The loss of life is a traumatic experience for the loved ones left behind. It’s a vivid reminder of how quickly life can end. The recent Air France plane crash took many lives. It left behind fathers, mothers, children, family and friends.
What did these passengers think about during those final seconds of life? Did they praise God for their salvation, or did they pray the prayer of salvation? Or, did they not praise or pray, but think about the loss of their worldly processions?
For those left behind, the answer to their family/friends final thoughts will bring them peace, or sorrow. Salvation brings the assurance of eternal life. It means the end of this physical life, but the confidence of eternal life in heaven with Jesus and our creator.
God is saddened when one of his children dies without knowing his Son, Jesus Christ. But God also knows that knowing Jesus is a choice; it’s not a requirement or a command. To know Jesus is to love Jesus – and to praise him for dying on the cross in our place.
Life is short – no doubt about it. And we can’t blame ourselves for our family and friends choice to know Jesus. It’s a personal choice, a personal commitment to change and surrender life for God’s purpose.
Whether the passengers of Air France were saved or not, we need to pray for their families and friends. For the trauma is real, the loss is real, and the mourning is real.
So today, stop and pray. Take a few moments out of your busy schedule and pray for these families and for your own. We don’t know the day nor the hour of our death, but we do know if we are prepared to meet our maker to hear, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”
