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"Lessons of the Dead"

 

the story and the study

A Few Words from the Writers

I am so thankful for the lessons of life. I wouldn’t be the man that I am today if it weren’t for those lessons. But, you don’t just learn lessons from life. You learn lessons from the dead as well, from those who have gone before you.

Hebrews 12:1 reads, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.”

We are surrounded by witnesses who have gone before us and they are cheering us on so that we can finish this race. It we look at their history and learn from their stories, we can learn how to really live and finish the race that God has set before us.

-JONATHAN LEE

I have 4 kids. 3 of them are fairly easy. Then there’s Luka Wilder. I’ve said for years that he wakes up, turns the gain knob up to 12 (10 is the highest number for reference), and throws away the knob. Then he falls asleep just to wake up the next day and do it again. He terrifies me. But I see so much of myself in him. I see the curiosity in his eyes. I see the deep longing to FEEL something every day.

I see pure love, with no boundaries. I see PASSION in every face that he makes. I know my parents saw that in me and I find myself, almost daily, saying the exact same kind of things to him that they said to me, which are also the same things that their parents told them, and so on.

If there’s one thing my parents have given me that I'm thankful for, it’s wisdom. I can’t say that I’ve always accessed it correctly, but it’s always been ready and available. And I long to pass those things down to my kids! This song is just that: the passing down of wisdom. What is the wisdom in this song? To listen to the wisdom ahead of you and to “keep to the old roads” as my favorite Andrew Peterson song says.

-Jordan Merritt

“lessons of the dead” lyrics

Verse 1
We were livin', livin' like there’s nothing but time
It was crazy and scary and a little bit wild
We were searchin', searchin' for another high
Disappointed all our mothers
And we made them cry

Chorus
But time brings a little wisdom
And time helps me understand
And now that I’ve done a little listenin'
I can almost hear the lessons of the dead

Verse 2
After sunrise, we would say our morning prayer
We would kiss our momma bye
And then we’d live like hell
Oh, I hated, hated all the rules she gave
'Cause I thought that it’d be better
If I did my way

Chorus
But time brings a little wisdom
And time helps me understand
And now that I’ve done a little listenin'
I can almost hear the lessons of the dead

Verse 3
And now, now that I got my own son
Got a little perspective and a lot more love
I can hear everything my momma said
And I hope he’ll do life better than I did
And I hope he’ll do life better than I did

Chorus
'Cause now I’ve got a little wisdom
And now I finally understand
Oh God, I really hope he listens
And I hope he hears the lesson before I’m dead

Tag
'Cause we’re all trying to learn
The lesson of the dead.