Today, my wife and I found ourselves in a church service we did not want to be in.
It started three days ago. Around lunch time, my wife received a call that a relative had suffered a heart-attack and was in the hospital. So, my wife and I got around as quickly as we could and went to visit the relative.
Upon arrival, we found the relative was in good spirits…and although he was a bit weak, he otherwise seemed completely fine.
Moreover, doctors had completed their analysis and determined that everything was fine health-wise with the relative…and that most likely, it was a change in prescription that another doctor had prescribed a few days prior that triggered the heart-attack.
And so, the doctors wanted to monitor the relative for a few more hours and then he would be released to go home.
My wife and I had an enjoyable visit with the relative and the relative’s spouse…reminiscing about good memories and happy times in the past…talking about funny events that had happened with various people we know…laughing about the funny antics of the relative’s young grandchild…telling jokes…and so on.
Then, the relative’s spouse made the comment that just the day before, they had been visiting a friend of theirs who was in a hospital…but they never dreamed that they themselves would be in the hospital the very next day in their own emergency.
That opened the door for my wife and I to talk about the importance of being right with God through Jesus Christ…which led to my wife and I praying for the relative.
We then enjoyed a bit more conversation with the relative…and believing that he was going to be fine…and would be going home later that afternoon, we said our goodbyes and left.
We never dreamed that roughly two hours later, we would get another phone call and the message that the relative had passed away.
Right after we had left, the relative was setting up in bed…having a meal…talking with their spouse…and then simply fell over…and was gone from this world in an instant.
My wife and I could hardly believe it. The relative had seemed completely okay…the doctors had affirmed that the relative would be okay…but the reality was that time had come to an end for the relative.
And so, three days later, my wife found ourselves at a funeral that we never imagined we would be at.
Now, we have hope that the relative was right with God. We know that the relative had attended and been involved with a little country church for the last several years.
But, had I known that this would be the last time for me to interact with the relative, I would have been more direct in confirming that the relative was right with God.
The moral of this story is two-fold…
One, life is more serious than we realize. Life is way more fragile than we like to think it is. So, it IS important for us to be right with God at all times. If you know within your heart that there are some things that need to be fixed between you and God, then have a look at this article: The Salvation Plan
Two, it is important that we speak up for Christ and point people to Christ everywhere we go. Yes, my wife and I talked about Christ with the relative…and we prayed for the relative…but, we COULD have went deeper and been more specific…and we WOULD have went deeper and been more specific…had we just known. So, when we are interacting with people, we should keep in mind that the interaction we are having may well be the last interaction…and therefore that interaction is an important interaction that deserves a REAL discussion about Christ.
I am reminded of Christ’s words…
“For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that [Noah] entered into the ark, and knew not until the flood came, and took them all away.” Matthew 24:38-39
Let’s NOT be one of those who “knew not”…let’s NOT be one of those who is so caught up in whatever we are doing that we are caught unawares by the seriousness of our soul and eternity…or the seriousness of someone else’s soul that we are interacting with.