This week was an eventful week for us. We had a funeral to go to on the Wednesday at a place an hour’s drive away. It was for a much younger friend who had had an aneurism and just died suddenly. As is often in these cases, it was a large funeral, as he was well known in the country village where he lived.

     He was ready to go, having been an active Christian helping in the church, and always ready for those in need. It was a real shock to everyone who knew him, and especially to those who he had helped so much. There were many eulogies, as he had been involved in so many organisations around.     So we were reminded once again that life can be very brief, and that we must make sure that we are ready to meet our Maker at any time.

    Then on the Saturday, we attended a baptism of another man about the same age. It was to be held at a Youth Camp venue which had no indoor baptistery, and a portable swimming pool had been organised for the event. For two days before the event, the weather had been very wet, with rain such as we hadn’t seen for years, and the organisers were wondering if they should cancel it. But they were reminded that God is the God of miracles, and that there was no need to cancel it. Somehow it would be handled alright.  The morning of the baptism dawned bright and sunny, and it stayed that way all day….what a blessing that was! Then the next morning, it was raining again! So we had first hand experience of one of God’s miracles.

    The story of this man was very interesting. He worked in the police department, and was dealing with all sorts of people from hardened criminals to those with minor offences. He had become a Christian as a young man, and had attended church when he could, but never gone any further. But with the current climate in the Middle East, he felt that time was getting short and that he had better finish what he had started with! So he had asked for baptism (by immersion) and this occasion had been organised.

    People came from  all over the place….some were relatives of his wife, all of his own family, as well as those who had known him for years. It was a very meaningful occasion, both for him and all those there.      Now he felt ready to meet his Maker, having obeyed what he saw in the Scriptures, and what he had put off doing for so many years. We left the place, thankful for the things that God is still able to do with those who seek to please Him.

     So the challenge remains….what about us? Are we prepared to do the things that we know we should do, but have kept putting off? Remember, the time left to us may be shorter than we think!