"Money can't buy love, but it can improve your bargaining position." - Christopher Marlowe

When I had my handyman business in Phx years ago I did work for a guy from Malibu whose mother died. Her Sun City house needed a lot of work before it could be marketed and he hired me to do most of it. But he was there a lot too, driving over from CA and doing the leg work and some of the hands on tasks. He had modest skills and his help sped up the process. The work involved a complete kitchen remodel that took it down to the walls with new flooring, cabinets, fixtures, and lighting. The bedrooms got new carpet, paint, and in some cases trim.

I don't remember his name, but the guy was enjoyable company besides being helpful with some tasks that were more easily done with four hands. We got to be friends over the month or so I was there working. Early on I learned he was openly gay and had a partner he'd been with for years. Both of them were successful in their respective fields and lived very comfortably in that pricey community. He drove a Mercedes SLK, a 2-seater hardtop convertible, a car with a roof that ingeniously folds and stows in the trunk. Big bucks car and a real head turner.

He told me he got all kinds of attention from hot women who hit on him because of his car. They assumed he had a lot of money (he did) and would make a great catch. We laughed at the irony of that given that he was gay. I suggested it made sense for him to give me the car since I wasn't gay, but he didn't seem to think that was as good an idea as I did.

All of that comes to mind because of that quote up there.

About two days into the project he asked me what I did before I "retired" to Sun City and became a handyman. "Oh, you don't want to know. It's going to be awkward." He insisted it would be OK, and I made him promise not to jump to any conclusions about me or our friendship, he did, and I told him I'd been a pastor for the better part of 32 years. He was true to his word and we got along well even after that.

Why do people die when they do? "Under the sun" (to borrow Solomon's phrase) it's because the cancer finally invades key systems, or the heart fails, or the crash isn't survivable. But David tells us God has numbered our days and determines the exact manner and timing of our death. Why does it happen on a Thursday afternoon at age _____ instead of some other time? Is there any discerning the reason?

We know that some people die because of God's judgment. Biblical examples include the Jews who died in the wilderness, King Saul, and some within the church at Corinth (1 Cor. 11:30). I sure hope the timing of my death isn't tied to that cause!

Another potential reason for the specific time of death might be that God's assigned tasks have been completed. Cf Elijah who got a chariot instead of an SLK, an acceptable alternative. To quote Mary, "I am the Lord's servant" (Lk 1:38), and as stewards all, we have work to do for our Master. When that work is completed he will graciously grant us relief from the weight and burdens of this life and grant us the rest he has promised (Heb. 4:9-10).

Methinks the timing of a person's death may also be tied to the purposes God will accomplish through it. Here I think of my sister's death (and that of her husband) in a plane crash. That event and the memorial services that followed were factors in the decision of many to enter full time ministry. (I count myself in that number, something I relayed in a post a few months ago.) Would those decisions have been made without their deaths? Certainly could have been! But did God choose to use their sudden and unexpected deaths as his sovereignly chosen means? I suspect so.

Post-millennialism, an eschatological scheme which I can't make fit with the Bible's clear teaching, says Christ will return and set up his kingdom when we've done a sufficiently good job of preparing the world for his return. We do that by effective evangelizing the world (cf. the late Bill Bright and Campus Crusade, and their use of this as motivation). Until we've cleaned things up to a level only God knows he cannot return.
OK, that nonsense aside, is it possible that God determines that, in some cases, there's more refining work to be done in someone's life before they're "ready" for the glories of the next life? Has he ordained a particular level of spiritual maturity for a believer, and until that level is reached our inheritance is on hold? I dunno, but it's an interesting thought. If it's got merit I want to stay focused and make progress. I want what's waiting for me!

Now, consider the person who spends years in the darkness we call Alzheimers, unaware of their surroundings. If that person is a believer and their eternal destiny secure, why does God allow that? They can't increase in spiritual maturity and devotion. So is it that their presence is a ministry, the means by which someone else increases in maturity?
Or the person who fights a years-long battle with cancer? Their refining or mine?

Just stuff I think about. No answers, just questions that cause me to think through relevant biblical passages. And that's always worthwhile, eh?

The above was written at Starbucks during our weekly Sunday morning snag of their high speed wifi. We're now just home from church and Pam is fixing lunch. After that I'll go work on the Mustang and try to get the spring install done. Maybe by supper I will have calmed down enough to NOT write the post screaming in my head.