Life is Fragile
Jeremiah 10:23 "I know, O Lord, that a man's life is not his own, it is not for man to direct his steps."
Luke 12:22-23
Then Jesus said to his disciples: "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or about your body, what you will wear. life is more than food and the body more than clothes... Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?
The word "life" appears more than a few times in the Bible. Many times it is referring to eternal life, or life in Christ, or Christ as the life.
The reason i mention it now is because we, as humans, easily forget how fragile human life truly is. I am probably the most guilty of believing that i won't really die. Death is unreal to me, even though i have lost more than a couple family members.
Yesterday there was a twelve car pile up in my hometown. One of the guys who died in that accident was a couple years behind me in high school and we had participated in several musicals together in our early teen days. We were not close, but we were acquaintances. I think he was 20 or 21 years old. He was engaged to be married. So he left behind a fiance and his parents and many others who knew and loved him i am sure. I know there were at least two other deaths and possibly three from that accident. As if that wasn't disturbing enough, i found out yesterday that the lady who has been training one of the horses i take care of died in a car accident over the weekend. She was 31. The last conversation i had with her was when we were both at the gas station grabbing snacks. I still have her business card. My heart aches for their families and friends.
What these kind of deaths, these untimely, tragic deaths make me do is face where my trust really is. Am I trusting Christ in my life, for my life? Or does the way i live my life suggest that my trust is in something else, maybe myself, maybe the safety ratings of my car. Maybe i lull myself into a false sense of security by lying to myself---ignoring the reality that many young people die in all kinds of ways. I don't have forever to live for Christ on earth. I have the days he has given me and i have no idea when those run out. I hide behind my "shyness," and use it as an excuse not to be bold for Him. My days are numbered by Him, but i have no idea how long i will be here and if he took me today would i be able to say that i had redeemed the time. That i had used the time He gave me to show Him to others?
I don't think so. Can you?







