Next Week

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Verse of the Day
Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. (James 4:14 NASB)

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I started teaching an Adult Sunday School class in January. Our attendance roll had several couples on it that had not attended in a while, so we set about contacting them, encouraging them to "come back home." One couple in particular had not been in church for some time. They hadn't joined anywhere else; they had just gotten in the habit of not attending, and ultimately, their Sundays were filled with other activities. Several class members reached out to them, lovingly encouraging them, visiting them periodically. I didn't know the couple at all, but did call them and sent a letter last week inviting them to "come back and be a part of our class." They never showed up.

This past Sunday morning, the husband was killed in a plane accident just a few miles from his home. He and his grandson were taking off in his private plane when they clipped a powerline and flipped into the ground. The aircraft burst into flames. The grandson survived, but with both arms and legs broken and burns over 50% of his body.

Several deacons went to their home that afternoon to minister to the family. The man's wife told them: "We received a letter from the Sunday School teacher last week and had talked about how we needed to get back in church. We had planned to come back next week."

Next week never came for them. I've thought about that a lot the past couple of days. Life here is so short...sometimes "next week" never comes. We better make the most of THIS WEEK.