We are so very good at ignoring death. We push it to the recesses of our minds till it is far out of reach, ignorable as we surround ourselves in comfort, entertainment, good works, power, or beauty. But inevitably it comes creeping back. Perhaps in those moments of solitude, when our phone dies, or maybe when we recognize our powerlessness in the face of natural disaster, an uncontrolled viral outbreak, or when celebrities unexpectedly die. We find, despite all our distractions, that death has not gone anywhere, and it waits for us.

We say in the wake of death, rest in peace. These are good words, if in fact peace is what waits for them on the other side. But what if it doesn’t?

Perhaps for every rest in peace we utter to those lost to us, we should be doubling our effort to say respice finem–consider your end–to those among us today. For peace only waits for those who have trusted in the Prince of Peace himself. One day all our distractions will fade away and we will meet the One who made us, face to face, we will give an account for who we were in this world (and whose we were), and it will decide our fate in the world to come. Nothing we will have done will be good enough when we stand before Perfection himself. The only way we can Rest in Peace is by bowing ourselves before the cross where peace with God was bought for us. Peace in the world to come is only promised to those who have trusted in the only One who could conquer death, the God-Man himself. In him alone can we find rest and peace in this life and in the life to come.

So, consider your end, dear friend.

Consider your end,
Dear Friend.
When your eyes close and 
all you treasure rusts.

Consider your end,
Dear Friend.
When you will lie breathless and
distractions can not bear you up.

Consider your end,
Dear Friend.
When your flesh leaves only bone and
beauty treatments can not cover a grinning skull

Consider your end,
Dear Friend.
When another power takes your place and
you cannot control your fate.

Consider your end,
Dear Friend.
When your heart is exposed and
all your thoughts are known by Holiness

When you face your Maker
Will you beg the mountains to cover you or
Will you greet him by the blood of the Lamb?
Please, Dear Friend

Consider your end.