“No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main. If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as if a manor of thy friend's or of thine own were: any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind, and therefore never send to know for whom the bells tolls; it tolls for thee" (John Donne, 1572-1631)
I just received word that a fellow student of my son died. I pray for the school and the family. The year 2011 was filled with prayers for families wrought with sickness and death. Sorrow has filled the hearts of many in our community.
It would be easy to dismiss the death of people we don’t know. We feel little sorrow for those unseen faces in far away lands. We pause a moment for others who our friends might know, or the hero we see on television, but life goes on and we become busy.
Yet we are diminished, if but a little, with the passing of every human, created in the image of God. We are diminished because it reminds us of our own mortality, and the inevitability of our end. We are diminished, because we are helpless to stay the reapers blade. We are diminished because every life is precious from the moment of conception until the last breath.
The scripture says we are destined to die once and then the judgment. We are diminished when someone dies because their eternal fate has been sealed, those who believe to life, but those who do not to eternal condemnation. We are diminished if we have stood by and done nothing.
The year 2012 doesn’t bode much better; death comes to all. My prayer is that there will be fewer this year that die apart from Christ. My prayer is that God will bring people across my path that need to hear about Jesus. My prayer is that, though I am diminished by every man’s death, Jesus death is a gateway to life to those who will come. I’m just saying…..
I just received word that a fellow student of my son died. I pray for the school and the family. The year 2011 was filled with prayers for families wrought with sickness and death. Sorrow has filled the hearts of many in our community.
It would be easy to dismiss the death of people we don’t know. We feel little sorrow for those unseen faces in far away lands. We pause a moment for others who our friends might know, or the hero we see on television, but life goes on and we become busy.
Yet we are diminished, if but a little, with the passing of every human, created in the image of God. We are diminished because it reminds us of our own mortality, and the inevitability of our end. We are diminished, because we are helpless to stay the reapers blade. We are diminished because every life is precious from the moment of conception until the last breath.
The scripture says we are destined to die once and then the judgment. We are diminished when someone dies because their eternal fate has been sealed, those who believe to life, but those who do not to eternal condemnation. We are diminished if we have stood by and done nothing.
The year 2012 doesn’t bode much better; death comes to all. My prayer is that there will be fewer this year that die apart from Christ. My prayer is that God will bring people across my path that need to hear about Jesus. My prayer is that, though I am diminished by every man’s death, Jesus death is a gateway to life to those who will come. I’m just saying…..
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