now I know

I have a balanced position.

The balance of payment in this life

Cannot be treated to with wealth,

Only the wonderful love of Jesus

Can turn around our spiritual health

One’s scale is seriously broken

Until God’s love is taken on board,

One only gains the right perspective

By studying the Holy Word.

I am thankful for God’s intervention

My scale is working better,

There’s room for improvement though

But that’s another matter.

Stewart Russell © June 2018

Me My Friend and I

We always move together

Me, my friend and I

And should one try to separate us

We would surely die.

Me, my friend and I

You’ll never see one alone

We keep each other’s company

At school, at church, at home.

Some people call us triplets

Identical ones at that,

Some may call us a threesome

Always together, that’s a fact.

We’re like spirit soul and body

Or water, ice and vapour

And to interfere with either one

Is to declare all out war.

We represent one another

Always, as a matter of fact,

And it’s not just words I’m using,

We have one another’s back.

Yes, we look out for one another

The way good friends do,

And whatever one of us gets

The other gets it too.

From birth we’ve been together

Me, my friend and I,

And as friends we’ve decided

That together we will die.

If one should leave the others

Neither would survive,

Albeit separation is impossible,

We’ve all got the same drive.

We are really one, you see,

Me, my friend and I,

And if you feel to intervene

Don’t you ever dare try!

Even that you cannot do

No matter how hard you try,

No way you can come between us

Me, my friend and I.

We sometimes have disputes

When to ourselves we talk

But at the end of any discussion

We always together walk.

We’ve been through life together

We’d have it no other way,

And one thing that’s worked for us

Each one has equal say.

At the end of each discussion

Agreement is the outcome,

It’s one for three and three for one

After the talk is done.

We are like the blessed Trinity

Me, my friend and I

But one major difference is

One of these days we will die.

That’s our story my friend

Me, my friend and I,

And I dare say it’s also yours

Just take a look inside.

Stewart Russell (c) March 2019