“But he was so young!” I exclaimed when I saw the photo on the funeral pamphlet.
Turns out this was someone I saw at Mass every Sunday and the father of two children. And then tragically, without warning, a heart attack claimed his life.
How often we forget that death can be just a heartbeat away. We think we have plenty of time to get the proverbial house in order. We’ll mend that fence with our in-laws somewhere down the line. Stop fudging on our income tax. Join a church or synagogue and discover what this worship thing is all about.
Some people figure they’ll wait until they’re at death’s door — and then welcome a visit from a clergy member. After all, there are plenty of deathbed conversions, so why not procrastinate until then?
Problem is, many people aren’t given the luxury of a last-minute turnaround. My father died suddenly at age 64 with his suitcases packed for a cruise. He went on a very different journey, however, one God had planned for him.
It’s tempting to think we will die when we’re incredibly old — say, 100 — so we have decades to figure out what truly matters.
Plus, folks are very busy, especially couples with kids. They’re scrambling to make a buck, get supper on the table and check homework. In the midst of the chaos, commemorating the Sabbath may take a back seat to mowing the lawn.
Then we hear about someone dying who is uncomfortably close to our age. In the distance it seems we hear a bell tolling — and we feel a chill inching down our spine.
In the old days, church bells chimed to alert the townspeople when someone died, and to ask for prayers. This gave rise to poet John Donne’s famous quote: “And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.”
Ah, but some will object, saying thinking about death is depressing. Perhaps this is because deep down inside we believe we’ll be on Earth forever — even though that clearly isn’t God’s plan. As Ecclesiastes reminds us, “There is a time to give birth and a time to die.” Or, as Jimi Hendrix succinctly put it, “No one here gets out alive.”
So many people prepare meticulously for retirement years but forget about the heavenly 401(k) plan contained in the Bible. There, we have the Ten Commandments, psalms, proverbs and plenty of parables to show the way.
Jesus asked, “What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself?” You can have millions in the bank and leave this world spiritually bankrupt. And you can die a pauper but walk into the kingdom where the streets shimmer with gold.
Too often, eternity is at the very bottom of our to-do list. Then the bells chime — and we start wondering about our priorities.
American evangelist D.L. Moody knew his obituary would one day be in the papers, but this didn’t make him despondent. As he wrote, “At that moment I shall be more alive than I am now.”
Let’s pray his words will ring true for each of us.
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