TRAGEDY TOO CLOSE

Pastor Todd Christopherson
Mid American Stock Car Series
January 20, 2014

This week there were a couple of tragedies in Madison, a little too close. First there was a worker that fell and was killed at a construction site and then Thursday a lady was killed as a catering truck on campus backed up. It really gets our attention when things like this happen.

In both cases I am sure the person did not get up in the morning knowing they were going to step into eternity. It made me pause and think how important is it to be ready for eternity. We will all live after death of the body in Heaven or in Hell and depending on what we have concluded about Jesus and what action we took will determine our future in eternity. Our place in eternity is set upon death of our body.

Read what is says in James 4:13-15. 13) "Now listen, you who say,'Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.' 14) Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. 15) Instead, you ought to say, 'If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that.' " (NIV)

Our lives are short to begin with and to have them “cut short” (God knows every second we are given on this earth) is difficult for us to think about. We want to say that we have plenty of time or that we will deal with the LORD later but that may not be the case.

I want you to really stop and consider that. PLEASE! It is vitally important whether we think so or not. Consider this: we all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God; only Jesus can save because He is the only one to be a perfect sacrifice for our sin; we must call out to Jesus and take Him as LORD of our life; we should want to obey Him and have our lives changed (some slowly, some dramatic in the change(s)). Again let me remind you that those two people last week did not wake up in the morning thinking it would be their last day on earth.

Finally, we should be praying for the families and friends that lost loved ones in these two events. Pray also for the person driving the truck on campus and others who feel responsible for the tragedy. Pray that somehow and someway God can comfort and strengthen those in the friend and close circle. Pray that God can magnify Himself even in this dark time. Most of all pray that God opens hearts up to salvation.

Have a great day racin’ in the SONshine,

Pastor Todd