The Future Is Not in Our Control
Posted by: forthrightmag <forthrightmag@...>
http://www.forthright.net
Going straight to the Cross
This guest writer has vivid reminders that ...
The Future is Not in Our Control
by Gary Cremeens
[Editor's note: If you do your figures, you'll
notice this article was written the end of March.
Gary's point is still fresh.]
Two anniversaries occurred this week that have had
a great impact on my life. Unfortunately, they are
not the kind of anniversaries you celebrate, but
rather observe and reflect upon.
Monday was the fifth anniversary of the Westside
shootings, which hit very close to home for my
family. Had we not moved in April of 1997, my
daughter Carla would have been in the Westside
Middle School building on March 24, 1998. Some of
her classmates were among the dead and injured.
Another event in the more distant past saw its
20th anniversary on Tuesday. On March 25, 1983, a
bus from the Jonesboro VoTech school was on its
way to Conway for state competitions, when it
failed to stop at an intersection and ran headlong
into the embankment on the other side. The force
of the impact flipped the bus over lengthwise --
the rear of the bus went over the front, rather
than a sideways flip. Nine people were killed,
including my wife Karen's favorite teacher from
the VoTech. Karen and I had seen and spoken with
Lloyd Meharg exactly one week before his death.
Along with that came another startling reality:
Had it been two years previous, Karen would have
been on that bus, going to that same competition.
I look back on some decisions made following that
event, and I am not sure that my being in ministry
today was not partly a result of God's getting my
attention and showing me, by the death of Karen's
friend, that life is uncertain.
In James 4:13-15, we find the following words,
"Now listen, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow we
will go to this or that city, spend a year there
carry on business and make money.' Why, you do not
even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your
life? You are a mist that appears for a little
while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say,
'If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do
this or that.'"
We need to be reminded that the future is not in
our control. We make plans for what we feel our
life will be, and in an instant everything is
changed -- a tragic accident, a bad diagnosis, a
pink slip, a lengthy illness. Since many things
are out of our control, we must be mindful that
God is still in control, and he can help us with
and through whatever happens.
If the Lord wills, we may live a long, healthy
life. However, we may not. Regardless of how many
years we are blessed with, we are here for a short
time, and then our life is over.
What are you doing with your life? What plans are
you making? Do the plans center on God? If not,
why not?
__________
Gary works with the Center Hill congregation in
Paragould, Ark., USA.
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