Home
>
Spirituality
>
Unfinished Business (Part 1)

Unfinished Business (Part 1)

Most of life can be said to be bad, or problematic, or painful, or sorrowful. Every great religion acknowledges this fact regarding life. Loved ones will die; chronic and painful sicknesses will begin; all manner of afflictions to the body and mind will occur. These are sorrowful things but all a part of life.

Life is a lifelong struggle that was forced upon us. We had no say in the matter. We were afforded no opportunity for a "trial run." We were not allowed a menu of options to choose from regarding our culture, physical attributes, or the country of our birth. We were forced to accept life and whatever condition in which we found ourselves. So these things suggest to us that destiny is beyond our control.

Life is risk filled. There is a certain degree of risk taking in every venture we pursue. And we never have total security within ourselves for we know that every moment we live our lives are in constant danger. A stray bullet may hit us, a car emerging from nowhere may crush us, a clumsy slip of the foot may incapacitate us, a natural disaster may kill us. So life is unpredictable.

But I think one of the most tragic realities about life is in its incompleteness. All labors whether good or bad must come to the same end: "It is soon cut off and we fly away." Some of our days are pleasant, others tragic, most are a mixture of good times and bad, but all are ephemeral and transient. And, we know that our lives are dying lives. The first second life begins, is the first second life begins to end. Everyday we manage to somehow survive; we have only gained another step towards our grave. We are continuously sliding down the stream of time into the ocean of eternity.

We make plans and set goals in life never knowing the time frame under which we are working. And somehow, due to lack of sufficient time, our greatest goals in life are never realized. For just when we see it within reach, it is cut off and we fly away.

Some of us in our youth started out vigorously and courageously determined to move mountains. We dream dreams of conquering the world and alleviating social ills. We make plans to be the best nurse, or the most dedicated lawyer, or the most sincere politician, or the most devoted preacher. We are determined, like Mother Teresa, Martin Luther King Jr., Gandhi, Bethune and others to make radical changes in the world.

But then, when we are aged, most of us make the painful discovery that we have only in a lifetime, moved a tiny pebble. Staff Sergeant Jarvis D. Anderson wrote in his poem "The Unfinished Cathedral",

The query comes: How long is Life?
Threescore and ten, the Good Book reads,
Is time enough for men to write
The record of his life in deeds.

Threescore and ten - how fast they fly!
Threescore and ten - they're almost gone!
And I, who dreamed of castles high,
Have only laid the cornerstone.

What I am suggesting is that our lives are incomplete lives. We leave with unfinished business; we get no closure; we do not get to do all the things that we want to do. Father Time will not permit it.

Building a temple for God had been David's dream. He himself lived in a magnificent palace of cedar wood, while the earthly home of God was a plain Tabernacle, a simple tent enclosed by some curtains. His conscience was piqued by this apparent incongruity. All, that was material and human of Israel, David's kingdom and power, was expressed in richness and splendor. On the other hand, all that was the source of Israel's divine power and interests was relegated to a worn, ragged tent enclosed with flapping curtains. David was moved by the disparity of the situation; he in a house of cedar, God in a tent.

David desired building a temple for God that would reach great heights in dignity on Mt. Zion. Night and day he contemplated the construction and erection of the temple. It became his all-absorbing ambition; it was his ultimate concern and was to be his ultimate fulfillment.

This is not to say that David did not have other aims because he did. He wanted to make Israel a great nation. He wanted to uplift the standards of his people. He wanted to extend his dominion and the influence of his empire. But in spite of all these secondary and tertiary goals, his primary ambition was centered on his infatuated notion of building a house for God. And so down through the centuries we hear the echoing of the words of David, "Here I am, living in a palace of cedar, while the ark of God remains in a tent."

The tragedy of David's vision lay in the fact that it never became a reality. He became so occupied with statecraft; so engaged in warfare, so preoccupied and busy with the affairs of the world, that the time never came, when he could lay aside these temporal matters and build a house for God. So we learn that the great King David went to his grave with his great purpose and fulfillment unrealized. The great hope that he cherished in his heart never came to pass. And so it is with us.

(continued in Part 2)

Rev. Saundra L. Washington, D.D., is an ordained clergywoman, veteran social worker, and Founder of AMEN Ministries. She is also the author of two coffee table books: Room Beneath the Snow: Poems that Preach and Negative Disturbances: Homilies that Teach which can be reviewed on her site. Her new book, Out of Deep Waters: My Grief Management Workbook, is expected to be available soon.

You are welcome to visit amen ministries: your soul's service station for spiritual refreshing, soul edification, browse our newly expanded mini shopping mall or review our recommended books you may want to add to your personal library.

Blessings to all!

disinfecting cleaning services Winnetka ..

In The News:

Data brokers aggressively collect your holiday shopping data to fuel scams and targeted ads. Learn how to delete your digital profile before 2025 starts.

Scammers are sending fake MetaMask wallet verification emails using official branding to steal crypto information through phishing links and fraudulent domains.

Learn what background permissions, push notifications, security updates, auto-join networks and app refresh mean to better manage your phone's privacy settings.

Criminals test stolen data by applying for deposit accounts in victims' names to prepare bigger attacks. Learn why banks won't share fraud details.

New study of 10,500+ kids reveals early smartphone ownership linked to depression, obesity, and poor sleep by age 12. Earlier phones mean higher risks.

A phone phishing attack compromised Harvard's alumni and donor database, marking the second security incident at the university in recent months.

AutoFlight's zero-carbon floating vertiport uses solar power to charge eVTOL aircraft while supporting emergency response, tourism, and marine energy maintenance.

A new phone return scam targets recent buyers with fake carrier calls. Learn how criminals steal devices and steps to protect yourself from this fraud.

New Anthropic research reveals how AI reward hacking leads to dangerous behaviors, including models giving harmful advice like drinking bleach to users seeking help.

The Fox News AI Newsletter gives readers the latest AI technology advancements, covering the challenges and opportunities AI presents.

Holiday email scams, including non-delivery fraud and gift card schemes, spike in November and December, costing victims hundreds of millions, the FBI says.

Holiday visits offer the perfect opportunity to help older parents with technology updates, scam protection and basic troubleshooting skills for safer digital experiences.

Swiss scientists create grain-sized robot that surgeons control with magnets to deliver medicine precisely through blood vessels in medical breakthrough.

Researchers exploited WhatsApp's API vulnerability to scrape 3.5 billion phone numbers. Learn how this massive data breach happened and protect yourself.

Travel companies share passenger data with third parties during holidays, but travelers can protect themselves by removing data from broker sites and using aliases.

Xpeng's humanoid robot moves so realistically that crowds believed it was fake, marking a major advancement in robotics technology ahead of 2026 commercial launch.

Researchers discover phishing scam using invisible characters to evade email security, with protection tips including password managers and two-factor authentication.

iPhone and Android users can reduce battery drain and data usage by restricting Background App Refresh to Wi-Fi connections instead of mobile networks.

Scammers nearly stole an Apple account by exploiting the support system with authentic-looking tickets and phone calls, users can protect themselves with safety steps.

FoloToy restored sales of its AI teddy bear Kumma after a weeklong suspension following safety group findings of risky and inappropriate responses to children.

Threat intelligence firm Synthient uncovers one of the largest password exposures ever, prompting immediate security recommendations.

Viral video shared by Elon Musk shows Tesla's Optimus humanoid robots performing tasks from cooking to construction, garnering over 58.5 million views on social media.

Chinese hackers used Anthropic's Claude AI to launch autonomous cyberattacks on 30 organizations worldwide, marking a major shift in cybersecurity threats.

Apple's new Sleep Score feature gives you a rating for your nightly rest quality. Learn how to set it up on your Apple Watch and iPhone today.

Essential phone settings to enable before losing your device, including Find My network, location services and security features for iPhone and Android.

Unfinished Business (Part 1)

Spirituality