03.14.06

Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of His saints. - Psalm 116:15.

And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. - Hebrews 9:27-28.

And I urge you also, true companion, help these women who labored with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the Book of Life. - Philippians 4:3.

I spoke at a funeral service this morning for Justin Davis, a 17-year-old young man who was killed when his friend drove off a dead end and hit a tree. It was tragic but it could have been even more tragic.

When I was 17-years-old, I also drove off a dead end with a friend. We were out in the country at one or two in the morning and I was driving. I was going too fast and there was gravel on the roadway so that when I hit the brakes it was like being on ice. There was nothing to do. We did have our lap belts on (they did not have shoulder belts in 1967). Without the seat-belts, we would have went through the windshield and most likely, would have been killed. We still hit our heads and then had to walk a few miles in the winter cold to find help.

The night of my accident, our parents did not know where we were and we were not where we should have been. We were not doing what we should have been doing. We both lived but it could have been even more tragic.

The fact is that if I had died that night I would not have gone to Heaven but to that other place. I was a member of a church and I had been baptized. But, I did not know Jesus as my personal Savior and Lord. I had never prayed to receive Christ Jesus as my Savior. If I had died that night, it would have been eternally tragic because I would have been forever separated from God.

What did happen to Justin is tragic, terrible, awful, and horrific - there are not really words to describe what has happened adequately. However, it could have been even more tragic. Justin could have been in the same shape spiritually that I was in when I was 17-years-old. I was lost and did not know Jesus as my Savior.

Justin was at his great-grandparent’s home on June 14, 2004 and while he was there his great-grandmother, Clara Davis, talked to Justin about his need for salvation. Justin prayed that day to receive Jesus as his Savior and Lord. Of course, Clara is so glad that she talked to Justin about this and she had written it down on her calendar. Something else happened on June 14, 2004. The angels rejoiced in heaven (Luke 15:7). The sins of Justin were wiped away by the blood of Jesus and will be remembered no more (Hebrews 8:12) and, God also wrote down Justin’s name - He wrote his name in the Book of Life (Philippians 4:3).

Justin’s family and friends can rejoice and take comfort in knowing that some day, some day if they too know Jesus as their Savior - they will see Justin again in Heaven. Justin was killed in a terrible tragic accident but it could have been eternally tragic.

If you have never prayed to receive Christ Jesus as your personal Savior and Lord, I want to encourage you to do so even now - this day pray to be saved. Ask Jesus to forgive you of your sins, the bad things you have done. Don’t put it off because none of us know what will happen tomorrow and life is so very fragile and precious. 

Jesus says in John 14:6, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” 

Justin chose the eternally right way for his life. I pray that you will too.