Yesterday four U. S. Air Force personnel lost their lives in a tragic accident. The C-17 (a Strategic/Tactical Airlifter) crashed near Elmendorf Air Force Base, near Anchorage, Alaska. My thoughts and prayers go out to the families of these brave airmen. May our God provide them a peace that exceeds human understanding and use this incident to glorify Him and further His kingdom.
I’ve flown about 400 hours in various military aircraft, only once was a scared (the aircraft commander – a young Captain – did a great job saving that C-130 and the crew . . . and me). But stories like the one at Elmendorf remind me of the brevity of this life. From accidents like the one mentioned above to flag-draped coffins returning from war-zones to auto accidents to disease to suicide to genocide on the news, to endless lists of names in the local obituaries, we are one short breath away from leaving this life and all that we love about it and entering into eternity.
Tim McGraw sings a song entitled “Live Like You Were Dying.” In the song he sings about a “bucket list” (things you want to do before you “kick the bucket” – also a major motion picture starring Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman). He mentions sky-diving (on my personal “bucket list”) climbing mountains, riding bulls, etc., etc.
It is no different for those of us who love Jesus. We also are a short breath away from eternity. What if we lived like we were dying (after all, all of us are). What if we took every opportunity we were given to worship God, what if we took every opportunity we were given to share our faith, what if we took every opportunity we were given to love other people with more than our words. When we breath our last, those opportunities vanish like a vapor.
No regrets . . . when my life is over in that unexpected instant, I want to enter into the presence of God with no regrets.
Wow. Well said. All I can say is, “Amen!’