To Be or Not to Be: That is the Question.

I’m sure that most of us have heard this famous quote. It begins the soliloquy in Shakespeare’s “Hamlet”, Act 3, scene 1. Hamlet is contemplating existence in general and his own existence specifically. He is basically asking the question, is it better to live or to die; to exist or not exist. It seems to me from some of the other thoughts going through Hamlet’s mind, that he does not have a very solid hope when it comes to life after death. “To grunt and sweat under a weary life, But that the dread of something after death, The undiscovered country from whose bourn no traveler returns, puzzles the will and makes us rather bear those ills we have than fly to others that we know not of?” The dread of something after death sounds rather bleak to me. That is not the hope I have. I would much rather share the expectation and desire of eternal life with the Apostle Paul, who wrote, “For to me to live is CHRIST, and to die is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with CHRIST, for that is far better.” Philippians 1:21-23 Living with that kind of hope is truly living, not just existing. So, the promise for those of us who are IN CHRIST is not, “To be or not to be?” It is the promise of, “To BE and continue to BE, forever.” Instead of spending time wondering what it will be like after we die, I think it is far more important to think about how we are living now, in the life we have. Paul went on to say, “Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ…” With this in mind, I want to look at some of the Scriptures which address the question of whether or not we want to to live for CHRIST. “How to be or how not to be, that is the question.” -To be continued.

Russell Ashby