Stay Ready

I remember being in a sales meeting years ago and hearing Zig Ziglar say, "You are going to spend a lot more time dead than you are alive, make your plans accordingly." It wasn't a Christian meeting, but he was not ashamed to address the issue of our mortality. I want to echo that today, be ready, stay ready, and leave this earth with no regrets.

It seems I have heard of way too many people who have died recently. Dear friends of ours lost their little one year old daughter, My grandmother lost her sister, and today I got word of the loss of another dear friend. I really got sown over the loss of little Lauren. A precious life stolen in the night, it just isn't right. I was less moved by Aunt Sis's passing, after all, she was in her 80's, had lived a full life, and had set under the preaching of the Gospel for her whole life. Today's news, while sad, is not a defeat. My friend Jim was a champion in faith. I watched him beat cancer, not once, but twice. He was alive and vibrant, active in his church, and an unapologetic witness for our Lord. I will miss having breakfast with him, will miss his encouragement, and will likely long for his childlike hunger for the things of God. I know he is with Jesus, without a doubt, and I know that he has achieved what his heart desired.

Jim and I were talking recently about how utterly lost he was, and how clueless he was about his condition. I remember him lighting up over the revelation of the reality, Jesus loved Jim personally, completely, and just as he was. He would go on literally for hours about how that love has manifest over the years. Whether it was a tangible manifestation of the presence of God in worship, the grace and mercy that brought him healing, or just the supernatural insight into a passage of Scripture, Jim knew God loved him. He was so grateful that God had speared his life until he came to know Christ. He said, "I know one thing, I am going to stay ready to meet Him," and he did.

As we go through our busy days, stay ready.