Nancy recently read Living Life Backward by David Gibson, and thought it was good enough for us to go through together. And so we starting chipping away at it, listening to it chapter by chapter in the evening. But then we had occasion to drive up to Spokane and back in a day, and we finished it in one go. This is such a good book.
The book is a pastoral commentary on the book of Ecclesiastes, and Gibson does a wonderful job with it. The theme he draws out, one very much in line with what the author of Ecclesiastes was pounding home, is the value of death as a tutor.
As Augustine put it The City of God, in this world the dead are replaced by the dying. Gibson unpacks this reality, chapter after chapter, and he does it without being the least bit morbid. This is a really fine book, and I encourage everyone to get it. I do not exclude young people because the Preacher exhorts you all to remember your Creator in the days of your youth. But I would really encourage those of my generation to read this. The journey is inevitable, and it is past time to start packing. This book will be a huge help.
Again, without morbidity. The day of your death is certified letter, mailed from Heaven. It is already mailed, and it will arrive on the appointed day.
“So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.”Psalm 90:12 (KJV)