Life and Death

Last Saturday I went to worship team practice and had a great talk with the guys there. Jason Lapp spoke to us about George Lawson's sermon when he came to teach the youth. George taught on Luke 12:13-21, the parable of the rich fool, who tore down his barns to build bigger barns to fill his abundant wealth. "And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry", says the rich fool. Jason emphasized to us the greatness of God's response.

"Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?"

This night...as in tonight. He is saying tonight you will die and those things you have in life will mean nothing.

I was mulling over this all day. I was looking at my life and my relationships and saw how much they were lacking. I have not been a very good older brother. I can be short and angry, and I just don't show that I care enough. I wish I was a better son. I'm arrogant and think I know everything my parents have to tell me. I'm disrespectful and, again, don't show my appreciation of them enough. God really convicted my heart and I was glad for it and glad for his forgiveness, but I felt a weight to change things in my life.

That night I was on my way home from sonic and my phone rang. I looked down to press talk and looked up just in time to see a red light in front of me and car on my right. I didn't have time to react and the car hit me. I remember closing my eyes and feeling the car flip. The hood caved in and I slid upside down as glass flew everywhere in the car. At this moment, I thought it was over. I was dead in my mind.

The car flipped right side up and I escaped with only a small cut on my head and arm. God protected me in an amazing way. I should be dead. No one should have survived that crash, let alone walked away unharmed. I am in shock and awe that I am still here right now and I don't understand why, except that God is not finished with me yet.

Immediately after the crash, I was reminded about all that I had been thinking about that day. If I had died, I would have left this world and, while I believe I would be with my Father, I would regret leaving with those things unchanged. Earlier that day I told myself "I need to live like I'm going to die tonight"....then I almost died. I can't even explain how serious this is. Please don't take life for granted. I did and then the day God opened my eyes, He jerked them open. This was one of the best things He could have done for me. Instead of Him just telling me, He showed me and it scared me to death.

I know I will fail, but every time I feel tempted to get mad at my siblings or to think I'm smarter than my parents, I'm going to think of that night, because I don't want to leave this worl and that be the last thing they remember about me. I want them to look at me and say that to his dying hour he represented Christ. That is my prayer for me and for everyone. Praise and glory and honor be to Christ Jesus, who has the power over life and death!