The house shook...and shook...and shook...

It went on for 50 interminable seconds.  The earthquake measured 7.8 on the Richter scale. Going through our house when it had stopped shaking, we found nothing damaged, nothing fallen; nothing had even shifted its position.  (Just a small stack of disposable cups ended up on the floor.)

But how different those 50 seconds were for so many people on the coast of our country. So far the death toll is over 500, and keeps rising.  Pictures of the disaster break our heart. Coffins are filled and buried by mourning family.  Some people wait for what seems like forever for any sign of a loved one who hasn't been found...yet.  Houses are crushed, possessions smashed.
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God knows all about earthquakes.  They can be so frightening!  In Revelation, a number of earthquakes will accompany the "activities" of the last days.  Even Isaiah said:  "Suddenly, in an instant, the Lord Almighty will come with thunder and earthquake and great noise..."  (29:5-6)

No one in his right mind would actually desire to be smashed under tons of debris...right?  Well, apparently, in the last days, some people might do just that!  Revelation 6:15-17 says that kings, princes, generals, mighty, rich, free and slave:  "...hid in caves and among the rocks of the mountains.  They called to the mountains and the rocks, 'Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb!  For the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?'"  Imagine!  Knowing that they will not pass the judgement favorably, they would prefer to be crushed and obliterated rather than face the Judge.

We've wondered how many of the more-than-400 people who died on the coast were our brothers and sisters in Christ. They are with their Savior!  But how many of them, having perished, will realize that they've lost their chance to be there, too?
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In the wake of such a tragedy, we draw comfort from the psalmist's declaration:  "For the Lord is the great God, the great King above all gods.  In his hands are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to Him.  The sea is his, for He made it, and his hands formed the dry land."  (Psalm 95:35)

And we have this promise from our loving Lord:  "'Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken, nor my covenant of peace be removed', says the Lord, who has compassion on you.'"  (Isaiah 54:10)

      LET OUR FAITH AND TRUST IN HIM NEVER BE SHAKEN, EITHER

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But the Final Graduation will the best, by far!

I hadn't thought of graduation as a "rite of passage", but I guess you could call it that. "Rite of passage: a ritual that marks a change from one stage of (social) life to the next".

So here's my son Dan, just turning 5, passing from one stage to another?  Hardly!  It's his kindergarten "graduation" ceremony.  We enrolled him in a tiny private school (in Quito) when he was 4, and they lumped the pre-kinders in with the regular kindergarteners.  Being one of the top students, he graduated with the rest of them, this beginning his sequence of diplomas.

Curious about the origin of the cap and gown, I found that universities in the 12th and 13th centuries used them.  The teachers were usually clerics, who wore long gowns, hoods, and other head-wear, and the students came to use them, too.  (They were worn during the school year, also, not only at the ceremony celebrating the completion of their studies.)  A good reason for wearing robes was that the stone buildings were cold, and the attire helped both teachers and students stay warm!

(This painting is of a 13th century medical school class.)
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We go through different rites of passage - marriage, school graduations, funerals - but the most awesome "change from one stage to another" will come when we have "completed our studies" of Life here on Earth, and reach Heaven to receive our "diploma"!  Eternal life!  (Although for those who never registered for class at the Narrow Way, the final reward won't be so awesome!)

Revelation gives us a glimpse of the rewards we can expect...IF we don't "drop out of School" before we finish the course.

"He who overcomes will, like them, be dressed in white.  I will never erase his name from the book of life."  (3:5)
"To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with Me on my throne."  (3:21)

"He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his God, and he will be my son.."  (21:7)
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Paul gives us a good illustration:  "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.  Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award me on that day - and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing."  (II Timothy 4:7,8)

          So, "Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us."  (Hebrews 12:1)
                          The end result will definitely be worth it!