Three to Four Seconds

“It only takes three to four seconds.” I was talking with a friend after church this past Sunday when she made this statement to me. We were talking about a very tragic accident that occurred a few days ago here in the town where we live. As a result of what happened in those three to four seconds, a 14 year old boy lost his life. 14 years old – his whole life ahead of him. He could have been the next Billy Graham for his generation, or the President of the United States, or the dedicated doctor/scientist who discovered the cure for AIDS. He could have been a missionary to the darkest corners of the world or a pastor of a church. Instead, the enemy of our souls sought to bring this family to its knees by robbing them of their son and brother.

We talked, my friend and I, about how it is beyond our worst imaginations of what it would be like to bury your child. We could not even fathom the pain that this Mom and Dad are going through and will go through in the coming weeks and months. Burying your child is not in the natural order of life. No parent should ever have to bury their child – and yet, at this very moment as I type this blog, the parents and other family members and his friends from school have gathered at their church and a service to remember him and celebrate his short life here on earth has just begun.

My friend and I took comfort in the fact that this young boy and his family are Christians and therefore, his parents know beyond a shadow of a doubt that they will see their son again someday in heaven. The pain and anguish are still there, and yet, there is hope because of the assurance that their son is waiting for them and will be standing next to God to greet them when they arrive Home.

That thought brought me to the point of wondering how people who don’t know Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior – how do they handle the death of a loved one? There is such finality about the death of a person who had not accepted Jesus into their hearts - it is almost beyond my comprehension.

Where is their hope? Because there is truly no hope for those who do not know Jesus as their Savior when they die. How does the living go on with their lives with no hope of seeing their loved one again? They don’t – not really. They will go back to their daily routine; some day they will even smile again. But they will never have hope of seeing that loved one again. For them, that death was final.

I write about this today because of the reality that there are far too many people who do not know Jesus. If you are one of those and you are reading this blog today, please read the Scriptures below and then find a church and go there. Tell the pastor or whoever is available that you want to be saved. It is, far and above, the most important decision you will ever make.

If you are reading this today and you are a Christian and you have the assurance that when you die, you will go to heaven, but you have family and friends that you know are not saved, do not wait. Go to them today and share the love of Jesus with them. Tell them the message of the Gospel. Tell them that “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)

For those of you who are reading this and have not accepted Jesus into your heart, and for those who will be talking to unsaved family and friends, here are the two Scriptures that you need to read as a witness to them.

Romans 3:23b “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

Romans 10:9 “That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”

That’s really all a person has to do – recognize he or she is a sinner, confess that sin to God and receive Jesus into their heart and life. If you have not done that, why not today? It only takes a little longer than three to four seconds, but the difference it will make in your life is eternal.