You
know not the day nor the hour – a meditation on the nearness of death
Two things today made me think about death
(not a topic that is often on my mind).
Firstly, I was on a plane that had three
landing attempts at Manila airport aborted by post-typhoon storm conditions. As
we suddenly surged back up and circled there was time to think about what could
have been.
Secondly, I was talking with some
missionaries from the south of the Philippines where a Muslim insurgency
continues to take lives.
And meanwhile there are the folk who went
shopping Nairobi and to church in Pakistan last weekend and who suddenly found themselves at
death’s door.
People die while going about the ordinary
business of life. The Lord warns that he will return at an unexpected time when
life just rolls along (Matt 24:36-44). One will be on a plane whose landing is
aborted, another will be shopping and yet another will be sitting at worship.
The reality is, none of us knows how or
when we will die. Most can expect to die in an average age band and in a
hospital of a known illness and with family surrounding. But none of us knows
if that is our future or whether this is the day that we die.
So what do we do? It’s simple really: you also must be ready,
for the Son of man is coming at an hour you do not expect (Matt 24:44). Make a Will. Leave your affairs organised.
Ensure your standing with God through a credible faith in Jesus Christ that is
manifested in godly living. And then we are free – free to live and die in old
age or free to die today.
In the event my plane landed safely and the
event is fading from memory. Meanwhile news of the Kenyan shopping mall
massacre will be replaced by sporting news or celebrity tales. And the
Pakistani church killing barely made the headlines anyway.
Most of us will go on living as
though tomorrow will have endless tomorrows and thinking that death happens to someone else.
How soon we forget that day whose nearness and importance demands we give it
attention now.
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