Like many other people in the world I flew on an airplane yesterday. Approaching Tucson, my destination, we ran into some turbulence. I've had that happen before with varying degrees of shaking, rattling, and drops and updrafts. That scares a lot of people. That has included me on some of the rougher turbulence. As I was waiting in the airport before my flight in the crowded waiting area two fighter jets scrambled on a runway just a half mile away from us. Given the state of world affairs many people were alarmed and verbally expressed so. Okay, so did I. You have to wonder about things like that. The take off was flawless and the trip was great. But when the turbulence hit you could hear people expressing their anxiety. I too thought about many different people in my life and what it would be like for them if our flight was to crash. Things like that go through our minds at times like that. What would death from a crashing plane be like? Don't get me wrong, I don't have a fear of death because that only results in my entering into the presence of Jesus. It did make me wonder how many people on the plane had entered that flight wit the flight with their lives in order. How many people had made Christ the center of their life. I could have stood up and yelled "We are going to crash! Do you know Jesus?" They would have subdued me and the air marshals would have escorted me off the plane. However, the question would have been asked and an answer would have been demanded.
Are you ready? Do you have your life in order? Have you taken the steps to be taken out of your life and situation and face God? Living every day as the last day of your life should not cause you anxiety. Peace, the peace of God, should be the reflection of being ready at any moment to have that transition from earth to heaven. The plane didn't crash or I would not be writing this blog today. With our life as Christians being changed to heavenly residency, we encounter only one change. What about those around you who were your friends, family and enemies? How will your passing on to be with Jesus affect them? Our relationship with God shouldn't be one gained by fear but by that of love. Have you loved those around you today? Do they know and feel the love (yes, even your enemies)? It's an important question. In this day and age when everything is instant and plans go on forever, we often neglect the "now" parts of life. My last communication with people before the flight was "I love you." I thought about having the time to power up my phone and have one last word before the crash. Would I have time to do that? When the terrorists attacked on 9/11, people had some time to do so but there certainly wasn't enough time to finish business. That should be done before the event.
I can't predict anything for certain except that moles will have decimated my lawn by the time I get back home. Will that happen for me? Our lives can be desired of us at anytime by the Creator. We live only because he has given us grace for another day. It's not unusual to be thinking we have all the time in the world. We wonder what our kids will be like when the graduate, what our parents will need in old age. We wonder what retirement holds for us and all the trips we have planned. We even wonder what will happen when our old dog is in his last days. But, do we wonder what will happen to all the souls who do not know Jesus? Understanding that we only have now, we should live for now. Not for tomorrow and not living in the past. The past is done and we have no promise for tomorrow. All any of us has is now. There is a lot to think about as we go through the day. When we are done thinking we still have to do something. Even doing nothing is doing something. Our eternity and the eternity of others lies in our hands each and every day the Lord gives us. Remember that this is always your choice.
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