Things of Clay

My husband went to China several years ago for business and met with several companies, one of which they do business with now.  He is the engineering manager, and as such, he receives gifts at Christmastime from a few companies they have a working relationship with, including the one in China. 

A couple of years ago, they sent him replicas of the terra cotta warriors.  I admit, I didn't really know much about them, but nontheless, they were interesting.  There was a little bit of information about them in the box; since the box was sent from China, however, most of the writing is in......Chinese!  Yes, not a lot to go by.....

However, I started reading a book recently--The Well by Mark Hall--that mentions these terra cotta figures.....
(for further information on them:  http://www.terracottawarriorexhibit.com/ )

The first emperor of China was named Qin Shi Huang. He was young when he took power (still in his teens!), but he is credited with many accomplishments: unifying China; revolutionizing the way warfare was carried out; building the Great Wall of China.  All of these things are awe-inspiring!  But something happened to him.....a trusted confidante (or so he thought) snuck a knife into the palace inside a scroll, with the intent to kill the emperor.  He missed, but the damage was done in the emperor's mind.  Qin became paranoid; he began to see enemies everywhere he looked.  He had defeated many, but the question now became--how do you defeat death?  He searched for answers to this question, and was finally told taking mercury was the way to live forever.  You can imagine the impact on his already fragile mind; when the sensory impairment started, he slipped deeper into paranoia.  Eventually, he decided he wanted to be surrounded by a vast army that would guard him on his way to the afterlife--a terra cotta army, more than 1,000 massive clay statues, 6-foot tall warriors, chariots, horses.  

After these warriors were found, it was discovered that an estimated 7,000 figures were created--a complete household lay buried with him.

There was a lot of effort and time put into this vast world of statues that would never live.  They weren't even for the people to admire; they were meant for one man trying to cheat death.

How often do we put so much time and effort into dead things?  Why are we so obsessed with things that really don't matter, that will corrupt and crumble away?

Make sure what you do has a lasting impact..........an eternal impact (Galations 6:8-9).