The Dash In Between . . .
Rev’d Rob Anning writes: Recently, the last British serviceman to see active duty in both world wars died. Bill Stone had served in the Royal Navy and died aged 108. His dates were:
1900 - 2009
What was important for Bill, and for us all, is not our birth date, or the date of our death, but what is in between, represented simply by a dash.
Bill’s motto was “keep going” and he certainly did that! When asked about his secret of a long life, he replied: “Clean living, a contented mind, and trust in God”.
You will notice that Bill’s reply was holistic: his long life had depended on taking care of body, mind and spirit. It was this approach that allowed him to live life to the full and to serve others throughout his life. Bill gives us an insight into how we might ensure that our lives are healthy in every way.
In order that we as human beings can be whole, we have to attend to body, mind and spirit, for these three parts of us are inter-connected, and we ignore one any one of them at our peril.
Jesus was well aware of this connection. In the healing of the paralysed man lowered through the roof, in Luke 5 verses 17 to 26, Jesus addresses all three in his healing act: the healing of the man takes place as Jesus recognizes the faith of the man and his friends, and then he offers forgiveness to the man. The man is able to walk again because his whole being has been healed.
So if we want to be like Bill, and “keep going”, we need to ensure that the dash and not the dates includes attention to body, mind and spirit.