Dear Friend,
My wife could have died this weekend. She got hit by a tow-truck going at 80-100km/h on the N1. You can read all about it in the note I shared (just go to my facebook page).
It made me think a lot. I was reminded of a friend of mine (and many of yours too), Ruedi, who died 2 years ago around this time. It reminded me of how that really caused me to live life to the full. In these last 2 years God has done AMAZING things in my life. I have been privileged enough to be part of starting a children’s home. I was part of a prayer movement at UCT that changed many people’s lives. I got married to the most wonderful lady in the world. We are now house parents at a discipling house for refugees, and are seeing God move in awesome ways.
However, I must say that over these 2 years I somehow started slowly loosing that fire in my heart. It didn’t happen consciously, but slowly over time my relationship with God became less important than other things.
Recently we’ve been reading some wise words from a book you might have come across before. “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
Situations like these give you an eternal perspective on things. Suddenly the things that mattered so much, really aren’t very significant anymore. Life is so fragile, and death so close. Watching the tow truck heading straight for my wife made me feel so helpless, so out of control. I couldn’t do anything but watch. It taught me no matter how much control I think I have over my life, it’s all an illusion. I have absolutely NO control over when death will knock on my door. But strangely enough, that is quite re-assuring for me. It means that my life is in God’s hands, much safer hands I might add. There is no need for me to be knocking on heaven’s door, for I know I’ll be received with open arms.
I can say this because I’ve chosen to walk through the “narrow door”, as the same book mentioned earlier puts it. And yes, it is a choice we all have to make! That is something you DO have control over. In fact, that very someone who told us not to store up treasures on earth is “knocking on the door of your heart”. The book says, that if you let him in, you’re going to have a party with him.
I must say this “narrow door”, or “narrow path”, isn’t necesarily an easy path to walk. Hence, that fire in my heart started to slowly fade. But it’s so worth it.
My friend, let’s live life to the full. This life on earth is so short compared to eternity. Amazingly enough, we have an opportunity to have an impact on eternity, and store treasures in heaven. You, my dear friend, are such a treasure, whom I would like to store up in heaven.
Love
Samuel
no need to knock on heaven's door
. Then everyone starts to flee. But they all flee in the way that is opposite to where the animals went, because it ‘made the most sense’. I (and others) was trying desperately to get people to change direction and they kept telling me my way was illogical. In the dream I just knew they were going the way of destruction. Eventually I to had to flee (at the last moment) and I got away safe. But knew in my heart that headlines were going to tell of the mass deaths occuring…