The Missing Epitaph

What would you like written on your tombstone?

Maybe you’ve already given some thought as to what your epitaph should be. Perhaps you’d like a mention of your accomplishments or family ties.

You might even hope that something humorous be inscribed on your gravestone, as in the following examples:

“I told you I was sick.” (Written on the gravestone of William H. Hahn, Jr., of Princeton, New Jersey.)
“Here lies Lester Moore, Four slugs from a 44, No Les, No more.” (An actual epitaph in the Boothill Graveyard in Tombstone, Arizona.)
“There goes the neighborhood.” (Epitaph of self-deprecating comedian Rodney Dangerfield.)
“Here lies the body of Jonathan Blake. Stepped on the gas instead of the brake.” (On the tombstone of an accident victim in Unionville, Pennsylvania.)
“Here lies John Yeast. Pardon me for not rising.” (This cheeky epitaph is on a grave in Ruidoso, New Mexico.)

What was written on Christ’s tombstone? Any guesses?

Absolutely nothing.

Why?

Because He didn’t stay in the tomb for very long and isn’t there now.

Jesus was only a temporary resident in the dark chamber in which He lay.

Unlike John Yeast, Jesus did rise.

Three days after His crucifixion, He came to life again and walked out of that tomb, never to return.

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It’s Raining Diamonds!

If diamonds are a girl’s best friend, I’m on the wrong planet.

I’ve just discovered that there are planets on which it rains diamonds.

Scientists believe that diamond rain could occur deep in the atmospheres of our gas giant neighbours in the solar system: Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune.

Thousands of miles below the surface of these planets, carbon atoms come under such crushing pressure in the dense atmospheres that diamonds could form. The conditions are so extreme that further down, the diamonds could melt into liquid, forming diamond “rain” drops.

On some planets in the universe, these drizzles could involve diamonds millions of carats in size.

The wonders of the cosmos don’t end there. Scientists suggest that on the exoplanet WASP-121b it rains liquid rubies and sapphires. Clouds on this planet could be made of corundum, a mineral out of which these precious gems are formed.

It gets better.

The asteroid Psyche 16, which orbits the sun in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, is made entirely of solid metal. It has enough gold to turn every person on Earth into a billionaire. As well as gold, this intriguing minor planet contains metals such as platinum, iron and nickel in abundance. If Psyche 16’s metals were on Earth, their combined value would be worth perhaps $100,000 quadrillion.

Talk about an embarrassment of riches!

What does all this tell us?

That the precious gems and metals we covet are a dime a dozen in God’s universe. After all, Scripture tells us that in Heaven, the streets are paved with gold.

More importantly, God has an inexhaustible supply of the things that we truly need: grace, mercy, love, and forgiveness.

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The Recipe For Your Life

Photo by silviarita on Pixabay

Don’t you love cookie recipes that give you a lot of leeway in creating your own variations?

The instructions will give you the ingredients for a basic cookie, but then list options for different flavours or additions to create your own version.

Perhaps you want to add pecans instead of chocolate chips. Or maybe you’d rather substitute mint flavouring in place of vanilla.

These build-your-own cookie recipes sure are versatile. You get to pick and choose exactly what you want to put in the dough.

Don’t you wish life was like this?

Do you ever wish you could have chosen the “recipe” for your life story? That you could have picked out beforehand which “ingredients” would be part of your life?

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