This morning I woke up to distressing news that my brother
in Christ Matthew Schuthof was called home by the Lord. What makes this
distressing is that Matt was married at such a young age, his wife Zoe is only
21 years of age. And so when I saw the posts on Matt’s Facebook of the many
caring friends, my heart stopped. I didn’t know Matt that well, even though at
one stage I was planning to start a band with him. We never really knew each
other that well, but he was a brother in the Lord. And his calling home, his
death made me think very real and very hard about this topic.
Death stops everything, it stops the enjoyment of life, it
stops the planning of things be they either an investment, or buying a house,
planning a family. Whatever it is, death stops these things! It is a great
victor over our lives and we have no control over death. But in the words of
one of my favourite preachers Dr John Piper he is right to say “don’t waste
your life!” If our lives are not eternally grounded in Christ, then everything
we do would be a tragedy. And so I dedicate this note to Matt and his family,
and I believe he would want people to know Christ, to be eternally changed, to
be radically shaken and woken up to the true reality of the magnified power
that Christ is the only way and our saviour.
No Christian fears death, for we have died with Christ, our
old selves have died long ago on that cross with Christ. But instead we rejoice
like Paul “For me, to live is Christ and to die is gain” Philippians 1:21. So
for Matt he has gained EVERYTHING because he put his EVERYTHING in Christ! So
we should not waste our lives, but instead run the race and fight the good
fight. Do no walk the race, but strive on! We have this one life to make a
difference for Christ who gave His everything so He could redeem a people for
the Lord, we owe Him our everything! My prayer is that people would take notice
of the seriousness of their lives and not waste it on worldly trivialities.
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