The skies were partly cloudy, the tempurature was 68 degrees, the wind was out of the west at 10 miles per hour. A beautiful day. At 8:45am, people working on the 103rd floor were pouring in their morning coffee, straightening their desks, reviewing their Tuesday appointments, bantering with office mates, glancing at the harbour...
One minute later none of that mattered. Twenty floors below, a 757 transected the building, leaving the 103rd cut off, trapped, hopeless. But not yet dead.
When you have ten minutes to live, what
are your thoughts? What is important in the last seconds? As a tribute to those
nameless faces staring down at us from the smokey inferno, can we stop what we
are doing long enough to listen to them? Seeing death from this perspective is
not morbid: on the contrary it can help us see life.
Those who found phones called - not
their stockbrokers to check the latest ticker, not their hairstylest to cancel
the afternoon's appointment, not even their insurance agents to check coverage
levels. They called their spouses to say 'I love you' one last time, children
to say 'You are precious', parents to say 'thank you' one last time. Through
tears they called best friends, neighbours, pastors and priests and rabbis. 'I
just want you to know what you mean to me'. And surely those standing on the
brink of another world thought of God - of truth and eternity, judgement and
redemption, grace and the gospel.Imminent death has a commanding power to straighten life's priorities with a jolt. At such dramatic moments, people suddenly realise that priorities matter.
Tragically, however, chronic overloading obscures this truth. How we live influences how we die, and misplaced busyness leads to terminal regrets. If we don't move to establish and then guard that which matters most, the breathless pace of daily overload will blind us to eternal priorities, until one day we too stand at such a window and look down. Perhaps with regret.
William Law said 'If you attempt to talk to a dying man about sports or business, he is no longer interested. He now sees other things as more important. People who are dying recognise what we often forget, that we are standing on the brink of another world.'
This video is incredible.
Do we really stand on the brink of another world. I have been in hospital three times in my life due to suicide attempts and once been in the situation where for a little was waiting for test results for an illness where there was a possibility the results could have shown I had a possibly fatal illness.
ReplyDeleteI no longer believe in God. I'm not scared of death at all as I believe it probably is the end, if it isn't then I don't really like the idea of eternity of any sort but if had to have eternity would prefer it to be reincarnation to have the chence to do a few things differently. I guess my priorities in life are people, they are what count, they are important. I would hate anyone to be to devastated by my death so if there is one lesson I would like to teach someone it's how to be strong, how to get through life with the ability to overcome the challenges, obsticles and sometimes pain that comes your way. I would encourage people to make the most of opportunities, embrace life and embrace people and to have the courage to do what's right for them and not to follow or go with the flow just for the sake of it or to keep the piece. I tried to keep my faith in God but couldn't . I have too many unanswered questions about him. I did try to find answers but decided life's to short to waste looking for something that probably doesn't exist. I devoted myself to him but came away empty handed. These days I make life count by being the best person I can be. I help others if Im able, I like to make people happy, see them smile, encourage them, let them know they are important and loved. And if something is important to me then I do it. I wasted to much time chasing a God that wasn't there. If he exists and he wants me then he knows where to find me.
Me again. One of the reasons I stopped believing in God is because of the whole heaven & hell thing. If the ten commandments are all sins and the punishment for them is to burn in hell when we die then I question the morality of God as I don't accept that they are worthy of such a punishment.. The fact that God demands a blood sacrifice eg death for sin doesn't really endear him to me as a kind, loving, caring, forgiving figure. The fact that he sacrificed his son doesn't help matters. I find it all emoral and to far fetched. I mean, if a guy is jealous of his mates girlfriend then it's a sin and the punishment is death. Not just death, but eternity burning in hell. It's the same if someone is starving to death and steals food to eat.
ReplyDeleteOf course, your not allowed to say this sort of thing in a church. It's not praise and worship so not allowed. But isn't a church supposed to represent God, so if I want answers and what to know what God has to say then where do I go. That's why I'm here, I want to know what God would say to me.
ReplyDeleteGuess I'm left to come to my own conclusions.
ReplyDeleteHi Anonymous.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your thoughts honestly. Church is not just about praise and worship. Its also about enjoying fellowship, learning, encouraging and living life together which involves seeking answers for the questions we have. Maybe Church in the past has not provided the forum for the questions like you have but that doesn't mean that's how it should be. I am sorry to hear that you have not found the answers or felt free to ask these questions at church.
In response to your reason for choosing not to believe in God I have this to say. I too do not have answers to all my questions about God, some because I have not seeked enough. But in regards to heaven and hell. God is Holy and Just and somethings we may never understand here on earth. But we as humans have fallen and thats why God sacrificed Jesus for us. In the book of Romans it talks about how everyone knows the truth of God but some just choose to supress that (in Romans 1 if you are interested). So I believe that no one goes to hell without having the opportunity to receive salvation.
Not sure if this helps at all, or answers your questions. But I encourage you to not give up and continue to seek after the answers...Not sure where you are located but we would love to have you at Sunday@5 sometime. We would more than welcome your questions.
Yeah, what Cilla said is cool :) Anonymous, I totally get why you're sick of church, I've been there too. But thankfully God and His church, while bound together, are not the same things. But thanks for engaging!
DeleteCilla, You say that God is holy and just, but how just is he for demanding a death penaly for crimes such as telling a lie, adultery, theft and Jealosy in the first place. You say we as humans have fallen that's why he sacrificed Jesus got us. But this doesn't alter the fact that his punishment is too harsh and doesn't fit the crime. Stoning adulterers to death and crucifying thieves is no longer morally acceptable in today's society. If a court of law handed out a death sentence for such crimes there would be a public outcry and rightly so, So how is it acceptable for a God that claims to be kind, loving and forgiving to do so. Not to mention burning in hell for eternity. That's an evil punishment for anyone. I couldn't do that to my worst enemy yet God who claimes to be a loving father figure is happy to create such a punishment for the children he claims to love. I grew up in a family that was overly harsh in it's punishment. There is no way I can worship and live a God that does the same. This time I have a choice and I choose not to.
DeleteCilla, thanks but I pretty much made my mind up. I threw my questions out there on FB and a few knowelagable ex-Christians, now either Athiest or Buddhist guys had quite a lot to say that made sense. I don't believe in God anymore.
ReplyDeleteI had a father that was domineering and abusive who was great when I did exactly as he said but was extreme in his punishment To the point of physical and mental abuse. The last thing I want is a God that treats me the same.