While the rest of us were watching the election results — a 20 year old Christian college student collapsed and died in the middle of a game — to the horror of his watching friends, sister, and fiancé. As the father of four children, one of them a 20 year old college student-athlete at the Master's University, this is a sober reminder of what matters most: Christ, His Gospel, family, friends, and eternity. His grieving father wrote this faith filled, heartbreaking statement:

“In all the years I’ve been writing I have never had to type words more difficult, more devastating than these. Yesterday the Lord called my son to himself — my dear son, my sweet son, my kind son, my godly son, my only son...even though our minds are bewildered and our hearts are broken, our hope is fixed and our faith is holding. Our son is home.” -Tim Challies

Death is always horror. The death of a young man in this manner is a special horror. Pray for this family. Then recommit yourself to living for Christ and His Gospel in such a way that you can truly say, "To live is Christ and to die is gain!" Recommit to teaching your children to do the same.

We don’t know how much time we or our precious children have on this earth. We do know we are frail, life is short, death is coming, and God has numbered the days of all men. We do know if we live for Christ and His Gospel we'll hear "Well done good and faithful servant!" from our King and be ushered into His eternal kingdom where there is no more sin, death, or tears. We do know all those saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone will abide under the amazing love of God their Father forever. We do know life in a sin affected, death filled world is hard, sometimes horrible, sometimes even horrific, but in Christ death has lost its eternal sting. We do know we can sorrow now as those who have the certain hope that the eternal horror of death and Hell have been overcome in Christ who conquered sin and death on our behalf: