Today the family gathers to celebrate the life of my nephew Joshua - the first born of my twin brother Dean. My twin - his wife Susan - will not be there - Dean left this world almost 16 years ago - his wife - 8 years before him. None of us know the day - the hour - when our life on this Earth will end. Unlike most - Joshua knew what would cause his death - not discounting an accident or such. Like his grandfather and mother - Joshua was born with a genetic defect known as Spinocerebellar ataxia type 3 (SCA3), or Machado-Joseph disease (MJD) - a rare, inherited, progressive neurodegenerative disorder. It was not until after Sue's death that a test was finally developed to know if you had inherited this anomoly. Joshua and his yournger brother did the test. Joshus was positive - his younger brother tested negative. What that meant to Joshua was that he would die a very similar death as his mother at an early age. His grandfather died at 61 years - his mother at 51 years - for Joshua that ended up being 45 years. Facing the fact that you knew you were born with a defect has to be traumatc. There are many people born with inherited diseases. Diabetic - heart issues - visual abnormalities - walking issues - brain disfunction - and much more. Many can be dealt with - insulin for diabetics - eye glasses for visual - mobility devices for bone issues and even more. For him - no cure - no treatments - Joshua functioned as a fairly normal person - graduating college - having a successful career as a computer IT person - socializing with friends - family - until the SCA3 finally kicked in full force. Living with the knowledge of what the end of his life would look like and facing it head on - took courage.
Jesus had to deal with a similar situation - being God - Himself - He knew that His life would be a short one - His time on Earth - walking with the very humans that He created - eating - drinking - laughing - loving - all too short of a time - knowing that HIs death would come at an early age - a burden few would really understand. Jesus lived about 33 years - Joshua 45 years. The majority of humans avoid the thought of death untiil we become much older. As we age - the end of life becomes a true reality. It is in these last years we seriously consider how we handle our death - funeral preparations - writing wills - instrucions to family. Because we tend to think it will not happen to us - many avoid last minute preparations. God gives us many gentle reminders as friends our own age pass away - make way for the Lord - the day YOU will meet Jesus face to face. It doesn't matter if you attend church every day - week - month - year - it is all about how well are you prepared. Have you accepted him as the Lord of your life - have you lived as He said - are you sharing the message of His Gospel to all you meet - have you personallly led - brought someone to a personal relationship with Christ. What have you done - what will you do - if you are reading this - you still have time.
