Yesterday, I was watching the news when word came from NASA's Mission Control that communication with the space shuttle had just been lost. All hope that it was a momentary problem in re-entry were soon dashed as time passed for the landing. Living in Florida, we always hear the sound of the double sonic boom typical of shuttle landing shortly before the landing. When none was heard, it was clear there was a problem. Seventeen years ago, Leslie and I had been away from our home in Texas visiting Florida when the Challenger tragedy occurred. Since I was preaching near the NASA headquarters in Houston, we were close to several in the space program. I have never forgotten the sick feeling I had all day as the smoke from the explosion remained in clear sight in the skies through the day. As I write this article, that same sick feeling is present. Surely all of us sorrow at the mourning now taking place as the families of those killed grieve over the loss of their loved ones. We rightly pay respect to those who have lost their lives in the line of duty.
Each time such tragedies take the lives of those whom we think to be in the prime of life, we are shocked by the suddenness with which death comes. Our tendency is to think of unexpected death as an anomaly, however, death is actually a normal part of life on this earth. It teaches needed lessons to those of us who remain among the living. The Bible speaks of the need to learn the lessons that are taught by facing death's reality. Long ago, the wise man Solomon wrote,
It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting, for that is the end of all men; and the living will take it to heart. Sorrow is better than laughter, for by a sad countenance the heart is made better. The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth (Eccl. 7:2-4).
In the coming days, many friends and relatives will go to the house of mourning due to the loss of loved ones in this tragic accident. As the stories are told of individuals taken so suddenly, they serve as vivid reminders to all of us about the reality of death and the uncertainty of life. Such cases of unexpected death were well described by one Bible writer of old:
I returned and saw under the sun that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to men of understanding, nor favor to men of skill; but time and chance happen to them all. For man also does not know his time: Like fish taken in a cruel net, like birds caught in a snare, so the sons of men are snared in an evil time, when it falls suddenly upon them (Eccl. 9:11-12).
The death of any person we have known makes us face death as a more striking reality. When we attend a funeral, death is not a theoretical proposition - it is a reality! We are forced to contemplate the fact that we too will die just as the one whose memory we honor at a funeral. The admission of that reality brings with it several lessons.
First, we must see the brevity of life. The Psalmist said, "Indeed, You have made my days as handbreadths, And my age is as nothing before You; Certainly every man at his best state is but vapor" (Psa. 39:5).
In the New Testament, James refers to the same thing noting, "For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away" (James 4:14). Therefore, our prayer should be that of Psalm 90:12 -- "So teach us to number our days, That we may gain a heart of wisdom."
Second, we are impressed with the frailty of life. When we see the body of one so alive a few days ago now lifeless within the casket, this lesson is impossible to ignore. When we see clips on television of healthy astronauts taken just hours before we saw their spacecraft break apart and burn in the sky, we are given another reminder about the tenuous divide between life and death. David speaks of life's uncertainty by noting that "there is but a step between me and death" (1 Sam. 20:3). Solomon declared the same thing saying, "No one has power over the day of death" (Eccl. 8:8).
Third, we are brought to contemplate what lies beyond this life. The Bible answers that point emphatically by stating, "And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment" (Heb. 9:27). Whether in youth or in later years, all of us must be prepared to meet God in judgment, "For God will bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing, whether it is good or whether it is evil" (Eccl. 12:14). At times of tragic death, we often hear people assure us that the departed is safe in the reward of God. In fact, it is rare to go to any funeral where the one speaking does not assure the audience of the eternal security of the departed one. Yet, Jesus said that the majority of people, even those claiming faith, will be lost (Matt. 7:13-14, 21-23; Lk.13:24). We must remember that Christ will make all things manifest in the judgment and sentence us accordingly (2 Cor. 5:10).
We have no guarantee on life. We hold no lease for a given number of years. Have you thought about those astronauts who died when their spacecraft suddenly exploded? They did not expect to die. They had plans to rejoin their loved ones in just a few minutes. They were no doubt filled with joy at the end of an exciting journey which they hoped to share with many others. They had many hopes for many tomorrows, but none of them were realized.
Yes, it is good to go to the house of mourning. It is not enjoyable, but it is still good. The good comes from
being made better by facing the lessons learned by the occasion and changing our life for the better. Let us all
seriously reflect upon our lives in view of our certain destiny to face God in judgment.