Mac’s Tragic Death
It happened early in the morning on a Friday. It came as a shock. No one was expecting it. I didn’t wake up that Friday knowing what was about to happen. But it happened anyway.
On the way to a special recording of the Men in the Arena Podcast I stopped by the coffee shop and grabbed two coffees. I was excited about interviewing the genius behind our new online forum for men. This is an amazing forum for men who DO NOT use social media. All that is needed to join is an mail address and user name!
While setting up, producer of the show Dale Collver, jokingly asked if I could handle putting the cable into the microphone.
“Of course I can do that!” But the cable (I had nothing to do with it) inadvertently hit the top of my coffee knocking the entire contents onto the table. The rest is a blur, it happened so fast. The entire sixteen ounces drown Dale’s laptop.
It was a quick kill.
Rescue breathing didn’t work. CPR was rendered ineffective. Even if we had an automated external defibrillator (AED), it would’ve only made matters worse. We held onto hope until 1:00 that afternoon when the Genius Lab tech gave us the tragic news—Mac as we knew it—was dead. Twenty minutes and $1200 later we mourned Mac’s loss and headed home with an even better version of the Mac we knew.
Romans 8:12-13
So then, brethren, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh—for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live.
Something to Consider
The death of Mac got me thinking about my stuff. You know, material things of value that can be gone with something as simple as a coffee spill or fumbled phone drop. The tangible things of our life are so fragile. In one month we’ve seen the destruction of our cars (yes, in one month), one laptop, and have a phone that is terminal. Why do we value things of so little actual value? Why do we spend so much time on things that offer nothing on the other side of eternity?
The Best Version of You
The great apostle said it best when he spoke of the most important death—mine. I must die, not physically but actually. My intangible self must die to my natural desires. My soul must surrender to its Creator (Galatians 2:20) and in so doing find the fullest of lives (John 12:24-26). I must mourn the death (Matthew 5:4) of my desires so that I can celebrate my best of lives in Jesus.
The problem with the Christian men I know—myself included—is that we suffer when we hold on to our loves, instead of surrendering to the Master. It’s one thing to be a “Christian”, but it’s another to actually follow Christ; to take up your cross, and carry it.
Did you wake up this morning and die to every desire that is not from God? Death is the most difficult thing to finding life.
