How precious is life? When we look out of a window or walk down the street do we see life as precious? What makes life so precious? Is life precious because its here and then its gone? Is it precious because of the details? Is life precious because God created every living thing? Is it precious because he put his heart and love in every one of us? Yes, God did create every living thing, he did create us in love and with love and yet, he sent his son to atone for our endless attempts to run away, to live our own lives, to do it our way, to believe what we wanted to believe, to live the way we want to live...and he died for us, he suffered for us...and for what? For forgiveness, for eternal life...because his love for us is stronger than our reject, its deeper than our sin...you see life is precious because life has meaning. Life has a reason, life is given, life taken, but all are promised life everlasting if we know Jesus, if we seek Jesus, if we know that our Redeemer lives. You see life is precious to me because of all these things and many more...
What boggles me is that the lose of life often makes us think of how precious life is...and this is the case for me today. Over the weekend I found out that a friend of mine passed away. I say friend and I mean friend, but I only spent a summer with this friend...and its amazing how much you can take away from a person in just 2 months. Matt was one of those guys that was selfless, he smiled a lot, he was funny, he had many friends, he was outgoing, he was creative and energetic. I was graced with the opportunity to work with Matt at Miquon, a day camp in Conshohocken, PA. What a wonderful adventure and summer that was, I was truly blessed to be there. Matt and I were bunk counselors and so I had time to see him at work, Matt was gifted indeed. He was in the perfect position for his character and personality. He was a camp favorite, and I will never forget his smile and his laugh.
So what troubles me is that I often see life as precious once it has been taken away. Now this is not an absolute, but I could have written about how precious life is a long time ago...and yet I did not. I think that the problem could be that this world sees life as precious once its gone, because if you don't know your Father in heaven and more importantly if you don't know his Son, death is the end. You see i don't write from absolutes here, just from my thoughts on this world.... Every day is a gift, its another day with the Lord...that in itself is precious. But as fast as this world moves, with schedules and meetings, with the grocery store and the gas station...we are moving so quickly we fly right by how precious this life is...but we remember when its gone. Life goes so fast, time speeds on by not worrying about what is left behind.
But fear not, for we have a redeemer who reigns forever...who walks by our side, who carries us when we are to weak to continue, who loved us so much he laid down his life for his friends...you see we have been given another chance over and over again. And not even death can over come it; No! death has been defeated...the stone was rolled away, we have a promise that we too will one day rise again just as Jesus Christ did...we will have life everlasting in paradise. Life is precious even unto death, death is the beginning of new life, no pain, no fear, no hurt, no hunger...we have a promise.
When I was reading through Matt's Facebook page I notice a division. Those who stated very clearly that they would see Matt again one day soon, and those who would never see him again. How sad. I can't imagine going through the death of a close friend or relative and believing I would never see them again. I don't know Matt's heart, I didn't have the chance to hear his thoughts on God. My hope is ever strong that he knew his Redeemer, that I will see Matt again very soon. But there are many who do not know their redeemer, some don't know his promises, some don't care about his promises...but Christ still died for every last one of them. That alone makes life so very precious.
nathan, I didn't know Matt, but I feel as if I did. Your tribute to Matt was inpiring, and thank you once again for your wonderful insight and your ability to get your maessage aacross in a way that is very easy to understand. Gram D
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