.png?mask=1)
It was William Shakespeare who, in the play As You Like It, coined the familiar phrase "All the world's a stage…" The line came from Shakespeare's character Jaques, who further explained, "…and all the men and women merely players; they have their exits and entrances; and one man in his time plays many parts, his acts being seven ages…" Jaques then chronicles what he saw as the stages of a man's life or "acts." He begins with the helpless baby, who he pictures "mewing in his nurse's arms." From infancy, Jaques tells of the stages of maturation or, as he calls them, the whining schoolboy, the captivated lover, the patriotic soldier, and the discerning judge. Moving toward the later stages of life, Jaques mentions the pantaloon, which in the vernacular of the seventeenth century, was a term for an older man. Following the pantaloon, Jaques concludes his list by calling the final "act" second childishness and mere oblivion. The last line reads, "Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything."
Sans means "without."
What's the point? Among other things, Shakespeare seems to be emphasizing the idea that a human being's existence on earth is bookended by times of complete helplessness and total dependence on others. The infant, with growth, wisdom, and life experience ahead of him, and the elderly man with a life already lived, find themselves in the same place – needing others to live, needing others to "act."
And while we can all understand how absolute dependence is required during life's fragile stages, the question must be asked: is there ever a time, even in adulthood, when we are independent of the community around us? Who grows the crops, who bakes the bread, who stocks the shelves, who diagnoses the disease, who prescribes the medicine? Throughout our time on earth, we can usually think of others who contribute to our existence in one way or another.
Naturalistic scientists and secular philosophers promote the idea that human existence is a product of time and random chance with no ultimate meaning to it all. But the Bible tells a different story. The Bible speaks of a God who created the universe and determined the times and places every person would be born, live, and die. It tells us that the people we interact with, those who contribute to our existence, are not randomly placed here. God put every person exactly where He wanted them to be.
Addressing the Greek philosophers in Athens, the Apostle Paul declared, "From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands" (Acts 17:26). Undoubtedly, our lives and the lives of infants, schoolboys, lovers, soldiers, judges, pantaloons, and older adults with dementia, are here, at this place and time, for a divine reason. Paul tells us that reason in the following verse: "God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us" (Acts 17:27).
Simply stated, we are here, at the best possible place and time in history, to be drawn to God; and, in our drawing, come to a knowledge of the Creator, bank on the Good News of His Son's life, death, and resurrection for us, and be saved. Undoubtedly, the people God has chosen to surround us with have something to do with that. It's not an accident!
So, whether it's the Christian pantaloon or the faithful butcher, baker, or candlestick maker, we, the people of God, are providentially placed to influence those around us and be part of the drawing of others to God’s great Son!
As the school year comes to a close, we once again reflect on the truth of God’s sovereignty and providence over the world's affairs and look forward to sending our senior students out and into the next stages of their lives. If “all the world is a stage,” then may their “acts” be a blessing to their audience, and may they make their Director look good!
What a job we have!
Nicholas Harris