Considering Death

What a crazy week. My friend at work lost her husband, I took my final exams in school for the semester, Samuel my son is starting basketball and my favorite time of year is fast approaching. Breath. So in the quickness of life, I have come to realize that life is but a flicker of a candle flame. Days come and go without ceasing and kids grow up fast.

I am approaching the 30 year mark and I guess I just think of the end sometimes. Not in an unhealthy way but as a motivator to enjoy this temporary life to the fullest. To spend much quality time with my family, friends, and neighbors so as to not waste it all. I have made an effort to not be on the net as much, I maybe watch 3-4 hours of TV during the week, and I really have made an effort to love my wife without abandon or getting so comfortable that either of us are not excited about our relationship. I guess you could say I am trying with all I have to die. To myself that is. What makes me happy more than anything these days is making others happy and hopefully that they would see the joy of Christ in me through my life. Friends, acquaintances, as well as, and especially family are my top priority in servanthood. My family obviously comes first as priority. It should be the call of the Church to emphasize this heart motivation of all its members. It is what the Church of Acts was built on, (Acts 2:42-47) So we see that this was the original design of the Church. But sadly, me included, there are so many who do not live this out on a daily/weekly basis so as to care for those in need in their own church, much less in society. This is sad to me, and I am asking constantly for the Holy Spirit to convict me and change my heart on this. Like I said at my friends husband's funeral service, I don't feel sorry for you, I care about you and Tom when he was living. Sadly I am not sure if he excepted Christ before he died. But I do know that I have an opportunity to still serve my friend and her family and my co workers are with me on that. Through Tom's death, I realized that there needs to be urgency in our actions. Especially Christians. The Great Commission calls us to spread the truth of Christ to all people and to make disciples. So I feel I am not as urgent in this as I should be.

I have spent the summer trying to get to know Tom more and he really took a liking to me. He felt in his heart that Christians were all hypocrites and judgmental but he said I was different somehow. It was really Christ living in me that he saw, he just didn't know it yet. Sadly, I was not urgent enough in sharing my faith with him, though he knew my heart on the subject it was open to him. I thought this weekend of how I was going to be more proactive in our friendship, and planned on taking him dinner this week. I was on my way to talk to him when I got the call. It was all over. He passed on Sunday morning. Doing my first funeral service ever, which was his request, I did not know what to say. I spoke to the congregation about who God is and how nothing can separate us from his love. I did not say whether Tom was saved or what his fate was, but I did offer an opportunity for the family, if they haven't already, come to start a relationship with Christ and start a new life of freedom and grace.

I only spoke what God laid on my heart and I hope it resonated. I hope you who are reading this, all 1 of you, or whoever you are, if you don't have a relationship with him, just ask and you will receive. No matter what you have done, he can redeem you. For it was His death on the cross that has put us in right standing with God, that whoever shall believe and trust in Jesus Christ, will be saved and can start a new life of freedom and grace that is unimaginable. For those who have this relationship with him, I would say that we should all be urgent with our faith. We do not know the time or the place or the last breath of ourselves or those around us. The way is simple, the yoke is light. This first really spoke to me this week and I hope it does you: