Posted by
kevinjthompson on Monday, June 16, 2008 8:30:09 PM
It has now been a few days since I first learned of the untimely death of NBC’s Tim Russert. I am still as shocked now as I was then. Broadcast journalism has lost one of their very best.
Because I am usually in church on Sunday morning, I only rarely saw Tim on “Meet the Press.” However, often I would check the website later for all the good interviews. I loved staying up late to watch Tuesday evening elections returns, just to see Russert’s take on the results. Here was a man who truely loved politics and loved his job. We loved him for it.
What I enjoyed most about Russert was his fair reporting. While I consider much of the mainstream media trapped in liberal bias, I never saw that with Tim. I once heard him say that he considered the key to his job was to learn the views of the person sitting before him, and take the exact opposite side. He was fair and aggressive no matter who the politician was before him. I fear his replacement, whomever that may be, will not be able to follow in those footsteps.
But of course, situations such as this always reminds me of the shortness of life.
“Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain: Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.” - James 4:13-15
The Lord God reigns sovereign over all of His creatures. We never know how much time we have, that knowledge only belongs to Him. We may try and try to prolong life (through diet, exercise, drugs, plastic surgery or just wishful thinking), but our days are numbered and our fate is in the hands of God. Don’t you think it is time to consider your relationship to Him?
The truth of the matter is, all of mankind is estranged from God. We all have sinned against His law and His truth (Romans 3:23). In our own arrogancy, we have proclaimed our way of thinking and our own way of doing things as more important than anything God may have to say. We have largely ignored God. Yet, as Tim Russert and countless souls before him now realize, we all have a day of reconing coming.
“For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.” - II Corinthians 5:10
The solution to our problem is not merely to balence our bad works with good works, for as long as we have sin we have a problem. We need a cure for sin. Sin carries a payment, death (Romans 6:23). The only person who has taken care of sin is Jesus Christ.
“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” - John 14:6
“But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.” - Romans 5:8-9
“My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.” - I John 2:1-2
The great news of the gospel is that Christ forgives all sins, for he paid the price for all sin. You can be prepared for death by placing your faith and trust in the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross of Calvary.
“Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.” - John 14:1-3
“That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” - Romans 10:9-13
Kevin Thompson is an Assistant Pastor in MA and a one-time candidate for the US Congress. You can visit his website at www.kevinjthompson.info, read his blog at http://kevinjthompson.wordpress.com, or listen to him weekly on the Understanding our Times internet radio broadcast at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/understandingourtimes.