It's been painful to hear about, excruciating to watch, and even worse to imagine. On March 8, 2014, Malaysian Airlines Flight 370 went missing with 239 souls aboard. Since the flight vanished without a clue, no trace of what could have happened, families have waited with anguish: these people we love with every fiber of our beings...are they saved or lost? The faces we cherish so dearly we have memorized every line and freckle on them--will we ever see them again? The torment of not knowing is only outweighed by the terror that perhaps your worst fear is true. They are lost. No chance to change it.
I've been with those families. I have felt their pain. I have had the sick ache in my own stomach as I wondered, "Saved or lost? Will I ever see them again?" Not from an airplane crash. Some of them left us quietly in their own beds. Some young and vibrant slipped away from us because of unwise choices, some in the peak years of life from unexpected events, some aged and weak, though still too soon. But there was a common thread. They vanished without leaving a certainty about where they went.
Most people believe in an afterlife, especially when someone they love dies. They desperately want to believe they will see the one they love again, and so, most are like the loved ones of the Flight 370 passengers. They cling to hope that the one they loved is saved...somewhere, regardless of the evidence or lack of it.
God calls that place heaven. He created it. As the Creator and Owner of heaven, He determines what it takes to get there, to be saved. "For God so loved the world that He gave His One and Only Son that whoever believes in Him will not be lost, but will have life forever." John 3:16 Saved or lost? We have the choice...but we have to make it before the plane goes down.
The best gift you can give yourself is to be saved. The best gift you can give those you love is to make your commitment to Jesus Christ so clear by the way you live that when the sun goes down on you, they will grieve, of course, but never be tortured by the uncertainty, "Saved or lost?" They will know--reunion ahead.
1 comment:
At the end of a person's life, you need to know that your loved one is saved. The lesson here is to be bold in Chrst and do whatever you can to make sure your loved ones know Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord.
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