Dr. Barclay with Something to Think About - THE DIE IS CAST

 THE DIE IS CAST

The above phrase was apparently attributed to Julius Caesar by Suetonius on January 10, 49 BC as Caesar led his army across the Rubicon River in defiance of the Roman Senate. It started the long civil war with Pompey and meant that there was no stopping what was about to happen; a point of no return had been passed and the world would probably not be the same again. 

There have been many times in the course of history when an event such as the above has occurred. A few examples include June 15, 1215 AD when the Magna Carta was signed laying the concept of the legal system we now know. Or July 4, 325 AD when, at the Council of Nicaea, the concept and recognition of the Christian Church was formalized. Or perhaps October 31,1517 when Martin Luther published his 95 Theses against what he believed to be abuses in the church.

In more modern times, there is Sept 1,1939 when WW2 started and perhaps even Feb. 24, 2022 when Russia invaded Ukraine. All of these events, and many others, signify times when something happened from which there was really no turning back.

The Bible also has many examples of defining moments as well. When Abraham was told to leave Ur, he made a defining decision. When Joseph refused the advances of Potiphar’s wife, it was a decision which eventually brought about his ascension to a high position in Egypt. When the Hebrew people, in Exodus Chapter 12, decided to follow God’s instruction and smear blood on their doorposts, even if it may have seemed foolish at the time, it became a defining moment in their history.

Throughout history there have been many moments when people and nations have been confronted by the need to make decisions from which turning back afterwards is not possible. Jesus made such a decision when He said: “Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done” (Luke 22:42). The decision of Christ to follow His Father’s will and not His own became perhaps the most defining moment in all of history.

Just as it was God’s will that Jesus would suffer in our place, it is also His will that the Lord would be “…long-suffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance,” (2 Peter 3:9). This is “…in hope of eternal life which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began,” (Titus 1:2).

Just as nations and individuals in history have had their defining moments, so do each of us. We all come to those periods of time when life determining decisions must be made. Some of these can and will be altered in the future, others will be irrevocable. But what is certain, however, is that when our physical life on earth ends, then truly the die will have been cast and there will be no turning back. As with Caesar crossing the Rubicon, the decisions we have made up to that time will stay with us forever in determination of where our soul may be. As it relates in Daniel 12:2, “…many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, some to shame and everlasting contempt.” Matthew 25:46 puts it a little differently: “And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

God, through Christ, obviously wants no one to suffer.  God sent His only Son to suffer in our place, and Christ, having made the decision to do His Father’s will, endured that burden for us.  Therefore, perhaps doing the same, and following the Father’s will, is something we should all do before we cross our own Rubicon and our final die is cast. 

As it states in 1 John 2:17 “…he who does the will of God abides forever.” It’s certainly something to seriously think about.