Complimentary Story
“Therefore they will be like the morning cloud and like dew which soon disappears, like chaff which is blown away from the threshing floor and like smoke from a chimney.” Hosea 13:3 When I was a young lad I remember my father telling me about Indians camping on the wooded hillsides of our farm in southwestern Wisconsin many years before. And of their bonfires which lit up the sky in the evenings. From time to time my great grandfather gave them a steer to butcher if they were hungry. I know his tale is true because over the years many arrowheads, stone axes, and stones to rub flesh from animal hides have been found in the area. Otherwise, no one would ever know of their existence.
On the south side of Madison, just off Fish Hatchery Road, Shalom Christian Center once stood. In the ‘70s and ‘80s, Shalom was a very vibrant charismatic church with spirited worship and a growing attendance. Today, no passer-by would ever know the church existed.
While driving to Florida during January and April a number of years ago, Sue and I would often drift off the main route in order to check on something we had heard about or was of interest to us. One year we stopped in Andersonville, Georgia, the location of a Confederate Civil War prison about which the movie “Andersonville” was filmed. Although the location is now a federal park, only bare fields and a few markers indicate the location of what was once one of the most notorious and inhumane encampments in U.S. history.
A few miles south of Charlotte, North Carolina, is an area that was extremely popular in the 1970s among Evangelical Christians. It was called Heritage Village, a massive theme park and home to the Jim and Tammy Bakker Television Ministry. I asked directions to the location from a few young people (possibly in their 20s or early 30s) who, although they grew up in the area, had never heard of the place. By the way, it turned out to be less than 3 miles away. Today, what is left of the complex is in total ruin.
As I was sitting by the ocean shore in Hollywood, Florida, one morning, I noticed a man jogging past. As he continued into the distance, his footprints in the sand followed him, deep and noticeable. But while I was observing tides, the waves from the ocean became closer to the shore until they swarmed over and seemed to attack the footprints the man had left behind only moments earlier. With each crash of a wave the footprints were less noticeable — until they were gone. There was no evidence anyone had ever been in the area.
Some years ago, a business friend I knew passed away at the young age of 50. Marvin was a brilliant person who worked 15 hours a day, seven days a week, and amassed a financial fortune. He, however, always lived on the “edge” of life, and was never satisfied. Eventually he filed bankruptcy and was sentenced to three years in federal prison for bond fraud. Marvin was a Jewish man who did not practice his faith or believe in a hereafter. I remember him saying to me many times, “Paul, when they lower me in that hole in the ground and slam the lid on that thing, it’s the deep six for me, buddy, that’s it — I ain’t ever gettin’ out, period.”
It was a cold, windy and snowy January day that he was laid to rest. I, along with a few others, (his three children did not attend the funeral) were standing beside his grave as the coffin was slowly lowered into the ground. I do not have an answer to what followed. When the coffin touched the bottom of the vault, the cord holding the lid of the vault suddenly and mysteriously broke, allowing it to SLAM closed with a mighty thud! Snow and dirt flew into the air, and people screamed with fright as God placed His period after Marvin’s life.
I have thought of that cold January day and of Marvin’s burial, and that unexpected occurrence many times. I’ve thought of what he said to me regarding his lack of belief. Maybe God was sending a message to everyone who attended his burial. I really don’t know why, but I still carry a note from one of my office staff regarding a phone call I received dated February 1989, which states, “Marvin called, 1:20 pm.” I never had an opportunity to speak with him again; he died that evening — a crushed man! The obituary told of a few superficial things about Marvin (some of which were not very complimentary), and as all obituaries do, ended with a period!
I visit my friend’s grave from time to time in the Jewish section of the cemetery. It doesn’t appear to have been visited by many people — if any. A rather non-expressive marker stands there, listing just bare facts. There is nothing left to show for his life of ambition, his million dollar home, and thousands of apartment units.
We know time is short, but we don’t always know how short it is. The writer of Psalm 89:47 says, “Remember how short my time is.” For those who know Jesus as Savior, our lifespans are as long as eternity; Jesus has given us eternal life. But we have a brief allocation of time on earth, and we don't have a certain promise of even another day.
“Yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.” James 4:14
Two Washington, D.C., residents quit their jobs to bicycle around the world. Jay Austin and Lauren Geoghegan described their adventures on their blog, “Simply Cycling,” explaining, “Because life is short and the world is big...we want to make the most out of our youth and good health before they’re gone.” Tragically they were killed by ISIS terrorists while bicycling in Tajikistan. They were 29.
Let’s make the most of the moments God gives us. Don’t fritter your time away with endless diversions and distractions. Live purposefully, making the most of the opportunities because the days are evil (Ephesians 5:16). Let’s take advantage of every moment and every day for Christ and His Kingdom.
Thank You, Father, that the life of an obedient believer does not consist of a foot print in the sand, or end with the slamming of a lid on a burial vault, with a few words written on a cold, unexpressive tombstone, a period at the close of a statistical newspaper obituary, but rather, is the beginning of life eternal!
If you have not already given your life to Jesus Christ, I encourage you to do so today. For soon this life on earth will pass and only what is done for Christ will last.
Alliance for Life Ministries / P.O. Box 5102 / Madison, WI 53705 / E-mail: ministry@alliance4lifemin.org
Web: www.AllianceForLifeMinistries.org
