Have you ever felt that “Life is too short?” This has become a reality to me in the past three weeks. I’m sure you have heard that there will soon be two more deaths when one person dies because death comes in groups of three.
The first death I heard about was the death of the mother of two of my friends. She was a sweet Christian mom. Evidently, she had been suffering for the past few months, and she went home with hospice. Even though her death was expected, death is still hard on family members. However, this type of death allows the family to begin the grieving process early. They can say their goodbyes and feel peace knowing their family member will no longer be suffering. Their family member will now be enjoying Heaven in their new Heavenly body. That fact alone will give them comfort and peace during their grieving.
The second death I found was through Facebook. One of my fellow teachers, who was also one of my son’s teachers, died unexpectedly. Apparently, she suffered some health issues, which resulted in her untimely death. Everyone who knew her was shocked by her unexpected death. I realized that death has no preference, whether young, old, rich, poor, healthy, or unhealthy. I remember thinking to myself; she was so young. The grieving process for her family will be different from the first death I had mentioned. This family will be dealing with unbelief, denial, and shock. This type of grieving is harder and may take longer than the first one I mentioned.
The third death was one of my former pastors. He and his family were extremely helpful to my son and me during a rather difficult time in our lives. I had known that he had heart problems many years ago but had not heard of any recently. I remember when he would come to my dad’s church and have a great time teasing and joking around with my dad. Now, he is up in Heaven joking around with my dad again. I know his life touched a lot of people. I don’t know if the family was aware of his closeness to death or if it was unexpected.
I kept saying in my mind, “Life is too short!” Proverbs 27:1 says, “Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth.” We don’t know what may happen tomorrow! How do we know if the last words we spoke to our spouse may be the last words we speak to them on earth? What were the last words you spoke to your children? What will your child say was the last activity you did with them before you passed away? We don’t know when we will take our final breath. We do, however, have this moment in which we are alive. Why not let God control your actions and words today and then allow Him to control them tomorrow and every day.
All three of the people I mentioned had a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and trusted Him as their Savior. They realized that because of their sin, there was a separation between them and God. There was nothing they could do to get rid of their sin. Jesus Christ came to this earth to die and pay the price for our sins, and He is the only one who can forgive us and save us. He is our only Savior. There is nothing we can do on our own to save ourselves. When you place your trust and faith in what Jesus Christ did on that cross for you, and you ask him to forgive your sins and trust Him as your Savior, you become one of His children. He forgives your sins and gives you a home in Heaven. The Bible says in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” Every person has to make this important decision: 1) am I going to accept Jesus as my only way to Heaven; 2) or am I going to reject Him. And don’t procrastinate because death is just a heartbeat away.
