You Must Be Joking
Each morning as I enjoy breakfast and each evening before going to bed, I read news articles and various personal interest pieces. I often come across strange information which I suppose is the reason they pique my interest. Sometimes these articles prompt my thoughts for the subjects of bulletin articles. Here is the title of one I read at the end of November: “Thinking About Bruce Willis and Jesus.” I must confess I have never thought about Bruce Willis and Jesus in the same blue bubble. Who would not want to read this? I know…most of you. Occasionally, one of my tall friends sends information about his reading or viewing habits and not once has anything approached this bizarre.
I hope I have at least raised a little curiosity about what this article said. I know you are familiar with Jesus, and I assume you recognize Bruce Willis. Their extreme opposite end of the spectrum is what draws our attention. I do not know how many movies Bruce Willis made but I know he was prolific. However, in 2023 his production shut down. Last year doctors diagnosed him with frontotemporal dementia. According to this article, “he has faced rapid cognitive decline, to the point he is no longer capable of speaking.”
The point of the article was to make us aware of how suddenly our lives can change. We warn people that death can come unexpectedly and the opportunities of unbelievers trusting Christ are over. For Christians, we may have squandered the service we have long owed to Christ. Death takes us and leaves our responsibilities unfulfilled. Have we thought that living could produce the same results? I have met Christians who waxed weak in their service because they thought there was plenty of time for it. They put off their duties, even the most important ones, such as speaking to their lost family members about their personal salvation. Ninety-nine percent of the time, I would preach about the danger of our loved ones dying before we take our opportunity, but I would next to never mention that we might die or that equally as consequential, our health could fail, and we lose our ability to speak to them.
A few years ago, I officiated at the funeral of a former member of our church. This lady had left us years before and neither she nor her immediate family continued to serve the Lord. A few years after leaving the church, she contracted ALS which ravaged her body until eventually all abilities were gone. The family hoped that her confession from years before was genuine. They did not base their belief on her church service but that she had spent her earlier life helping people. The subject on the day of her memorial service was the same as I referenced in a message a few weeks ago: “For whosoever shall give you a cup of water to drink in my name, because ye belong to Christ, verily I say unto you, he shall not lose his reward.” (Mark 9:41). If it had been appropriate, I could have underlined reward and warned the congregation that this lady, if a believer, lost many rewards because she did not spend her Christian life in service of the Lord’s church and then lost the ability for all service.
Yes, sometimes I come across strange information. People often say, “The Lord works in mysterious ways.” I think I can say my sermons and articles are no strangers to mysterious workings. The key is to keep our eyes open to the ways the Lord can teach us. Never in my imagination did I think Bruce Willis could be Jesus to me.
Pastor V. Mark Smith