As I look out the window today, the sea is calm and quiet with a greenish hue. The tide is low and its surface stillness masks the dangers that lie beneath. Could it be that it was just 2 days ago that before our eyes the waters seemed to reach up to drag a man under and take his life? I can only find two newspaper articles on the incident. Each report contains but a hand full of lines and even those sadly are not accurate. One says that the man was struggling to swim. No, he simply stopped swimming. The other says that police pulled him out of the waters. I wish that were the case. The screams of the young girl that discovered the lifeless body still ring in my ears. Seeing her father drag the man to the beach while the rest of us scrambled to contact emergency services and think of how to bring order to the chaos still plays in my minds eye. The seconds felt likes hours and the minutes seemed to hang on our shoulders like weights. Life became death in an instant, and it was over. The ambulance came; the man was covered with sheet; the body was carried away; the tide rose covering the impressions in the sand .... and all was erased. It was over. Finished.
Except....it wasn't. I remember; my son remembers. Did the man have family? Did he know the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior? His life on earth had ended, but what now for him? What now for us?
"I tell you, in that night there will be two in one bed. One will be taken and the other left. There will be two women grinding together. One will be taken and the other left. Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left." (Luke 17:34-36) I know that this verse is referring to the second coming of Christ; however, this is the feeling that I am overwhelmed with right now. People are swimming enjoying the beach and in a breath it all changes. One man is gone. We are left.
Was he ready to stand before the Lord? As we helplessly watched the events playing out before us, William says, "One more person dies and we didn't tell him about Eternal Life." Wow! So heavy are our hearts! Some would say, oh it is not good for William to feel so much responsibility. I say, why do we not all feel more responsibility!
If I knew that the woman standing waiting for the bus; the man at the corner store; my neighbors; my family members; were heartbeats away from eternity, what would I say to them? Wish them good day; speak of the weather; tell them I am praying for them - or would I boldly give them life saving news.
1 Corinthians 15:51-77 is again about the second coming, but what a powerful reminder that this current life is fleeting and death is coming for all of us. We will all put on imperishable bodies; however, for some there will be a sting in death that will never be relieved. Are we willing to share with people how they can have a life without sorrow and pain - an eternal life of joy before the throne of Almighty God? We are "left" here right now....what are we doing?
"Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: 'Death is swallowed up in victory.' 'O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?' ..."
How many breaths do I have left? What will I do with them? Have I personally professed Christ as Savior and Lord? Am I sharing that good news with people? In the end, does anything else really matter .... I believe that there is a 61 year old Russian man that is answering that question right now. AT
Except....it wasn't. I remember; my son remembers. Did the man have family? Did he know the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior? His life on earth had ended, but what now for him? What now for us?
"I tell you, in that night there will be two in one bed. One will be taken and the other left. There will be two women grinding together. One will be taken and the other left. Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left." (Luke 17:34-36) I know that this verse is referring to the second coming of Christ; however, this is the feeling that I am overwhelmed with right now. People are swimming enjoying the beach and in a breath it all changes. One man is gone. We are left.
Was he ready to stand before the Lord? As we helplessly watched the events playing out before us, William says, "One more person dies and we didn't tell him about Eternal Life." Wow! So heavy are our hearts! Some would say, oh it is not good for William to feel so much responsibility. I say, why do we not all feel more responsibility!
If I knew that the woman standing waiting for the bus; the man at the corner store; my neighbors; my family members; were heartbeats away from eternity, what would I say to them? Wish them good day; speak of the weather; tell them I am praying for them - or would I boldly give them life saving news.
1 Corinthians 15:51-77 is again about the second coming, but what a powerful reminder that this current life is fleeting and death is coming for all of us. We will all put on imperishable bodies; however, for some there will be a sting in death that will never be relieved. Are we willing to share with people how they can have a life without sorrow and pain - an eternal life of joy before the throne of Almighty God? We are "left" here right now....what are we doing?
"Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: 'Death is swallowed up in victory.' 'O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?' ..."
How many breaths do I have left? What will I do with them? Have I personally professed Christ as Savior and Lord? Am I sharing that good news with people? In the end, does anything else really matter .... I believe that there is a 61 year old Russian man that is answering that question right now. AT
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