Have you ever had a near death experience?
I want you to imagine yourself dying. Imagine yourself in a hopeless situation.. Maybe in the middle of the ocean. There's a huge storm and you've been tossed over board. The waves are pulling you under and you think you've taken your last breath when all of the sudden someone begins pulling you to the surface.
This person attaches you to a rope that pulls you into a helicopter and brings you to safety.
Once you're in the helicopter you realize the guy who pulled you out of the water is not there with you. You're informed by the pilot that something went wrong and only one person could be saved - the man in the water chose you instead of himself.
How would you go about living your life after an experience like that? Knowing someone saved your life at the expense of their own would probably change the way you live. You would maybe be more thankful, and you would probably realize how fragile human lives really are. You'd probably have a sense of urgency and purpose to make the most of life - to not waste it - knowing you wouldn't be here if it wasn't for that man.
Its the same with Jesus.
For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit. 1 Peter 3:18
We so often casually pray, "thank you Jesus for dying on the cross and saving me from my sin." ...But how often do we really mean it? Jesus died so that we could live. It's just like that near death experience discussed above.. And just because Jesus's death isn't tangible to us - just because we weren't there in person - does not make it any less real than it is.
While it's something we should certainly do, saying thank you isn't enough. Jesus’ death should change the way we live.
I used to work at a pool. I was a lifeguard and swim instructor. One morning on my drive to work, I rolled up to a stop sign and instead of coming to a complete stop, I continued onto a curve. What I didn’t realize was that the truck coming towards me was not turning like I thought it was. Before I knew it, the airbag was in my face and there was a cloud of smoke all around me. I had smashed my little purple car right into a truck, totaling it in the process.
Yes, I should have stopped all the way. I made a stupid mistake and almost got myself killed. But you know what? I didn’t die. I didn’t even get one tiny scratch.
It's kind of sad that it takes things like this for the majority of us to realize how precious life is. We think we have control – we live for ourselves and waste our days. Then suddenly something life threatening happens and we re-evaluate our lives. We tell ourselves we’re going to live more purposely and stop wasting time – but even that fades over time and it takes another life threatening event for us to realize we don’t have time to waste.
“But God doesn't call us to be comfortable. He calls us to trust Him so completely that we are unafraid to put ourselves in situations where we will be in trouble if He doesn't come through.” – Francis Chan
The Bible tells us to number our days. We're living terminal lives, and our time here on earth is short. Jesus died so that we could be saved. He died for you and I. Do you think He did that so we could live comfortable, selfish lives? I don’t. I think he wants us to live purposefully. I think he wants us to take the Bible seriously – not only reading the Word of God, but living it.
The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain. 1 Corinthians 15:56-58
