“Hi, this is Greg. Leave your name, number, and message after the tone. I will return your phone call.” A distant cousin of mine passed away on Monday, March 8th. Our grandfathers were brothers. I had never met Greg, but I had talked, emailed, and texted with him so much for the past 12 months, I felt like I knew him. He was a wealth of information in relation to our family history. He grew up in Indiana but had been to Barren County many, many times. We connected last year when I learned of the passing of his mother. I called his cell phone this week in hopes of speaking with his wife, Alice, to see how she was doing (I assume the cell phone still had service). After ringing several times, Greg’s voicemail greeting began. While I knew he passed away almost two months ago, I still was moved by the sound of his voice. I began to think about not only how much we had communicated, the plans we had this year to get together, but also the “briefness” of life!
It is not news to anyone that we all have a limited number of sunsets. Hebrews 9:27 says, “And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgement…” James tells us in chapter four, verses 13-14, “Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit’; whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.’”
The information we have should ensure we have a “transformation of dedication” to Jesus Christ. Realizing no one knows how much time each has should get our attention and focus on what’s most important. What’s most important is the hope we have in Jesus Christ. When we are obedient and submit our life to Christ, we can be sure and confident of our eternal home (Hebrews 6:19). We can rest upon the promises of God (Hebrews 6:13-18), and know our hope is laid up in Heaven (Colossians 1:5, 27).
Losing someone (especially unexpectedly) should fuel us to know Christ and share Him with others. May we do both while we have time.
