I have blogged before (05/30/2023) about my participation in the voluntary upkeep of a local graveyard. It is somewhat ironic that its name is Jackson Cemetery. I may well be kin to the family that began it in the early 1800s; but if so, it is distantly, as both their lineage and mine originated in North Carolina.
I share this because Jackson Cemetery is located at the western end of Jackson Cemetery Road, on a point overlooking the Little Tennessee River. My blog today has to do with what lies at the other end of Jackson Cemetery Road, the eastern end, where it turns off of the East Coast Tellico Parkway, so named because it parallels the eastern coast of Tellico Lake, a compound on the lowest reaches of the Little Tennessee River.
At this juncture stands a simple sign post. For years, it contained only a stop sign (for those headed east from the cemetery) on a metal post topped by the name of the road: “Jackson Cemetery Road”. But not now.
For recently, the county road department affixed a sign on the back of the stop sign. This new sign faces west for those who are entering the road to the cemetery. And in big brazen letters, it boldly proclaims: “NO OUTLET”!
I share this because Jackson Cemetery is located at the western end of Jackson Cemetery Road, on a point overlooking the Little Tennessee River. My blog today has to do with what lies at the other end of Jackson Cemetery Road, the eastern end, where it turns off of the East Coast Tellico Parkway, so named because it parallels the eastern coast of Tellico Lake, a compound on the lowest reaches of the Little Tennessee River.
At this juncture stands a simple sign post. For years, it contained only a stop sign (for those headed east from the cemetery) on a metal post topped by the name of the road: “Jackson Cemetery Road”. But not now.
For recently, the county road department affixed a sign on the back of the stop sign. This new sign faces west for those who are entering the road to the cemetery. And in big brazen letters, it boldly proclaims: “NO OUTLET”!
Now, I get the purpose of the sign. In effect, it is stating that this is literally a dead end street. Once one has reached this end, there is no way out, other than to turn around.
But do not miss the implicit message on display here. And what is that? It is that one can freely enter upon a journey toward the cemetery; but once there, he or she has no way out! In other words, death, toward which we all inevitably proceed, is the all-consuming destination from which there is no escape.
Long, long ago, a venerable man (in the Old Testament Book of Job, chapter 14, verse 14) once asked the question: “If a man dies, will he live again?” For thousands of years since then, men and women have struggled with this most fundamental of issues.
For most, the conclusion has been a definitive “No!” As a result, a great many of our cultural forebears, especially (but in no way limited to) the Greeks and Romans, decided primarily that all that mattered was to make a name for oneself here in this world. Fortune and glory were all that mattered.
Sadly, a great many in the modern world have embraced this approach. The philosophy is “Eat, drink, and be merry”, for all that matters is this very day, this very world, and all that it very well has to offer.
But then came Easter!!!
When Jesus Christ came up out of the tomb, He turned the whole concept of the grave as the end of everything on its head. For He showed us that the grave was not the end. He showed us that there was indeed a way through the grave. He showed us that there was indeed a way out! And that way was to follow Him both through the grave and out of it on the other side!
Each day, all week long, as Palm Sunday has given way to Easter Sunday, I have walked past this road sign. And each and every time I have done so, it has served as a simple earthly reminder of a great eternal truth. And that is this….
If a person dies, he or she can indeed live again. He or she can venture down the road to the very place of death. Upon arriving there, he or she may be compelled to pause, but they must not, of necessity, be compelled to stop. Rather, through their faith in the Risen Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they may boldly proceed through and out to the other side.
Jackson Cemetery, on the shore of modern Tellico Lake, sits atop a hill that once overlooked the juncture of Lotterdale Creek and the Little Tennessee River. Near unto this point, the same man who founded the Jackson Cemetery also once operated a ferry. The name of that ferry? You guessed it: Jackson Ferry, the same as road upon which I now live.
These days, of course, we have bridges. Indeed, we have multiple bridges. But back in the day, ferries were the only way to cross a river. And it is for this reason that a ferry across a river is a most appropriate spiritual metaphor for what the future holds for each of us.
For each and every one of us must, of necessity, travel the road toward the grave. The only real question is what will happen once we arrive there. Will it be a place where we find no outlet? Or will it be a place where we find a way through, a way over, and a way out on the other side?
According to the Bible, this is all determined by whether or not we have placed our faith in the risen Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. In his first New Testament Letter (chapter 5, verse 12), the Apostle John states: “Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.” That is to say, those who have trusted Christ will pass through the grave into life eternal. Sadly, those who have not will have no way out of the grave and will suffer eternal death!
As I inexorably approach that day when I too will enter the grave, I find myself trusting more and more in the One Who, at that very first Easter, journeyed to, through, and beyond the end of the trail. As I do, I trust that, by following Him, I will wind up exactly where He, Himself, now is – on the other side, alive and well!
That is to say... when that day comes, I will have found a way out! I hope the same is true for you, my friend.
SOURCES:
https://www.cleoejacksoniii.com/my-ongoing-thoughts/a-most-memorable-memorial-day.
SCRIPTURES:
https://biblehub.com/job/14-14.htm;
https://biblehub.com/1_john/5-12.htm.
But do not miss the implicit message on display here. And what is that? It is that one can freely enter upon a journey toward the cemetery; but once there, he or she has no way out! In other words, death, toward which we all inevitably proceed, is the all-consuming destination from which there is no escape.
Long, long ago, a venerable man (in the Old Testament Book of Job, chapter 14, verse 14) once asked the question: “If a man dies, will he live again?” For thousands of years since then, men and women have struggled with this most fundamental of issues.
For most, the conclusion has been a definitive “No!” As a result, a great many of our cultural forebears, especially (but in no way limited to) the Greeks and Romans, decided primarily that all that mattered was to make a name for oneself here in this world. Fortune and glory were all that mattered.
Sadly, a great many in the modern world have embraced this approach. The philosophy is “Eat, drink, and be merry”, for all that matters is this very day, this very world, and all that it very well has to offer.
But then came Easter!!!
When Jesus Christ came up out of the tomb, He turned the whole concept of the grave as the end of everything on its head. For He showed us that the grave was not the end. He showed us that there was indeed a way through the grave. He showed us that there was indeed a way out! And that way was to follow Him both through the grave and out of it on the other side!
Each day, all week long, as Palm Sunday has given way to Easter Sunday, I have walked past this road sign. And each and every time I have done so, it has served as a simple earthly reminder of a great eternal truth. And that is this….
If a person dies, he or she can indeed live again. He or she can venture down the road to the very place of death. Upon arriving there, he or she may be compelled to pause, but they must not, of necessity, be compelled to stop. Rather, through their faith in the Risen Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they may boldly proceed through and out to the other side.
Jackson Cemetery, on the shore of modern Tellico Lake, sits atop a hill that once overlooked the juncture of Lotterdale Creek and the Little Tennessee River. Near unto this point, the same man who founded the Jackson Cemetery also once operated a ferry. The name of that ferry? You guessed it: Jackson Ferry, the same as road upon which I now live.
These days, of course, we have bridges. Indeed, we have multiple bridges. But back in the day, ferries were the only way to cross a river. And it is for this reason that a ferry across a river is a most appropriate spiritual metaphor for what the future holds for each of us.
For each and every one of us must, of necessity, travel the road toward the grave. The only real question is what will happen once we arrive there. Will it be a place where we find no outlet? Or will it be a place where we find a way through, a way over, and a way out on the other side?
According to the Bible, this is all determined by whether or not we have placed our faith in the risen Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. In his first New Testament Letter (chapter 5, verse 12), the Apostle John states: “Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.” That is to say, those who have trusted Christ will pass through the grave into life eternal. Sadly, those who have not will have no way out of the grave and will suffer eternal death!
As I inexorably approach that day when I too will enter the grave, I find myself trusting more and more in the One Who, at that very first Easter, journeyed to, through, and beyond the end of the trail. As I do, I trust that, by following Him, I will wind up exactly where He, Himself, now is – on the other side, alive and well!
That is to say... when that day comes, I will have found a way out! I hope the same is true for you, my friend.
SOURCES:
https://www.cleoejacksoniii.com/my-ongoing-thoughts/a-most-memorable-memorial-day.
SCRIPTURES:
https://biblehub.com/job/14-14.htm;
https://biblehub.com/1_john/5-12.htm.