Finding Hope in the Faces of the Damned...

[revrandy]

This weekend my wife and I visited the Science Museum here in Oklahoma City. They were featuring an exhibit on the human body. Various people had donated their body to be displayed and a process was used to preserve the muscle tissue and various body parts somewhat freezing them in time. Simply put, it was amazing to see. They had different bodies posed; some standing, others sitting and some were simply cut into slices allowing you to glimpse into them and realize what is in your own body. We found the prenatal exhibit to be especially touching and telling.

As we walked into the exhibit we were met by the skeleton of a man greeting us. Soft music playing and the walls surrounding the exhibit were respectfully black. The skeleton was standing and there were little plaques beside them with information. There were clear glass boxes around with the different preserved body parts of the skeletal structure; elbows, knees, tissue and so on.

Entering the prenatal area was extremely telling. There were vials there that contained the baby from one month to seven months. It made us to realize that the term "fetus" may be scientific but with the little hands and feet we saw at just two months the little baby is anything but just a blob. It's a baby.

As we turned a corner were met by a human standing with muscle tissue completely exposed. You must know that these are donated by the person that once lived in them. The soul long gone and the body is preserved. They were long dead but somewhat alive in that their body had been preserved. Something you don't see everyday. As we continued we went into the vascular system. The process used was amazing to see the arteries and the blood vessels exposed like a mass of red strings throughout the body. To see our internal organs put together like a puzzle it really made the words of David in Psalms come alive when he said, "We are fearfully and wonderfully made".

Towards the end there was a body standing with all the muscle tissue exposed and arms extended with the hands holding a clothes hanger and on the hanger was the complete skin that once was draped over the body.

Finally as we exited our thoughts were somewhat interesting because after seeing the exhibit you’re not quite sure how to respond. On the one hand your not really repulsed because of what you have seen and on the other hand your somewhat taken back because you just got a glimpse into the eyes of what was at one time a living, breathing human being that now was a empty shell no longer containing the life or spirit that made this person who he or she was.

Truly we are all born with a curse upon our lives and the curse of death that will one day come upon all of us. How we choose to die is up to us really. I'm not talking about the cause of death but the condition of our soul. As I looked into the bodies of those displayed I could see something they never got to see. I saw the many different parts of their body and while it was interesting and contemplating I could not see their soul. I could see where science had brought them through chemicals and preservation but I could not their soul and did not know the condition of their soul when they died.

Where were they spending eternity? How did they live their life? Was it fulfilling to them? Did they have regrets? Were they abusive or giving? Were they happy or sad? Did they suffer? Did they have great success? There is one thing to note that while there were many bodies displayed none of them were smiling.

So many questions to ask but we will never know because all we see now is the damned and yet I saw hope surrounding the damned. It was a glimmer in a child's eye and the parent who was walking through the exhibit. I heard laughter outside as the kids were enjoying other aspects of the museum. I heard a baby cry as the mother tried to console. I saw an older couple holding hands as they were looking at the train exhibit. So many signs of life and even though I didn't know their stories I knew that there was still time to make a difference.

Paul wrote in Corinthians that we are looking thru a glass darkly now but one day all will be revealed. I hope that when that day comes and my body is lying in a grave waiting for the call that my soul will be in a place of peace and fulfillment because I choose that while I lived I would do my best to live for God and make a difference here on this temporal place called life.

The Bible says it is appointed unto man once to die and then the judgment. When it comes my time I want to know I did everything possible to live, love and finish what God has called me to do. Regardless of where your at in your life today find some time to pray and ask God to find you,encourage you, help you...

Be Encouraged...

Randy...