Life is Short

Every young child needs an Uncle Kurt. When my kids were little we would visit Uncle Kurt (one of my husband’s best friends from college) at his beach house. He is a gregarious man who could entertain adults and children for hours with a sense of humor that never quit.

As he would be heading out for the evening I would be putting our two children to bed. Uncle Kurt always offered to tell the bedtime story. He told them many and they all had the same basic story line and ending. He would start with two story book characters who would meet, like Peter Pan and Cinderella. Peter would take Cindy for a quick flight around the town, they would hit a jet head on and the last line of all of his stories were the same, “And now they’re dead, the end.”

Our kids not only enjoyed these stories but part of the three hour drive home from the beach would be spent creating their own “And now they’re dead” stories.  It has created some fond memories for our children and a soft spot in their hearts for Uncle Kurt.

The first time I heard one of his stories I wondered how the kids would react. They hadn’t had much experience with death at that point but they seemed unmoved by the realities of how fleeting life can be.  They were far more amused by the romantic combinations and fantastic dates that he could come up with. 

It may seem odd but I was reminded of those stories this week. An acquaintance died, the brother of a dear friend and we were all surprised, caught off guard by it. He was too young to die, he was too busy and had too good a reputation to die so soon. I didn’t know him well enough to know what his relationship with the Lord was. But, his death has caused me to pause, to think about how fast death comes upon us – like Peter Pan and Cinderella this man was off on a nice trip, expecting to see new sights, and his life ended abruptly, unexpectedly.

As friends and I talk about this sudden death we think about our end. Will we suffer? Are our wills up to date? What if it had been one our spouses who had died – is there anything we need to say to them or know from them before it would happen? Am I spiritually right with God? Is there anything I need to confess today?

I’m afraid our spiritual condition isn’t at the top of the priority list for many and certainly, Uncle Kurt’s stories never considered it. But, today I am wondering, as Christians are we so concerned about others that we’re willing to tell others what we know about eternity? Are we willing to speak of Jesus as our Savior – not just a great teacher (Liar, Lunatic, or Lord), but the One who can give us the assurance of an eternity in heaven? Are we willing to let our faith be seen and heard 24/7 rather than just on Sunday morning or safely tucked away for times that we’re with our Christian friends.

In his second letter to Timothy Paul makes the point that we can be certain that if we die to ourselves by putting Christ first in our lives while we’re here then we can be certain of reigning with Him in eternity. But, if we deny Him here He will deny us before God and we will not see heaven (2 Timothy 2:10-12). In verse 15 he tells Timothy, “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.”

Life is short, Psalm 90:10 says, “ The years of our life are seventy, or even by reason of strength eighty; yet their span is but toil and trouble; they are soon gone, and we fly away.” Some of us won’t even get seventy. And then we’re dead – but that is never “The End”. We all live eternally. We will spend our eternity in heaven with the Lord God Almighty or in Hell completely separated from Him. 

Do you know where you will spend eternity? Is there someone in your sphere of influence that you need to tell about this gift of eternal life in heaven?  Life here will come to “the end” but we can have assurance that we will spend eternity in heaven. Romans 10:14 reminds us we have work to do so others know this truth, “And how are they to believe in Him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?”