We still remember these children from a previous trip to the Philippines. They would bang on the door (if they remembered to knock) and bound into our guest cottage once in awhile to see us. They were a picture of life. 
As many say in the US would say when they get older and watch children, “They need to bottle that energy.” On the same trip, however, we heard of a brother and a sister about the same age as these children. They had gotten scraped or scratched while in water that was contaminated. Several of us, who were visiting the same ministry and met in the mornings, heard about the two children and pitched in money for antibiotics and acute medical care. It was to no avail. The children both died within a couple days.
Parents and people who have been around understand that the boundary between life and death is pretty fragile. Some have lots of time; some don’t. How does a person make sense of it?
In a sense, we cannot. Blessing comes to one child or adult; death to another. Yet, life on earth is not the end of the matter. Truly, life here has its place, but that placeholder is temporary and not the whole picture. The Bible tells of a story about Lazarus in John 11. The details of the scene take nearly the whole chapter. It is an incredible set of details over four days. Near the end of the scene, Jesus demonstrates that He is actually Life and the Life-giver by raising Lazarus after he had physically died four days earlier. The action also causes an opposite reaction. The religious leaders of the day go “nuts” to find a way to make sure Jesus will die and plot to have Lazarus killed as well.
Think about it! One minute Lazarus is dead dead (like smelly rotten dead). A few seconds later after Jesus’ call, he is restored and walking out of the tomb wrapped in grave clothes. At the closing of the scene, Jesus makes a simple statement that the reason for the event is so people will believe that the Father sent His Son. In other words, this “salvation stuff,” repenting of sin, and being “born again” is not a myth. Further, the God of creation, the One who made all things, seems to have made it all with a plan that we make a choice about Him while we live our brief lives on earth.
The choice is pretty blatant. You disbelieve the whole affair or you choose to believe it happened. It it happened (it did), then you have to face the possibility that this Man is more than a man. And, He is Life. So, what time a person has is precious with respect to the time needed to make the choice. The distance between life and death is ever so fragile, so just dismissing the choice can be costly. After all, God above sees all, knows all, and knows every heart. It is best to have a heart that leans to Him without reservation because He is the Life-giver and we will meet Him one day….one way (have believed) or another (having disbelieved).
The children I talked about at the beginning have the same choice. They will choose (or have chosen) that Christ is the One He says He is. Further, they will live their choice out accordingly. The children who died had chosen one way or another also. They had a heart-leaning toward God or did not. But, they did not get any more time to live out the heart-choice. Sometimes we don’t see the whole story and don’t know the outcome of peoples’ lives, but there is One who does.
Choose wisely, therefore. If these issues are not resolved with certainty and you are not sure that you know the Life-giver, then I strongly recommend you not wait longer to deal with the matter.
