Memento Mori: Remember You Must Die

Death is real. We will die. That is the truth of our reality. The question becomes: what do we do with that knowledge?

It’s something I’ve wrestled with for a long time. When I was about seven or eight, someone asked me what I wanted more of. My answer was simple: time. Even as a child, I struggled with the idea that I would die—and that those around me would die too.

Stories helped me process that fear.

• In Star Wars, Anakin Skywalker loses his humanity trying to cheat death. His desperate attempt to save Padmé leads to her very death.
• In contrast, Obi-Wan Kenobi freely gives up his life for Luke. By doing so, he becomes even more present, guiding Luke beyond the grave.

Both men faced death. One was corrupted by fear. The other was freed through sacrifice and purpose.

Tolkien offers the same lesson in The Lord of the Rings. Elves are “blessed” with immortality, tied forever to Middle-earth. Men, however, are given what Tolkien calls a special gift: death.

• Death motivates man to act. Men only have so long—if they want to contribute, they must begin.
• Death also frees men from their world. At the end, they are released to go to their Creator.

Yet many men reject this gift. They fear death, grasp at life, and in the process lose themselves. The Ringwraiths are the clearest example—men who stretched life so far that they became slaves to the One Ring.

Compare that to King Théoden riding onto the Pelennor Fields. He sees a battle before him that will likely claim his life. He could cling to life and flee. Instead, he rallies his riders with the cry, “Death!” He faces his fear, charges forward, and wins glory for himself and his people. He knows death is not the end, but a passage every man must walk.

These paths bring to mind Christ’s words in Matthew 16:25:

“For whoever would save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”

So which will it be? Will we clutch at life and become like Ringwraiths? Or will we serve a higher calling—ready to give our lives for God, like Théoden and Obi-Wan?

Take time this week to reflect on your mortality. How are you living? Which path are you walking?

Forge Ahead

Anvil: the place of formation.
Arrow: the mission we’re sent on.

The world needs more men formed in virtue. Forward this to a brother who’s ready to grow.