The Fragility of Life

Life is interesting. Most days we get caught up in a routine and we busy ourselves with daily activities...take a shower, do the dishes, run to the grocery store, pick the kids up from school, run through the drive-thru for dinner, get to soccer practice on time, stay up late to meet the deadline at work, study for the spanish exam tomorrow, grab a cup of coffee to keep you going, watch a few moments of television to see who made it to the next round of American Idol, do a load of laundry, pay the bills, go to the gym , stop at the post office, make a dessert for the potluch at church, answer emails, call back the 4 people who left you phone messages...and the list goes on. But every once in awhile something happens to stop you dead in your tracks and make you think about the fragility of this life. This week a guy who I grew up with at church (who was my age) died. The cause of death is yet to be determined. Yesterday I went to his memorial service to celebrate the life God gave him. This is the second young person from our church to die in the last month. This leaves me wondering about God's purposes and pondering the fragility of life. I have no guarantee that I will be here tomorrow or next week or next year. All I have is now. I used to be afraid of dying, but as the years go by I am less and less afraid. I know where I am going and I know who I am going to see and that is exciting! But while I'm here God has a purpose for me. Am I fulfilling that purpose? In addition to the fragility of life I've also been thinking about the glory of God and how he glorifies himself through us. He brings glory to himself even in difficult, hard to understand situations (like death). The Gospel was preached at this memorial service and I know that many people in that room did not know Christ as their Savior. I prayed God's Spirit over that place because I know that God desires to bring glory to himself through these circumstances.

Today I had the opportunity to teach a Good News club for 5th and 6th graders. My sister Jackie and I spoke passionately about the power of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is the single most important event in the history of the world and our entire faith hinges on the fact that Jesus was raised from the dead. At the end of our time together I played the song In Christ Alone for the group and asked them to write down what the resurrection of Jesus means to them. Most of the kids didn't write much, but a few had some thoughts:

"What does God mean to me...he is the one and only God/Jesus and the only one who can rise from the dead. And that is so amazing and important. When I am with him I do not fear of anything."

"That he died for me. He took my punishment. How much he loves me. He suffered for me."

"He died for my sins and if someone is going to die for my that means he loves me that much."

As I read through so many of their papers I realized that many of these kids couldn't even spell "God." My heart broke. I wonder how many people out there not only don't know how to spell the word "God" or "Jesus" but don't even know His name. This life is short and it is fragile. It could end any moment of any day. I want to use every opportunity to make Jesus known. I want to share with others the love and hope I have found in Jesus. Friends, speak the name of Jesus today and speak it boldly. People need to know what true love looks like.