Too often we take life for granted. We get so caught up in our everyday busy-ness that we fail to say and do the things that are most important. There are phone calls we intend to make and people we intend to visit, to let these most important people in our lives know how much we love and care about them. But, things come up and we put it off saying to ourselves "I'll take care of it tomorrow", never really stopping to think that tomorrow may never come. How many things have been left unsaid over the years? How many times, after the loss of a loved one have we said "I wish I had __? Or, I should have ___? You fill in the blank. Contrary the lyrics of a once popular song by the Rolling Stones, time really is not on our side.
"Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away." James 4:14
I spent three days this week out of state at a conference for my job. A co-worker and myself drove to Nevada and spent the time getting acquainted. We discussed our jobs, personal backgrounds, and families. I was already aware of his recent battle and apparent victory over cancer. What I hadn't known was the current ordeal he has been dealing with concerning his wife's health.
Sometime in the middle of last year it was discovered that she had a very serious heart ailment, which was only revealed after a number of fainting episodes. Her heart would begin to flutter and get out of rhythm and stop momentarily, she would then faint and go into convulsions. After the third incident she was admitted to the hospital for observation and hooked up to various heart monitors. During the observation period she had another episode that allowed the doctors to observe and identify the cause. It was determined that a portion of her heart was dead or dormant, it just wasn't doing it's job. They immediately inserted a pacemaker and put her on the national heart transplant list.
"Man who is born of woman is of a few days... He comes forth like a flower and fades away; He flees like a shadow and does not continue." Job 14:1-2
First his cancer and now her heart problems, talk about facing head-on the brevity of life. We spoke of death's inevitability and how quickly things can and do change. Most of the time, when you least expect them too. This couple's life has been turned upside down in the last two years and it would be easy for anyone in this situation to become negative, beaten down and angry. But, he wasn't, he said he knew first hand of God's miracles and credited God for his intervention. He finished this conversation by telling me the good news they had received just last week; his wife's doctors had removed her name from the transplant list, not because they had given up hope for her, but because her heart had started working normally again. That part of her heart that was believed to be dead came back to life - now that's a miracle!
"There is nothing certain in a man's life except this: that he must lose it." Aeschylus Agamemnon
God's Word has much to say about the death of both the true believer and non-believer. The Bible speaks of salvation or judgment, of reconciliation or condemnation, simply speaking, heaven or hell. I know this is a subject that we usually shy away from, not a real popular topic of conversation, but what on earth is more important than the condition of our heart in relation to eternity. Have you got your salvation worked out? Great, what about the people you love and care about most? What about the lost souls that God puts in your path daily? Are you saying the things that need to be said?
"We understand death for the first time when he (death) puts his hand upon someone we love."
Madame De Stael
I received a phone call from my mother on Monday afternoon, she wanted to let me know that one of my cousins had passed away that morning. I started thinking about my conversations over the past few days, the death of my cousin, as well as some recent deaths within my family and my church family. I thought about the unpredictability of this life and of the comfort of God's Word for the believer.
"Then I heard a voice from heaven say, write: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on."
Revelation 14:13
Death is not something to be feared, not for the believer anyway. We are promised a place in the presence of our Heavenly Father, a place of rejoicing and peace. Paul the apostle actually looked forward to dying, speaking of it as a far better condition to be in.
"For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. But if I live on in the flesh, this will mean fruit from my labor; yet what shall I choose I cannot tell. For I am hard-pressed between the two, having a desire to depart to be with Christ, which is far better." Philippians 1:21-23
Yes we mourn for them. Why? Because God made us that way. We are emotional beings made to feel pain and sorrow, made to get excited and to love. It's our love for that person that causes us to think about our life without them and we mourn because of the missing.
Our faith doesn't prevent the mourning but it comforts us to know where our loved ones will be until we see them again. They are at rest, if they are a true believer.
So if you are sick or someone you love is, don't be discouraged or lose hope, God is still in the miracle business. If you have recently or maybe not so recently lost a loved one, I pray you find peace. You need to know and believe that he or she is precious in God's sight and that they are in His presence - a far better condition.
"Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His godly ones." Psalm 116:15
To sum it all up: life is too short and unpredictable, live well, love well and dedicate your time here to doing God's will, for you were made for this.
"For we are His workmanship (poem, masterpiece) created in Christ Jesus for good works, Which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." Ephesians 2:10
God Bless and Press On
Larry
Very good blog, Larry. Thanks for uplifting messages. May God continue to give you strength in your ministry. Msgr. Barr
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