The small town of Tzaneen, in which I am currently living and ministering in has been over the past two weeks, shocked and saddened by two very tragic events. Two weeks ago, a pair of dogs mauled a five-year old boy to death, his father only metres away, but was completely unaware of what was taking place outside. Then just this Sunday morning, whilst we gathered for worship, two aircraft, that had been involved the previous day in the Tzaneen Air show, crashed into the side of a mountain whilst on route to Johannesburg. All 13 people on board the two aircraft died upon impact.
When the first reports of these events came through, many in our community found them hard to believe, myself included. Children in my son’s preschool class had days earlier played with this young boy; they even played together with the pair of dogs that would days later end his life. I had taken my son to the Air show that very Saturday, we watched those two aircraft perform a faultless display of formation flying, we had seen the pilots, and the other people that were on board those fatal flights! A sense of disbelief, sorrow, grief and deep sympathy with those who have suffered these losses to their families, now hangs over our town like a dark cloud.
As I have been trying to process these tragic deaths, and have been thinking of how to respond to it pastorally, I have found myself increasingly sobered by the truth of Scripture.
“Remember how short my time is! For what vanity you have created all the children of man! What man can live and never see death? Who can deliver his soul from the power of Sheol?” Psalm 89:47-48
“As for man, his days are like grass; he flourishes like a flower of the field; for the wind passes over it, and it is gone, and its place knows it no more.” Psalm 103:15-16.
“When you hide your face, they are dismayed; when you take away their breath, they die and return to their dust.” Psalm 104:29-30
“And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment…” Hebrews 9:27
It has been a sharp, but necessary reminder that the only day we know we have is today and even then, we do not know if we shall live to see the end of today. I find these tragedies have not only reminded me of the brevity of life, they have also further reminded me of the urgency of the task that we as ministers of the Gospel have.
We so often, foolishly and naively, take for granted and assume that the people we preach to this week, will still be here next week. When we interact with people in the course of the week, whether they are believers or unbelievers, it seldom, if ever, enters into our minds that these words may be our last words to them. We forget that death is cruel, it seldom gives warning, it gives no second chances and it never gives back those it has taken!
Gentlemen, our task is urgent, therefore let us not wait until tragedy strikes before we remember this reality. We always, always must have a sense of urgency in our preaching, seeking to quicken our hearers to action, constantly holding out Christ and the salvation that He freely offers. Let us make it the abiding mark not just of our ministries, but also of our lives.
May God in His grace and mercy, help us once again to understand the urgency of the task, the finality of death, the reality of hell, the grace of salvation, the power of Christ over death and hell and, the glory of heaven.
No comments:
Post a Comment