“Come now, you who say,
“Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy
and sell, and make a profit”; whereas you do not know what will happen
tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little
time and then vanishes away.” – James 4:13-14
There is nothing that reminds
us of our mortality than the death of someone close to us. We can watch the news or read about 60,000
plus deaths from COVID 19 complications, perhaps feel sad that it happened, but
when death happens close to us – without warning – like a slap in the face – we
are reminded of just how fragile and brief life on this planet is.
I received a call from my
sister yesterday. Like it or not, my
siblings and I are in the generation that is passing. It has been happening for, well since man was
created, dust to dust. It is not a surprise. When I watch old movies, I realize that most
if not all of the people in the movie are dead.
That is the nature of things. So I know that my season is nearly done –
maybe 20 more years – maybe not – so when any of my siblings call, I am
expecting to hear that one of us has passed.
Not morbid thinking, just being realistic. I don’t dwell on this season
of my life but am resolved to it. So my sister called me and I wondered, “Who is
it?” To my surprise, it was my nephew. That I was not expecting.
I won’t share the details, but
I will share, what I think is, an important point. When a person dies and you don’t know if they
were a Christian, then you find yourself hoping they were. Why? Because the consequence of their not
being a Christian is eternity in hell.
We all know that don’t we? But we don’t like to think about it,
especially when it has to do with someone we care about. The truth is, we won’t
know this side of heaven. The temptation is to give those closest to the one
who passed a false hope. Maybe suggesting
that the person might have been a Christian – even though their life did not reflect
it. Really a dilemma considering the
grief that person is already dealing with. But the truth is, when there is doubt,
there should be silence on our part. Only God knows the truth. Only God knows
the condition of each heart.
So I don’t know where my
nephew was spiritually. I do know what I
hope. Death is certain and our physical death is final – dust to dust. But
there is an eternal – spiritual aspect to our existence which must be and will
be accounted for. The lost choose to ignore it – deny it even. That does not change the truth. The fact that
we have been saved on the eternal side of things – we will all die a physical
death – only God knows when, how and where – but the question is – how will we
live this mortal life we have been given.
“Jesus answered and said
to her, ‘If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a
drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.’”
– John 4:10
If they only knew…… Let you
light shine bright my friends. For as
long as our lamps can – let them shine in a world that faces death and its
uncertainty every day. Pray for those
who have no hope that they would turn to the One who is the source of hope and
life.
“He who believes in Me, as
the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.”
– John 7:38
As I was typing this, a song
came to mind as it often does, Almost Persuaded, Philip P. Bliss, pub.1871,
Public Domain.
“‘Almost persuaded’ now to
believe; ‘Almost persuaded’ Christ to receive;
Seems now some soul to
say, ‘Go, Spirit, go Thy way,
Some more convenient day On
Thee I’ll call.’
‘Almost persuaded,’ come,
come today;
‘Almost persuaded,’ turn
not away;
Jesus invites you here, Angels
are ling’ring near,
Prayers rise from hearts
so dear; O wand’rer, come!
‘Almost persuaded,’
harvest is past! ‘Almost persuaded,’ doom comes at last!
‘Almost’ cannot avail; ‘Almost’
is but to fail!
Sad, sad, that bitter
wail— ‘Almost,’ but lost!”
By Faith Alone By His Grace Alone And For
His Glory Alone
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