My wife recently returned from a trip to Xian, China. That is where the famous Terracotta Warriors are located. Life-sized clay statues of soldiers don’t seem like a big deal until you look a little closer.
To get an idea of the scale of the project, 720,000 people were forced to build the first Emperor of China’s burial complex. They began when he was only 13 years old, and it took 38 years to complete. There are over 7,000 soldiers and each one was made by hand using a difficult process of adding rows of clay on top of each other with enough time to dry, so it doesn’t collapse. Each soldier has a unique face, with many detailed features in his armor and uniform. This army was complete with weapons, horses and 100 chariots. They only stopped adding to the collection when the Emperor died, because the army was created to accompany him to the after-life. Even his servants were killed and buried with him. Despite the planning, the years of hard labor, the money and lives it cost, the whole thing was buried and forgotten for over 2000 years.
Farmers discovered the burial site in 1974, which is now being carefully uncovered to reveal this grand spectacle from the distant past. The army doesn’t stand proudly like it once did. Most of the carefully crafted soldiers are broken. Their powerful weapons have rotted and the bright paint that once covered them quickly vanishes when they are uncovered. The bodies of the servants, buried with their master, have turned to dust. The once fine brass chariot is only a frail display in a museum.
If the army, created to accompany him into eternity, is in ruin, what happened to the Emperor? Could the man who counted on his servants, who are now dust, be any better off than they are? Millions come to marvel at the preparations he made, but this man who once had “the whole world” lost it all in the end.
Perhaps we should follow a different plan? Instead of having craftsmen make us a clay army, we should look to the greatest “craftsman” to make us into vessels of honor that will last forever. We won’t need an army to accompany us if we accept JESUS who died for our sins, because GOD has prepared a place so we can accompany Him throughout eternity.
Wayne Lance (2015) – That’s Good News to Share!