Dying Declarations
3:22 PMHeatherMuch of the coverage of 9/11 remembrances brought me to tears. Okay, most of the coverage of 9/11 remembrances brought me to tears. The heart wrenching scenes and reports felt raw and painful, as I believe they should. How can we be changed and learn from it if we don't continue to feel its impact?
I think the most difficult yet inspirational coverage I have heard involves the dying declarations of the victims. The phone messages left or conversations had as those on the airplanes or in the buildings realized their fate. What a precious gift they left--affirming their love for their family and friends, giving instructions and admonitions for life. Perhaps my heart is tendered to these accounts because I never got to say good-bye to my dad? And, I've always felt it would have helped me grieve if I just could have had him tell me one last time that he loved me, that I should carry on, that he knew what his fate was to be and he accepted it.
Sunday morning, our pastor shared the amazing story of a victim in the buildings, working in a floor above the impact. Knowing there was no escape for them, he gathered his 50 or so coworkers and shared the gospel with them. The families of the coworkers shared this with his widow, as their family members phoned or e-mailed before their deaths and told what was happening in their final moments.
Dying declarations. To have a chance to say what you want to say--what needs to be said. To take that opportunity--before your impending last breath--to share your heart with those most dear to you. Certainly, in those last moments of life, you share your deepest heart and strongest convictions for those whom you count as most precious to you.
Did you know that as your Savior stared death in the face, he was offering a dying declaration for YOU? YOU were on His mind. You were the one with whom he wanted to share His heart. As death loomed near, he used those last moments to pray for you and for me. Check it out for yourself in John 17:20-26. This passage is Jesus' prayer, after the Last Supper and before His arrest.
Just picture it. He knows that death is imminent--he knows his fate. And, he uses that dying declaration to plead to His Father on behalf of all believers--on OUR behalf. This is what He asked:
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