THE STING OF DEATH

The "sting of death" the Bible refers to, hit our church family last week. One of our members who was in the hospital recovering from surgery, passed away from a blood clot. It was sudden and totally unexpected.
This friend was seventy-two.

Three days after this tragedy, my daughter received a text stating that another church friend had died suddenly from a heart attack. This friend was not even thirty years old.

It seems death is “no respecter of persons.” He shows up as an uninvited guest and wreaks havoc in the lives of people. When death comes calling, all the cares of this life and petty things that keep us upset, annoyed, and frustrated, pale in comparison to the snuffing-out of a human soul. Things seem to fall a little more into perspective and it causes us to do some soul searching and re-prioritizing. It shows what is truly important and deserving of our attention—and what is not.

We’re getting ready to begin a new series at church called One Month to Live. The question is, “What would you do if you knew you only had 30 days to live.” Some people have said they would spend more time with family or take an expensive vacation. Others would read the Bible more, share their faith, or make things right with a friend. My two friends did not have the luxury of planning their last 30 days.

I’ve thought a lot this past week about eternity and how much time and effort I put into things that do not have eternal value. I’ve also realized how critical it is to be ready because we never know when we will cross that threshold.