Jump Start # 4041
Ecclesiastes 7:2 “It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting, because that is the end of every man, and the living takes it to heart.
Throwback Thursday: an article written from the past
Today someone I knew died. He had listened to me preach many times. His passing has caused me to wonder…
I wonder if he knew today was going to be his last day? His death was sudden. His death was unexpected. Did he have a sense that today was different than other days? This is a very humbling and sobering thought. Everything that we do today may be the last time we do it. Does this cause me to count my blessings and thank my Lord?
I wonder if my preaching did him any good? He had heard many sermons. Sermons are vehicles that can instruct us and move us closer to the Lord. Many of us have heard hundreds if not thousands of sermons in our lives. I have preached over 2,000 sermons. I wonder if they have done me any good. Preaching can help us if we allow it to sink deep into our hearts. Preaching can change a person. We are preaching to people who are racing toward eternity. Preachers need to remember that!
I wonder if he was ready to meet God. I think he was. I want to hope he was. There are always things that need to be done. There are always words that need to be spoken. There are always rays of sunshine that we can send to sad and broken hearts. Our work is never over. But a person can live day by day with the Lord. His relationship can be such that he is ready to meet God. We sing, “Are your ready, are your ready…” I wonder if he was ready. I wonder if I am really ready.
I wonder what his family is going through today. All of their plans have been interrupted and changed today. A death has occurred. Funeral arrangements have to be made. Decisions must be made. Important papers have to be found. Phone calls must be made. Flowers must be ordered. Plans must be coordinated to get everyone to the funeral home and cemetery. The family is very busy today. The sun is still shinning and the birds are still singing for the rest of us, but for this man’s family, they won’t notice because their thoughts are with their loved one. I hope they remember to pray today. I hope they thank the Lord for being blessed to belong to such a good man. I wonder what my family would do at my death? I will say a prayer for this family.
I wonder what he is doing right now? I wonder what it is like to be carried by angels? I wonder what he saw the first five minutes after he died? I wonder what “comforted in Abraham’s bosom” really means? I wonder who he has met today? I wonder if he has seen my Mom. Don’t you think he is so glad that he believed in Christ? I wonder if he is singing? If he is, I wonder what song he’s singing? I expect he wishes he could scoop up his wife and bring her up there to show her all the wonderful things he is now seeing. I’m certain that he is so glad that he is with the Lord. He has probably not thought much about his death. His attention is upon the heavenly scene that is before him. Finally home, what a wonderful thought!
Do you ever “wonder?” It does a person good to wonder now and then.
Roger
May, 2008