The brevity and fragility of life

Sri Lanka is the grip of anguish, sadness, and despair today in the wake of a series of bombings that killed hundreds yesterday – the last death count I heard was 290.  When you lose someone you love to the here-after as I have, you quickly learn - to quote a character from the TV show The Flash - that you are a member of an exclusive club.  What the character meant by that is when you hear about incidents of loss, from experience, you already have a taste of the pain that the survivors must be feeling.  I certainly understand the intense grief that is present in hundreds of hearts as I compose these words; and frankly, this knowledge is weighing heavily on my own heart.

I was already planning to write about the brevity and fragility of life and then this terrible atrocity in Sri Lanka occurred.  I was going to acknowledge that, two days ago, the nation commemorated the 20-year anniversary of a mass shooting at Columbine High School – right here in Colorado where I reside. 13 people died.  I read a heart-wrenching article about the family and friends of those lost that day, who reflected on their lives 20 years later.  One person soberly noted, “I feel like we have come so far in so many ways, yet we’re still stuck in the same spot.  I never imagined that we would be where we’re at right now, where there are so many mass shootings that we can’t even keep up” (https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/columbine-school-shooting-20-years-later-victims-families-reflect-what-n992536).

Of course, the brevity and fragility of life doesn’t always involve violence.  I think of how Pastor Rick Ferguson passed away, at the age of 46, because of a car accident.  I notice the signs on the road honoring the memory of young boys and girls who lost their lives because of a drunk driver (to say nothing of the dangers of texting and driving).  I think of men like my dad, who you would never predict was about to pass away because they are active, healthy, and physically fit.  And yet, I’ve heard dozens of stories of this happening.

A few weeks ago, I was in a church service where the pastor made a statement that gripped me and has subsequently been riveted to my heart.  He said, “God’s gift of salvation is a limited time offer.”  Why?  He went on to describe what I’ve brought up: the brevity and fragility of life.  Rebecca St. James once declared, “God is saying, ‘Even though, you’ve sinned against Me your entire lifetime, I offer you forgiveness.  I offer you the most profound healing you can ever experience…I encourage you, if you feel God’s tug on your heart, don’t put it off; because we don’t know how long we have on this Earth.”

I can imagine someone reading this, and angrily branding me as insensitive and conniving to mention these emotional subjects and then begin to speak of Jesus and salvation.  Please understand I’m not being frivolous or uncaring.  Trust me, if anyone felt the raw, visceral emotions of today’s content, I did.  To be transparent with you, a part of me didn’t even want to write this particular blog to begin with.  But someone needs to speak the truth, and speak it in love.  If you are still on the fence, I appeal to you to choose to say yes to Jesus.  The Bible says, “Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.”    

Kevin