Faith: A Way of Life

There was an accident on the interstate today.

For some people, I'm sure it was an inconvenience. What a way to start out the week. Monday morning, and the interstate AND the highway that runs parallel to it, were both closed down. In fact, the end of the street I live on was also closed down.

For some people, it meant taking a detour to work or school, and probably being late.

For people making a longer journey, it meant sitting in a major traffic jam waiting for the roads to be cleared and traffic to move once again.

I'm sure that for everyone involved, peripherally and directly, the day started like any other; the alarm clock jarring them awake; going through the daily routine of getting ready to go wherever it is they spend their days.


Maybe they took time to have breakfast with their family. Maybe they remembered to take the time to tell family members that they loved them. Maybe they took the time to commune with God by reading his word, or giving him praise, or spending time with him in prayer.

Or, maybe they were just too busy, running late, hurrying about their busy lives.

In many respects, today was a day like any other.

But one man was a little tired. Maybe he had been up late the night before. He dozed off and rear-ended an 18-wheeler. The truck hauling vegetables tried to swerve to avoid the accident, but ended up hitting the pickup, rupturing it's fuel tank and bursting into flames.

Both the driver and the passenger in this truck died this morning.

I'm sure there was no clue in their daily routine that suggested anything out of the ordinary would happen today. Maybe they had breakfast with their families this morning. Maybe they kissed them goodbye as they left for the day. Maybe they had been on the road for a day or two and a phone call was the last thing they shared.

Maybe somewhere tonight, a mother is trying to explain to her children that their father won't be coming home, or a father that their mother won't be coming home.

And I realize how fragile our lives are, and how important it is to know every moment of every day who we are and who our Father is; how vital it is that we choose whom we will serve.

For 52-year-old Debbie Harrell of Shiloh, N.C., and 40-year-old Ramzi Bidas of Baton Rouge, La, there are no more choices. If they had not already made the choice to follow Jesus while they were living, no amount of prayers and supplication from friends and family will change their destination now. Perhaps they were saved and in the moment they realized that their lives on earth had reached an end they had no fear, because they knew where they were going. I hope so.

Today started out like any other day. But for them, the day ended just before 6:30 this morning.

And because of that, I realize I can't afford to waste a single day. I can't afford to let a day go by without telling my family members that I love them. I can't afford to let the sun rise and set without telling my family, friends -- even strangers -- that God loves them while they still have the power to choose and change their destiny.

Do you know Jesus? Have you made him the Lord and Savior of your life? Do you know where you will spend eternity?