Tim Challies tells the story of standing in the back of a church several years ago at an unbelieving friend’s funeral. It is a gut-wrenching moment, and the feeling he describes is something we should all feel more often than we do. He writes:
I stood back there silent and ashamed and knowing that death is final and yet not final. I knew what everyone else there denied—that Mike was dead but alive. His body had died and was already returning to the dust. But his soul was alive and well. Or not well. Probably not well. As far as I know, Mike never turned to the Lord. He never saw the depth of his sin and his need for a Savior. And in the fear of my sin, the fear of what one man would think of me, I missed the opportunity to tell him about the One who offered him life even in death.
All these years later I am still ashamed. I know I’ve been forgiven even for this sin, but still I wish that I had done what was right, that in that one great opportunity I had offered hope and offered life. I wish…
This one is worth your taking time to read the whole thing. Read the rest here. Thanks for the good word, Tim.
“Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men, but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil.” -Ephesians 5:15-16
