As we sipped our morning coffee looking out at the barn, watching the horses quietly graze and the dogs sniffing the grounds and exploring, the ring of the telephone jarred our minds back from the pastoral setting to the life that awaited us once we got back into our daily routines.
My friend had invited me over to her home, out in the country, for some much needed time away, and it had been the perfect retreat for a weary soul. But the message my friend received when the call came in was anything but peaceful. An 19 year old boy had been in a serious auto accident. An officer had found him a few minutes later and the life-flight was ordered.
Upon arrival at the hospital the family soon came to understand that the doctors truly had done all they could. The boy might hold on, but it would not be long. Three days later this young man met his creator.
That morning, my devotional time had focused on the passage of Scripture that says, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” John 12:24
That night, Josiah Berger passed away. My mind went to the fact his life would touch thousands of lives, as his father was the pastor of a very large church with well-known attendees. Usually this type of event leads many to realize the fragility of life, and they begin to realize their need to revisit the relationship that they have, or do not have, with their Creator.
But what struck me even more was a message that came in to me shortly after Josiah passed away. “Stephanie, they harvested seven of his organs.” That night, in Josiah’s death, seven people found physical life.
In the Bible, the number Seven (7) is highly symbolic. It is the number of perfection. The number of completion. So it was very fitting that the night Josiah’s life ended, his life was simply finished. It was completed
Perfect word. Harvesting. My devotionals had me thinking Spiritually, but here Josiah harvested physically as well. Out of this death came immediate physical life. Now the spiritual harvest will begin.
Yes. The family will grieve. Yes. There will be pain. But this family will survive. The Lord will hold them as we hold our children.
And in the end, we will celebrate life. The life that came from a death. You have been given life this day. Live strong. Live wise. Won’t you?