I just found out that a friend from high school passed away this weekend. I don’t know the cause of his death, I only know that after a night of drinking he went to bed and never woke up. I’ve never had someone so close to me die. He was one of the nicest guys you have ever met, would give the shirt off his back to help anyone and could always put a smile on your face. I recently talked to him and and he seemed to be doing really well for himself. It breaks my heart knowing he’s gone.
Life is short and it can end in an instant. You can do everything possible to prolong your life but ultimately you do not have control over when you will take your last breath. Friends I hope that this unfortunate event will point you to Jesus. Living a life apart from Jesus isn’t a life at all. You question what the purpose of life is but you don’t understand that for there to be a purpose in life you must have been created. The creator loves you and is seeking after you! You were created by God, you bear the image of God and he desires that you would get to know him and live for him. Please know that I am speaking out of a place of Love from deep inside of my heart. I want to see you in heaven when I breathe my last breath. It breaks my heart to think that so many of my friends will not be in heaven for eternity. People share that they want him to look down on them from heaven and know that they love him. By making that statement you have made the conscious decision in your heart that there is a heaven and a hell. That means you know the truth but by choosing to not follow Jesus you are making the decision that heaven isn’t where you want to go. I don’t say that out of a place of judgement or self righteousness. Its from a place of love because I care about you and want the best for you.
Friends I am sorry for being such a coward and not telling you about Jesus. I have been more concerned about not offending you and worried about how you will respond when I tell you about Jesus. I love you and care about you. I want to see you in heaven, I want to see your friends in heaven and I want to see your family’s in heaven. I want you to know the love of Jesus. I wish I had the vocabulary to make you understand and see that Jesus was the son of God, was crucified on a cross for our sins and rose from the grave 3 days later. Those are the 3 most important things I can ever tell you and the 3 most important facts you will ever need to know in this life.
Christians it is time to wake up. Its time to step it up and live out the life Jesus has called you to. You have a purpose in this life. Your purpose is to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ to the nations, to your neighborhoods, to your workplaces, to your friends and to your family. Your purpose is not to have a certain job, to get married or to have children. Its to tell people about Jesus and live a life that points to the one who has called you. If there wasn’t a purpose in this life Jesus would have taken you home when you got saved. If you believe you were created for a purpose yet you live for yourself, you have denied the one who you has saved you…… “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in the mirror and after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like” James 1:22-24. That sounds foolish right? To walk away and immediately forget what you look like? Thats what it is like when we know what we are called to, yet we continue to live for ourselves. This scripture has taunted me for years. I am a hypocrite but luckily I am saved by his grace alone and that only makes me want to serve him more! I hope and pray that all of this points you to Jesus. Because he loved us first…….
You will be missed Ben Bunn
awakenosleeper 