Life and Death
It never ceases to amaze me how thin the veil is between life and death. We are only one breath or one heart beat away from eternity. I've been thinking a lot about life and death after a 23-year old man collapsed during one of our Easter Services. A doctor sitting two rows back was able to immediately begin chest compressions as our hosts got him out into the Atrium. The paramedics came and continued resuscitation on the young man as he was transported to a nearby hospital. Today, he is in a coma with little chance of survival unless God miraculously heals him and that is what we are praying for (www.edyoungblog.com).
The most surprising thing to me was that the young man was someone that grew up with my daughter. They went to school and college together. His parents are good friends of ours. Jared had no previous medical problems. He was a healthy and active young man who had just moved into an apartment to be on his own. Doctors have no clue about what happened to him. They can help with the symptoms but are at a loss to pinpoint the trigger that caused Jared to collapse. As great as science is, it still cannot explain how the human body lives. The cause of life can only be explained by a Creator who sustains us every second of every day.
As I have thought about Jared and his family, several things have crossed my mind.
* Life is never promised past our last breath. As James says, we are like a vapor...
* God is sufficient in our greatest times of crisis. I can see that in the lives of Jared's parents as they deal with this terrible crisis. As hard as it is, they have a calming faith that is indescribable.
* The local church is critical as a supporting partner to families. Our church has done a magnificent job of staying with the family, praying with them and feeding them. It has been wonderful to see how the local church takes care of the needs of people in pain and suffering.
* Jared collapsed on Easter Sunday morning while worshiping God and surrounded by his family and friends. From his last conscious moment to standing before the Father, he was worshiping. That is incredible to me.
We are still on our knees praying for Jared and his family. I believe God can heal Jared immediately. But if He chooses not to, then Jared is ready to face God eye to eye. He is a follower of Christ and because Christ defeated death through his death, burial and resurrection, Jared will also experience a death, burial and resurrection.
He is ready. Are you?
As Jared lay lifeless in the ER and me standing in the doorway watching as the medical team fought to save his life I began to pray that God would somehow use Jared and this life and death crisis to HIS glory. But how can this gut-retching horror that I was witnessing glorify God? Now, I know that God is an unfathomable and an incomprehensible God but how?? and then your blog came.
Several teachers have told me they read your blog to their students. God has used your written word to witness to and reach out to those who sometimes think they have plenty of time to decide about eternity. They said the impact was great...they could see it on their faces as they sat in total silence and listened. Glory be to this omnipotent God! Thank you Preston.
Jared's grandmother
Posted by: Jan | May 02, 2009 at 09:44 AM