Over an approximately 45 year span I have been involved in three car accidents where
the other driver has rammed into the vehicle I was driving.
Nearly 45 years ago I was going home from work, stopped at a red light and when it turned green proceeded ahead. At that instant a young man ran his red light and rammed into my car. Thankfully, neither of us was injured.
Nearly 40 years ago, I lived in a different area, but was returning home from work, when a young man came around a mountain curve on my side. There was no where to go, and no time to do so if there were. Before I knew it, he rammed the front of my truck. I had to get out on the passenger side, which was tricky, because there was not much there but a sharp bank and a river below. Thankfully, neither of us was injured.
On April 16th of 2013 another one finds me. I’m living in a different area again, but can’t seem to get away from these people. I was returning home from Wal-Mart, stopped at the red lights, proceeded forward in the left turn lane after they turned green and was hit by a woman who ran her red lights. Thankfully, neither of us was injured.
This third time brought it all home with me. I should have been killed and probably the lady too, but we weren’t. Without going into all the details of the wreck, there were just too many things that happened and didn’t happen that could have taken me out. As I look back on all three of the wrecks, I actually shouldn’t have survived any of them. I pray there are no others awaiting me.
In all three instances no one was injured, not even a scratch, but someone should have been, considering the circumstances of each accident.
This week I read of two nineteen year old boys who were killed in a car crash. They first hit a road sign, then a dumpster, then a rock and then lastly a tree before stopping at the bottom of an embankment. Their vehicle, with them in it, was not found until hours later by two fishermen.
Wrecks happen all the time. Usually they’re caused by inattention or just plain stupidity. Regardless, they happen far more often than they should. The roads are dangerous and cars are not toys. If I were a left-wing liberal, I would ban all cars along with the guns, but since I’m not, I know cars nor guns kill people. Those driving the cars or holding the guns are the problem. But forgive me, I am diverting from the issue at hand.
The issue is that our life, as so many have discovered, can change in an instant. I am again undergoing a minor inconvenience of waiting for my vehicle, a van in this case, to be repaired. That is nothing to what could have been.
Thousands of people have been severely injured or have lost their lives from car accidents. But car accidents are only one way among so many, that our earthly lives can change or be gone forever.
Why was I saved from injury or death in these three car mishaps, and so many others were not? On the other hand, it may happen again and I be called home.
I think of Terry James of Rapture Ready and his experience on April 22nd, 2011. In his book, Heaven Vision, he reiterates his experience of suddenly dying from a heart attack and returning to life, not once but three times in the same day. That experience happened in an instant and he was permitted by Almighty God to live and tell about it. Enjoy the book. It’s an eye-opener.
But again, others have survived heart attacks while others have died suddenly. Why was Terry granted life and a revelation from his experience? Why have I and others escaped the cold hands of death while others have been called out into eternity? I don’t know, and that isn’t important. What is important is this. Are we ready for what life or death has to offer?
Jesus said in the book of Matthew that He will always be with us. “Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” (Matthew 28:20)
Surely, we have all read the 23rd Psalms. If not, please do so, because here rests the answer we are looking for.
Most people go through life never thinking that their life could change with a snap of the fingers. When I was leaving Wal-Mart a few weeks ago, I was only thinking about stopping briefly at Kroger and then going on home. Yet within an instant, it all changed. I pulled out onto the road, and then saw her car in my peripheral vision on my left. Then her vehicle hit mine.
It amazes me what can go through our mind within a second’s breath. I thought of three things, all within that instant. I just knew that this time I was dead and would be with Jesus shortly. I could see myself bloodied and lying over the seats, and then I think, “Crap, my van has had it.”
The most important thing is that I was ready to be with Jesus, not as my Judge but as my Savior and Lord. Can you say that? I pray you can, because that is the most important issue in your life.
As apostasy reigns supreme in this fallen world and the Church age winds down, millions are running to and fro with not a thought of tomorrow, let alone the next instant. Our next breath is never a guarantee, but so many live as though they will live forever. Actually, we will all live forever, either with Jesus Christ in Heaven or apart from Him in hell.
Don’t take your life for granted. It is a gift from God, but some day there will be a reckoning for what we have done with that life. If our life has been given to Jesus the Savior by faith, we are assured a home in Heaven with Him for eternity. We are also assured, as the verses above state that He is with us through all we may go through while upon this earth. He is not only our Redeemer, but He is also our Strength. He is our Life.
If you are a child of God, you have nothing to fear of the next instant, but without Him, where can you turn?
Grant Phillips
Pre-Rapture Commentary http://grant-phillips.blogspot.com
