These famous words from William Shakespeare may never have been more relevant than right about now. The famous “BARD” wrote those words in his soliloquy called Hamlet. “To be or not to be.” Shakespeare’s Hamlet, it meant to live or not. In fact, Hamlet was talking aloud to himself as to whether he would just as soon take suicide as a life-or-death choice over waiting for the choices he saw ahead.

Our English literature teacher over at Stonewall didn’t go into any of the religious connotations of Hamlet but just made us read it and discuss it. Flossie Grogan even made us read it aloud to one another in the class. Those were the days when “Lit” teachers even made students read, memorize and deliver something called the Prologue. That was, as I remember it, Mark Anthony’s speech at Caesar’s funeral. Feel free to correct me if you feel the need. I smile when I remember some of my cowboy boot buddies (some still wearing evidence of a recent visit to the cow lot) reading these lines of prose.

Oh! Did I mention religious connotations? Well, after all it is The Christmas Season. As I drove back from Branson the other day, we all listened to Sirius Radio Christmas Tunes. A good way, I suppose, to turn your mind to the Christmas Season. A time of music, lots of advertisements for gifts you need to give to your loved ones and, of course, your kids. And somewhere in this time I came across this: An invitation to come to the First Baptist Church and see, hear and participate in “The Hanging of the Green.” Brought my mind back to something we cleverly call “The Reason for the Season.”

Of course, I don’t have space here in my weekly article (nor the smarts) to explain how we all got here (in existence) in the first place. Or why we are here. Or exactly how the Christmas Season came to be. But I will refer you back to William Shakespeare for a start. Man, a product of God’s creation, has always worried about life, and death. Whether we will “Be” and for how long. We have a great desire to “Be” as William Shakespeare postulated in his poetic writings. Accepting the glaring fact (to me) that we were created by an intelligent being (God), we discover in our readings, history, and teachings that we are important to our Creator. As a matter of fact, we learn that God sent His Son, in His own image, to earth to facilitate this great yearning of ours. To be. And to be eternally.

I used to hear a lot of ways postulated in my Drug Store by my various customers who would volunteer their views on how to achieve this “eternal” life. Many felt you had to live a life of no tobacco, stern rules and no cussing, and in general how you had to life a perfect sin free life to make it over the vale into eternal life—after death. There are many ways, so they said but of the things I learned over my many years is to rely more and more on the words of the Apostle Paul. He was about the only guy I knew in the Bible who was more sinridden than me, before he found our Jesus. Paul preached the gospel to a lot of different kinds of people. Even to me.

Paul said for all of us to cloak ourselves in the righteousness of God. He knew that none of us were able to get to the treasures of eternal life on our own goodness. But after Jesus died for our sins, it then became possible for common sinful men, such as we all are, to be born again into eternal fellowship with God in Heaven. A prospective new convert once looked at me and asked: “You mean it’s that simple?” Well, yes.

I wish all of you a Happy Merry Christmas. And be sure and go to Church Sunday.

Wayne Bullard, DPh cwaynebullard@gmail.com