Taken

A few days ago, while I was watching a news program, an alert scrolled across the screen saying that an actress by the name of Natasha Richardson was severely injured in a skiing accident. I really did not pay much attention to this news bulletin. It wasn’t that I didn’t care; it was simply because, like most of us, there was far too much going on in my own life to even give this news an emotional response.

Upon her death this week, it dawned on me that during a dinner, some friends were telling me about a movie that kept them “at the edge of their seats” entitled “Taken”. I’ve always liked the star of the movie, Liam Neeson, and I had determined to see it at some point. So it was ironic that it was his 45 year-old wife who was “taken” from him and their sons through this tragic accident.

Let’s be honest. Nobody wants to think about death. It’s just one of those subjects that, more often than not, we all simply try to avoid discussing. It can often bring up painful memories of loved ones whose company we may still intensely miss. It’s hard to reconcile our emotions with the words of Job. The Lord gives and He can also take away what He gives, and that God still should be praised in both His provision and His removal of what He’s provided (Job 1:20 -22, KJV).

This week, I’m preparing to give remarks at the memorial service of a friend who passed away last Fall. This month would have marked his 49th birthday. I can still vividly remember our discussion in April of last year. He visited from out of state and we talked about his dream of finally becoming the senior pastor of a large congregation he had worked so hard to help build for many years. Six months later, he was taken.

So what’s the lesson in all this? What’s the upside in discussing such a “downer” of a subject? The lesson here is that no matter who we are the God-given life we posses will eventually be taken back. It’s during times like these that we are reminded that once we die, we will all have to report to the One who has the right both to give life and to take it. So as this year continues to unfold, let’s make sure that we all use this most precious gift called “life” as wisely as God enables us (Psalm 90:12, C.E.V).