I was excited about meeting Adam.
He and his wife had just joined our church two or three weeks ago and were interested in becoming part of the class I teach for young married couples. Many of my friends told me about the tremendous ways God had moved and was moving in his life.
I showed up to church yesterday expecting to shake Adam’s hand and welcome him to our class.
But on Friday, he died.
At age 25.
I heard it was an aneurysm: sudden and without warning.
It was shocking that such a young person passed away, but even more jolting to me was that friends and I were just casually talking about new members for our class – and then days later he’s gone. Not some theoretical example you read about on the internet – a real person in my small little corner of the world who passed away at 25.
Grass and Mist
The Bible repeatedly confronts us with the reality of our own deaths.
Psalm 103:15 and 1 Peter 1:24 remind us that our days on this earth will fade like grass.
James 4:14 compares us to “a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.”
There’s something inherently sobering and convicting when we think of our own deaths. It’s a mildly unpleasant experience to burst our bubbles of invincibility. But God is ready and pleased to do it, for being reminded of our death is ultimately for our benefit.
A Heart of Wisdom
Psalm 90:12 pleads to God: “So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.”
We number our days; we remember our death – but for a reason: that we may get a heart of wisdom. That we may acquire a thinking that views the world around us with an eternal perspective.
Don’t wait until tomorrow. Get going today.
And view the way you spend your time in light of what will really matter for eternity. That project or task you’re working on – what if you died tonight? Would your work have an eternal impact?
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