A lesson from the Ultimate Warrior

James 4:14
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.

     Back in the 1980's, the WWF wrestling federation at the time was coming into it own and stars like Hulk Hogan and Andre the Giant were well known.  At the time, another character came along named the Ultimate Warrior.  He was known for his face paint and running to the ring and shaking all the ropes.  He was a huge man with muscles in places I didn't even know had muscles.  He was big for a while, even beating Hogan for the heavyweight championship of the world and then eventually he disappeared.

     Until about a week ago, nobody heard much from him and then he was inducted into the WWE wrestling hall of fame.  I didn't watch any of it, but I did see a little clip from Monday night where he mentioned that if a man is remembered by his fans, even if he dies, he is immortal.  I thought it was ironic that he would say that because less than 1 day after that statement he died.  He was walking to the car with his wife when he collapsed and died.

      What is stunning is that this man appeared to be such a strong and healthy man on the outside.  I have no idea if he had heart problems or was seeing a doctor.  It makes me wonder if he thought he didn't have a long time when he mentioning dying in the ring.  But, I know that he appeared healthy and was only 54 years old.  He had just signed a big contract to be a spokesperson for millions of dollars.  He had just appeared in front of millions of fans.

     It led me to think about how none of us know how much time on this earth that we have.  We can appear quite healthy and be doing all the right things and be gone in a moment.  The Bible compares this life to a vapor.  We are here and then we are gone.  It makes me think that it is so important to be wise about how we spend our time here on earth.  It speaks to how we are using our time to build up God's kingdom instead of our own.  We can't take any of the things of this world with us.

   I would see that quite regularly as a chaplain at the hospital.  Someone is on their way to work and a truck hits the side of their car and suddenly they are in the hospital fighting for their life.  Or they are painting or doing housework and they suddenly have a cardiac arrest.  I'm not meaning to be a downer here.  I am just saying I think this is a wake up call to some people.  You aren't promised a tomorrow and neither am I.  Make the most of your time, so that you can hear the Lord Jesus say to you one day, "Well done, good and faithful servant." 

   One of the most important ways to do that is to commit your life to the Lord Jesus.  Ask him to come into your heart and to forgive you of your sins.  Ask him to change you from the inside and to give His Holy Spirit to you.  This is what Jesus meant by being "born again".   Jesus comes into the hearts of people who invite him, but you have to ask.  He knocks on the door of your heart and waits for you to respond.

Matthew 6:33
But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
Matthew 6:32-34


http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/ultimate-warrior-legend/story?id=23254308

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