Mike’s Musings ….
Sixty-Seven Deaths
Tragic events grab our attention. This past Wednesday, the tragic event of a mid-air collision over the Potomac River across from our nation’s capital took sixty-seven lives from existence in this world. Although we do not know these people, we still mourn for them and extend our sympathies to their families. We are reminded of the uncertainty of longevity and the suddenness of death. Unfortunately, many ignore the necessity of being ready for such sudden death.
David told his dear friend, Jonathan, “There is but a step between me and death.” (1 Samuel 20:3) We must all accept the reality of this statement: we are all but a step away from death! I’m not trying to be morbid or morose in this observation - just honest! Hebrews 9:27 means what it says and says what it means. Yet, too many believe they are invincible and go through their daily activities with no awareness that every man begins to die the very moment he takes his first breath. While we read Psalm 90:10 with the anticipation of living seventy or eighty years or more, that passage is not a promise of years, but a reminder of their labor and sorrow within those years. The necessity of obeying God is the point, for the psalmist says in verse twelve of the passage: “So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.” How many die without the wisdom God demands of us?
I muse on the sadness of life ended so tragically. Many never saw mid-life, let alone three score years and ten. But much sadder is the reality of any soul dying without obedience to God! I muse on the souls that have known Him, then left His kingdom, and the faith that comes from obedience to His word (Romans 10:17), then die without repentance. (2 Thessalonians 1: 7 – 9) Then I muse on the hundreds of souls that know Him (1 John 2:3) but are casual at best in their loyalty to that knowledge. No, I’m not the judge of souls – that’s the Lord’s job. (John 5:22) I judge righteous judgment (John 7:24) and in that task is judging myself (2 Corinthians 13:5). Am I ready to die … perhaps suddenly and without any warning as happens all too frequently? If not, then I have only to blame myself. Should I think of dying every day? Not necessarily, but I do need to be sure I am faithful to God in all I say and do daily! After all, being with God eternally requires my readiness to die, for after that is the judgment (Hebrews 9:27).