Even the Young Die.

Since 2004, I have had the privilege of being involved in evangelistic ministry. Over the years I have spoken to more people than I can remember, but sometimes a conversation takes place that you never forget; one such chat was with a young man named Jordan.

It was a hot and humid Tuesday afternoon in Woodridge in November 2012 when I had an opportunity to speak to this young man. The community where we were ministering is known for its crime and violence, but in my time witnessing there I found the people to be generally open to the gospel and willing to talk. On that particular Tuesday, I was handing out tracts when Jordan walked by; he stopped to take a leaflet and then we started to chat.

Even though Jordan was friendly and polite, like most teenagers he put on a tough front. As we spoke the toughness disappeared and I found myself speaking to a really nice young man. Jordan had some kind of religious influence in his background, as such he understood a few of the concepts of Christianity; but what he didn’t understand was the reason why Jesus came to die.

I spoke to him about the love of God shown towards sinful people and also the grace of God shown in the death and resurrection of Jesus. He listened intently as I explained that because of our sin we deserve judgement, but the good news is that Christ has come to rescue sinners. At the end of our conversation I urged Jordan to repent and trust in Christ; I pleaded with him to come to the Saviour while he still had time, but Jordan didn’t come to Jesus.

Sadly, like many people in our society Jordan had bought into the lie that said we have plenty of time. From his perspective he thought he had his whole life ahead of him; he would think about Jesus when he was older. The problem was that Jordan didn’t realise what the next few weeks would bring; he didn’t realise that his life had an end date, and he was very near to it.

Before we parted ways, I looked Jordan in the eyes and said, “Mate, you are young, but even the young die. Cemeteries are full of young people who thought they had plenty of life left, yet death came upon them suddenly. Jordan, you are not assured of another day, that is why the Bible says, ‘Today is the day of salvation.’”

Jordan smiled and thanked me for the chat, then he went on his way. For me, that would have just been one more conversation in the sea of many gospel encounters, but a few weeks later I was watching the evening news when I saw an image of Jordan appear upon the screen.

It turned out that Jordan went to a party, and while there he got into a fight. At some stage, a person got into a car, and then ran Jordan down. Jordan was murdered on the streets of Woodridge; his life was over – even the young die.

As I reflect on this gospel conversation, I find myself still wondering, “Did Jordan ever repent? Did he come to trust in Christ before he took his final breath?” I don’t know the answer, but what I do know is that he had heard the truth about Jesus.

Why do I share this story? I share it because I hope that you will realise that every person you meet is someone who will one day stand before God. Every person you know, every person you meet needs Jesus.

Life is fragile; we don’t know what tomorrow will bring, but what we do know is that eventually we will all have a final day. As Christians, we should have the reality of eternity always before us; we should grasp the truth that all those we know and meet, if they die without Jesus will spend eternity in Hell.

We have the words of eternal life; we know Jesus, so let’s go and make Him known! It would be very unloving for a doctor to withhold from a patient a cure for a disease; so how much more unloving is it for us to withhold the gospel from our family, friends, neighbours and strangers?

If we love God, then we should desire to make known His message; if we love our neighbour, then we should long to tell them of the wonderful Saviour who can forgive all sinners. Today, let us examine our hearts and ask that the Lord would grant us greater concern for the lost, and also the boldness to make Jesus known.

Keep Making Much of Jesus!