Mary and Bill Hornbrook live in a relatively quiet and uneventful mobile home community for seniors in Auburn, Washington. Mary has some hanging baskets on her porch that needed some trimming. As she was headed toward the porch she was startled by a loud crash. At first she wondered if it were an earthquake. Bill came running into the room wondering if there had been a car accident in front of their home.
When they went out on the front porch to see what had happened the Hornbrook’s discovered that a piece of an airplane had fallen from the sky and crashed through their front porch roof according to the Federal Aviation Administration officials who came and took it away.
Mary was shaken for quite some time not only because of what happened but also because of what might have happened. If Mary had moved a little quicker and been trimming her baskets two minutes earlier she would have been standing in the exact spot where the airplane part came crashing in. In the “blink of an eye” Mary’s life as she knows it would have been over and she would have been ushered into the life to come.
In the Epistle of James we’re told that life is like a vapor or mist. Our lives are only here in this world briefly and it’s over. The Apostle Paul tells us that Jesus Christ is going to return to our world (a second coming) and when He does life, as we know it will be “changed in an instant, as quickly as the blinking of an eye.”
Whether we experience our own death or the return of the Christ, life can instantly be over and we enter the afterlife and world to come. The question is, “Am I prepared?”
I don’t know if Mary was and is ready to meet her Maker. I know that I am. Maybe you have some skepticism about this matter. That’s fine. My friendly encouragement to you today is, “What if I’m right? Don’t you owe it to yourself to find out?”
Perhaps you’d like to dialogue with me or with some friend that you respect who is a Christian. Maybe you’d like to read a book. Why not take some step to begin to get answers to what I think are life’s most important questions. Do it before life comes crashing in on you.
3 comments:
I LOVED this article! Scott, it's wonderful to hear you are ready! I THINK I am ready, but darn, apparently God doesn't! It's not that I haven't made it easy for God to TAKE ME NOW! I think that is what is frustrating to me...the more ready I am, the more God is saying, "not yet"! Even before I read this article, the "theme" of my reflections lately have been the swiftness of life here on earth. How fast time goes, but it is even shorter compared to eternity with God.
On the other hand, something has really been bothering me....for years.... We continue to find ways to live longer, through research, health trends etc. We encourage the use of automated external defibrillators and medicines to prolong and at the same time fight a disease. Does God want us to use our talents to develop these ways to live longer, so we can get to know him better through our earth experiences? Are we fighting to live longer because we fear death? But didn't God give us the talent and gifts to heal? And with that healing, are we not responsible to also teach about death and living in fullness with God? Are we not responsible, as healers, to teach about what cannot, or may not be healed by man, but only by the power of God? Life DOES have a Way of Crashing In On Us. So does Death... But death, ah...... it would be such a relief for me to be held in the arms of God....resting...
OK....God just spoke to me.... He has been "dying" for me to ask that....to rest with him, but here on earth first!
Lisau:
You've touched on several important points.
1. Concerning my own "readiness", I've received forgivenss for my sins and I follow Jesus Christ with a whole heart. I see heaven as my home and that I'm just passing through this world. While I'm passing through God has eternal purposes for me fulfill.
Because of my trust in God's wisdom and goodness I don't want to go "home" until my part in His purposes are complete, though I look forward to going "home" someday.
2. Your comments about "relief to be held in the arms of God" I believe are true. It will be great to know the embrace and rest in God's arms forever. But I also think I hear significant fatigue, for which I think God can bring some relief in the here and now. I pray that is so for you.
3. I'm not sure which way the winds of modern science and medicine are blowing. In some ways it seems we are going to great lengths to prolong life. In many other ways it seems that we are increasingly looking to end life. Abortion, suicide, euthenasia or assisted suicide certainly have constant or increasing numbers.
4. Yes, I agree that as long as we have breath we have opportunity and responsibility to teach or help others to know or experience the fullness of life with God.
You gave me a lot to think about. Thanks for the comments.
Lisau:
Thank you for your words. I too long to go "home" and seat at the feet of my Lord. Where there is no more pain, sadness, rejection, and the list could go on. However, God has put each of us on this earth to accomplish a task He has planned for us. We would be wrong to cut or even wish our time here would be shorter. Everytime I want to give up (and I have tried in many ways) I'm pulled up by my boots and God lets me know He made me a survivor and that He has given me His strength to go on. God will take us "home" to His arms when our mission has been fulfilled, until then may I suggest you keep your eyes upward but focus your heart here to help others that are struggling. Continue to show the love God has for you to others that are lost. God has warriors not runaways.
As far as modern medicine, sometimes I think we are going to far and God is allowing us to self destruct (i.e. cloning, etc.). But, maybe that heart transplant or a cure for cancer may bring that person and his/her family to one more chance to accept saving grace.
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