Jump Start # 1525

Hebrews 9:27 “And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment”

  This morning awakened with the news of the passing of a Christian that I knew. He was a legend. Strong, faithful and devoted as a preacher and teacher of God’s word. Well do I remember some of his amazing lessons. I have an outline taped in the back of my Bible of a lesson that he preached from Philemon. It was great.

His death is the third Christian that I have heard about this week. A neighbor of where my grandparents once lived, another Christian, passed away yesterday. He was within a few months of being 100 years old. Then, earlier this week, I heard of a man who was but 27 years old, married and a new father, who lost his battle to cancer. He, too, was a Christian.

Three Christians, one almost 100, one in his early nineties and one not yet 30, all passed within a few days of each other. I doubt that these three every knew each other. But just this week, all three were gathered by the angels to rest until the Lord comes.

Our verse today reminds us of that divine appointment with death. Jesus, Revelation tells us, holds the keys to death and Hades. We can understand Biblically, why people die. We can understand Biblically where people go after death. We can understand Biblically the basis and concept of the final judgment. Those truths are sprinkled throughout the Bible.

What is hard to understand and what is not clear in the Bible is the appointed time. Why is it that some get to live to be 99 and others only 27? I know another family that has a son that is nearing death. It won’t be long. Why so young? For others, why so old? Certainly lifestyle has a play into this. Genetics has a role in this as well. But some of this may come down to that divine appointment. I read recently of a person who was 100 years old and claimed drinking THREE Dr. Pepper’s a day was the trick. I really doubt that. I believe if most of us drank three Dr. Pepper’s every day, we’d be so big we couldn’t get out the door and we’d have all kinds of health issue. No, I think it has something to do with the divine appointment.

Folks long ago used to talk about “your time is up.” I think they had in mind that divine appointment with God. When I think about the three deaths this week, two in their nineties and one 27, the only sense I can make of it is that God determines these things. We know well the expression from James that life is “just a vapor.” It’s here and then it’s gone. That makes sense when you think about 27 years. It’s hard to understand that when you match 27 with one who was 99.

From our side of Heaven, it’s easy to think that the 99 year old was blessed and the 27 year old was cheated. Maybe from God’s side of Heaven, it is just the opposite. Getting out of this place and being with God isn’t a curse, it’s what we are after.

So here are a few observations from three deaths this week:

First, we do not know when our divine appointment is. That is a good thing. If some of us knew that we were going to live to be 99, we’d probably put things off. We’d justify the lazy bones by saying, “there’s plenty of time.” The truth is, we don’t know how much time we have. We must walk with the Lord, engage in good deeds and try to leave this place better than we found it. If we knew exactly when we were going to die, we’d become so fixated upon that date that we couldn’t function as we do. Live as if today is your last day. Prepare as if you have more days to come.

Second, use your time wisely. That is a thought taught in Ephesians. Make the most of your time. The Galatians were told, “as you have opportunity…” The 99 year old that I knew, lived a quiet life on a farm near a small little town in Indiana. He served a long time as one of the elders in the congregation he worshipped with. The 27 year, just starting in life, touched many lives with his kindness and willingness to be a helping hand. Do what you can today. Don’t be so fixed upon the future that you forget to live today. We can live thinking, if I only get out of this apartment and get my own place, then I will have some folks over and do this and that. What if you never get out of that apartment? Why can’t you do something now, on a smaller scale? If you can’t do hospitality with hotdogs, I doubt that you’ll do it later with steaks. It’s not the food, it’s the heart and the time. Make a difference now.

Third, we must stop trying to figure out why God does what He does. At every funeral, someone insists on saying something that is usually dumb and most times not even Biblical. Saying, “God needed him in Heaven more than you need Him,” isn’t true, nice or kind. Saying, “God needed another angel,” isn’t Biblical. Why does one pass away at 27 and another at 99? Only God knows. We must stop trying to figure out things that are beyond us. Some how we got the idea that we can know why everything happens. Wrong. Why did D.C. get dumbed with two feet of snow last week and I got five inches? We can look at weather maps and explain systems, moisture and so forth. But why then, why there? Only God knows. That’s hard for some of us to accept. We must have an answer. We postulate theories and ideas and speculations, trying our best to come up with the answers. Often, our answers lead to us judging others. Simply put, God has a divine appointment for death. You and I do not know when it is.

So, there will be three funerals taking place very soon. Families will gather and remember a dad, husband, grandfather. Preachers will talk about life and God. Folks will hug. Tears will be shed. Graves will be opened and filled. Three souls that walked with the Lord are now finished with their journey here. How they died won’t be the talk of the day. What they owned won’t be the discussion. No, what folks will remember, is how they lived. Their faith. Their goodness. Their trust in the Lord. Those are the very things that brighten a dark and sad day.

You and I have a coming appointment. We need to be walking with the Lord and trying to make a difference, even today.

Three Christians…three deaths…three souls resting on the other side. I wonder if they now know each other. I wonder if they are uniting with other faithful family members. I expect they are so glad to be where they are. Someday, we will join them.

Roger