Why Should You Die?

I spent much of the day, between interruptions and other things I needed to do, trying to find something different to write about. I even searched the news, looking for something new or exciting. I found everything from the Chinese surveillance balloon shot down by an F-22 Raptor (marking the first air-to-air kill for the Raptor) to a woman on foot stopped by police for pulling her 10 foot, nearly 1000 pound wagon-house on the interstate, followed by over a dozen animals. But what kept surfacing more than anything else were stories about the devastation caused by the earthquakes in Turkey and Syria. There’s story after heartbreaking story, a grim reminder of the tragic realities of sin and how broken our world is. Twenty thousand people have lost their lives so far as a result of the earthquakes and many more are without homes and loved ones. What a tragedy!

As I think about how we feel when confronted with the loss of life, I’m reminded of the way God feels about the loss of eternal life. There’s a heartbreaking plea recorded in the book of Ezekiel. God says, “Son of man, give the people of Israel this message: You are saying, ‘Our sins are heavy upon us; we are wasting away! How can we survive?’ As surely as I live, says the Sovereign Lord, I take no pleasure in the death of wicked people. I only want them to turn from their wicked ways so they can live. Turn! Turn from your wickedness, O people of Israel! Why should you die?” (Ezekiel 33:10, 11). Why indeed? Let the pain and suffering we experience on earth be a reminder of the pain God feels at the thought of losing one of His precious children. Let’s relay His message to a dying world: “Why should you die? Only turn and live!”