Loose Strings
A few days ago, I pulled out a letter from my mailbox that was addressed to my family. “To the Family of Michael Riley” was printed on the front of the envelope. That’s strange, I thought. Curious, I immediately opened the letter and to my surprise learned that I had recently passed away. The short message offered condolences to my family and provided a telephone number that my family members could call if they needed financial help.
My dear wife quickly copied down the number, with a sly grin on her face. “You never know when this might come in handy,” she impishly said. “Might pay for a cruise after your funeral.”
I, too, was a bit amused by the notice of my death. I am feeling older these days, and taking a few more medications than I used to but, as far as I know, condolences are a little premature.
Yet, life is unpredictable, isn’t it? We never know from one day to the next what will come our way. The martial artist Chuck Norris recently left this world quite unexpectedly. I read where just a few months earlier he had climbed a 10,000 foot mountain. Obviously, he was well-conditioned, but he could not escape death.
Chuck Norris, March 10, 1940 – March 19, 2026
Death is a certainty for all of us. In our modern age of medical wonders and pharmaceutical discoveries people are living longer and better than at any other time in human history. But death has not been conquered. Its presence hovers over us every day, reminding us of just how fragile and uncertain life is.
The Greek philosopher Socrates thought and spoke about death throughout his life. He believed that until a person made peace with death, he could never fully appreciate and value life. Socrates faced death throughout his life. He fought bravely in the Peloponnesian War and was respected for his courage in battle, risking his life time and again for others. After he was falsely accused of corrupting Athenian youth and sentenced to death, he nonchalantly chatted with his friends in his prison cell as the poison did its deed. His reconciliation with the reality of death allowed him to value his honor and integrity more precious than his life.
Socrates
The life and teachings of Jesus were shadowed by death. He came into the world for the purpose of dying on a cross. That was his destiny. His entire life was a journey toward the cross. And yet his impending death never robbed him of the joy of life. One finds in Jesus a man who was at peace with the thought that one day his life would end. That’s not to say that the prospect of death didn’t bother him. It did. Like all of us, he wanted to live. He prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane that somehow he might be spared the cross. But no one escapes death, not even Jesus.
Since my death announcement, I’ve been thinking more about the end of my life. I wonder how I will meet my final hours on this earth. In my work as a pastor I have seen people of strong faith cower in their final days or hours. I’ve also witnessed people meet death with courage who had little to no faith in God or an afterlife. Overall, I think faith can help us when death comes calling, but there is no guarantee that it will. Emotions can sometimes get the better of us.
What can ease the fear of the inevitable is preparation. It helps to recognize our mortality, and joyfully embrace the life we now have. The psalmist wrote long ago: “This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it” (Ps. 118:24). In other words, live every day with meaning and purpose. Don’t waste your time, don’t harbor grudges, don’t live a life of regrets, forgive those who have wronged you, focus on what is most important, treat people kindly, and spend time with family and friends.
One thing I’m sure about: When the time comes to say farewell, we will leave a lot of loose strings. It’s inevitable. There will be all sorts of things left unfinished, words left unsaid, places left unvisited, books left unread, letters left unwritten, and so much more left undone.
When I received notice of my death, I thought about all my unfinished tasks, all the loose ends, and unrealized dreams that I would never be able to tie together. I’m taking some college classes that I would have never been able finish. I’m in the middle of a couple of books that would have remained half read. There are still so many places I want to visit that would have remained unexperienced. People I would like to know better would have remained merely casual friends.
Yet, even if I live another lifetime, there would always be loose strings. We leave this world in the midst of an unfinished story, for it is not ours to finish. Others will pick-up the loose threads that we have left behind and weave together their own story, but their story, too, will remain unfinished. Every human story is only a chapter in God’s grand narrative. When the trumpets sound and the archangel announces the end of time, there will still be lots of loose strings, dangling from the pages of the human story.
So, today I will cherish my life but not cling too tightly to it. Life is given as a gift and what I do with it is my gift to the Giver of Life. Whether we acknowledge it or not, we are all on a journey toward death. It may come unexpectedly or it may drag us slowly toward our end. But we live unto death.
When my tiny chapter has been written in the grand scheme of things, and a confirmed announcement of my death arrives, I hope that the loose strings that I have left behind will not include gratitude—a thankfulness for my time on earth I have been granted. An appreciation for life—gratitude—is the one string that doesn’t have to be left dangling.
