Sunday, April 6, 2008

Birth and death.


Ecc 3:2 “A time to be born, and a time to die.” May 9, 2007
The statement here that there is a time to die, has hit me hard in it’s truth this past week. On Monday morning I found out the mother of one of my church members had died, this is the first death I’ve dealt with in my church family. Then on Thursday morning I got the devastating news that a man that had attended the same college I did up until last year when he graduated, had died as well. This man was a motorcycle policeman named David Young. I was honored to know this man for the short period of time that I did, he was always smiling and I can still hear his booming laugh. Not many people in this community have made such an impact on the city of Florence and Northwest Alabama as a whole. He was not only a father, husband, son, friend, etc. but was also the pastor of a church, as well as his job as a policeman.
Death comes to all of us just as sure as birth did, all who were born must one day die. Whether that death comes to a 90 year old woman in a nursing home, or a 46 year man in a motorcycle wreck, it is still a devastating loss to their families. David left behind a shining reputation, both personally and from all the interviews I’ve read he was a “blameless” man. A man that had no handles for the world to grab onto and drag him down with. I hope as I think David would, that through his death we see much new life. I think David would have wanted his death to bring about a recommitment in Christians, and it has in my life. Though older than I, him and me weren’t much different, we both were graduating college within a year of each other, we both had recently taken our first pastorate, we both had dedicated our lives to preaching of the gospel. His death made me wonder if I were to die tomorrow what kind of reputation I would leave behind.
David’s wife Donna quoted him as often saying “There’s no oops with God”, and that has been one of her greatest comforts. God said there is a time to die, David’s time came a little sooner than we were expecting, but God’s in control of that.
The bible says Samson killed more Philistines in his death than in all of his life, though at one time he slew 1,000 with the jawbone of a donkey. I think David might be our modern Samson, although he influenced and impacted hundreds of people in his life, his death just may be even more influential. As people come out of the woodwork to testify what a man of God this officer was, how the other officers would stop their cursing when he walked in the room. The expectation is that this funeral may be the biggest Florence has ever seen. There is a time to die, but I pray that God would use this death to bring all glory and honor to Himself and that new spiritual births would result from the physical death of this man of God.

2 comments:

  1. We do write our own epitaph.
    What is said, and has been said about Martin Luther? John Calvin?
    Likewise, what will be said of us?

    ReplyDelete