One of the great celebrative anthems that comes to us out of African-American culture is the powerful spiritual “Ain’t Got Time To Die.” It was written by Hall Johnson and it has these joyfully dramatic words:

“Been so busy praising my Jesus,
Been so busy working for the Kingdom,
Been so busy serving my Master…
Ain’t got time to die.
If I don’t praise him,
If I don’t serve him,
The rocks gonna cry out
Glory and honor, glory and honor…
Ain’t got time to die.”

In this inspiring and wonderful spiritual song, the composer is underscoring and celebrating the joy and excitement of being a Christian, the joy and excitement of serving our Lord in gratitude for what he has done for us. The point that this spiritual is trying to drive home to us with great enthusiasm is… that when we really become…