We’ve all said things like… “That was an untimely death,” or “This was so unexpected!” or “They were so full of life… why would such a thing happen?”  BUT… is there really such a thing as an untimely death… from heaven’s perspective?  This is something I wrote previously (2011) for consideration…

Unexpected passings happen every day… some are more well known than others: JFK, RFK, MLK, Curt Cobain, John Lennon, Bruce Lee, Michael Jackson, Heath Ledger, Billy Mays, and many more.  It is easier to handle those passings because they don’t strike as close to home as when someone we know dies.  However, when a major event happens… like the earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear plant melt down in Japan (3/11/11)… the unexpected loss of life causes us to wonder about events that bring with them the end of life and widespread destruction.  Then add (3/14/11) when a 16 year old high school basketball player collapses during a game time out

Recently a man I attended high school with and his wife were driving when a tree fell and hit the car they were in.  He was killed and she sustained minor injuries.  It was said that 100 feet either way and the tree would have missed them.  This event was a shock to everyone who knew the family as he was quite young… in his early 50s.  Like many others, I have struggle with such an event and similar situations I’ve experienced in my own life.  As a pastor part of my call is to seek the Scripture for help and share what I find with others.  Thus this study…

From the time the news got out about this tragedy, many offered assessments and thoughts about the event.  Each of us tried to give comfort and relief while trying to make sense of something that made no sense.  This is what we all do when a tragedy hits close to home… especially when it is so unexpected and unsettleing.

Aside: “A Free Pass.”  When tragedies happen, people need to be given a free pass for a time as they process the emotional shock they are experiencing.  Grief is a powerful emotion and people don’t need to be held accountable for words that come from a heart that is breaking.  Tears come before truth. To interject truth when tears are appropriate is crass, harsh, uncaring, and devoid of mercy.  Tears always come before truth.  This study’s goal is to begin to interject truth as the tears begin to abate.

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