A scene I will never forget…

Have you ever had something happen in your life that the image will be forever burned in your memory? Unfortunately on the way to church today at the train station I saw a scene that I will never forget.  As Michele and I made our way to the platform to catch the next train the crowds began to gather as it pulled into the station. There are so many people waiting to get on and off the train that many of the men will begin to jump off before the train has stopped.  I’m still not sure exactly what happened, if this man fell, passed out, or tripped but as the train was passing he landed head first on the platform in front of us.  He fell right on his face…I will never forget that sight nor be able to forget that sound.  Once he hit the platform he then slid at least three feet before stopping just in front of us.  There was no movement from him at all and before I could even process what was happening the crowd began to pull him away from the tracks so he would not be pulled as the train left the station.  The women stepped back and the men flipped him over and tried to stabilize his limp body however there was no sign of any movement from the man.

I’m still not sure if this man survived the fall or not, but from what I saw there was no possible way that he did. Michele and I eventually continued on in silence to church processing what we had just witnessed.  As I sat on the train I began to get sick to my stomach.  I got mad at myself for getting sick thinking “you did hospital chaplaincy for crying out loud.  Tragedy is not new to you!  What’s your problem?!”  Then as I sat in church I realized that the feelings I had were merited and no matter how often you see or experience death in this life it should always reminds us of the urgency of the message we have.  I couldn’t help but thinking about this man, wondering if he had ever even heard the name of Jesus.  Wondering if I had met him (or more likely met his wife in this culture) would I have shared with him and his family?  Wondering if we had more laborers in the harvest here would he, could he have known Jesus?

While I wish I could erase this image from my memory my prayer is that it will be forever etched in my mind as a reminder of the sense of urgency to share the truth of the g*spel every chance that I get.   Interestingly enough my quiet time this morning was out of Mark 13…check out verses 32-37, “But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Be on guard, keep awake. For you do not know when the time will come. It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his servants in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to stay awake. Therefore stay awake—for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or in the morning—lest he come suddenly and find you asleep. And what I say to you I say to all: Stay awake.” 

I wrote in the margin “stay awake=just keep working…on the things that matter.”  In other words be about Kingdom business until His Kingdom comes about.  That is our purpose in this life.   I’m notorious for needing to stay busy, but today I was reminded that busy only counts if its about Kingdom business.  The beauty of this is that it does not just apply to living overseas.  It is wherever the Father has placed you.  So I leave you with this thought, right where life has you, are you working on the things that matter?