The question of dying young is a reality worth considering simply because the young pass away, too. Thanks be to Jesus for taking the sting out of death for if we receive His Spirit and live in obedience to Him, then dying will simply be a transition into eternal life with Him, instead of suffering eternal torment and separation from God.
Whew!
Ok, take a breath and let’s immerse ourselves again into this story.
Mark had collapsed suddenly and was rushed to the hospital, leaving his parents and siblings (Julian and Lilly) in shock and suspense. Before we conclude the outcome, let’s review what had happened up to this point. Mark Johnson was young. He was attractive, athletic, and always ready for the ladies and parties…until he met Jordanna at school. Not romantically interested in her, he was drawn to the Christ in her (unbeknownst to him). Now he found himself doing the unthinkable—going to an ISCF meeting.
He entered and found a young man addressing a room filled with students. For a while, Mark stood at the back, contented and comfortable with being somewhat hidden, until the speaker beckoned to him, indicating that there was an empty seat at the front. He reluctantly made his way to the only seat remaining; it seemed to be reserved for him, and the speaker patiently waited until he sat before continuing.
“The Bible asks us a very important question. What is your life? Then it hints at the brevity of it all; it says it is even a vapour that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. Is all this temporary gain and pleasure worth your soul, which is eternal?” he asked the room. Mark shuffled in his seat, beginning to feel quite uncomfortable and as if the speaker was staring right at him. “This is why I hate these meetings! They always want to win you by piling on the guilt,” he thought to himself.
He really wanted to leave, but something in the speaker’s voice felt personal to him, transfixing him to his seat. However, as soon as the meeting ended, he bolted out of the room. He had to get away; he did not even wait to see Jordanna.
Mark’s misery was evident on his face for the next couple of weeks. He had no interest in partying and playing the field and felt lost in a strange, contemplative world. On the other hand, Julian missed his player brother as he became so unlike himself.
Truth is, Mark was struggling to make the most important decision of his life. There was an inner knowing that the speaker was talking directly to him, and though he could not explain it in that moment, he felt an urgent tugging in his heart that he needed to respond to quickly. At the same time, he dreaded the idea of abandoning his lifestyle. He loved things just the way they were: the illicit sex and partying. He did not want to change, but he could not shake feeling the need to do so.
“The call,” as he labelled it, was really a divine awareness that God had selected him and after several weeks of fighting against it, he eventually surrendered, was baptised with the Holy Spirit, and became a truly changed person – a devout Christian. He started attending church, was consumed with great zeal and love for Christ, and did not miss his old lifestyle.
It wasn’t long before his friends and family realised the change as well. He would often talk to them about God’s love. This made him the exception in the family. His parents also attended church, but it showed very little impact in their lives. They were merely ‘social Christians’. After all, it was the norm that all decent, respectable persons attended church once in a while, and that was enough.
Lilly was the most appreciative of his change and ministry to the family, and so Mark would always take her to church with him. She kept raving about her new friends and all the fun they were having in children’s church. Whenever Mark read her Bible stories, she delighted in hearing them and the fact that they were true stories. Her belief was evident as she would often interject them in her everyday conversations, saying things like, “Yes, Daddy, you are just as strong as Samson. Lift me up higher.” Sadly, though his parents would listen to him talk about God, He was not a priority for them at that time. Nevertheless, they were impressed by the changes they saw in him.
Julian, however, was uninterested and resented his brother’s new life, as he always adored and wanted to be like the old Mark.
NINE-DAY WONDER?
As expected, Mark also began experiencing some challenges as a result of his salvation. One such was the many persons who would tell him it was only a matter of time before he would get tired of this “God-thing”. He even lost some friends and endured lots of ridicule, but this did not distract or discourage him. In fact, he became even bolder for Christ, causing some persons to either openly or secretly admire his stance.
His parents were grateful that he had accepted Christ, as it dealt with their hatred of his partying and promiscuity. They had less to be concerned about, which made them most happy and relieved. In fact, his relationship with them improved tremendously.
As Julian sat alone in his room, he would sometimes hear Mark and their mom cheerfully chatting away. Their dad even wanted Mark to accompany him on all his long trips. Lilly also seemed to prefer Mark to Julian, as she constantly followed him around and wanted only him to read her bedtime stories.
These changes made Julian quieter and more withdrawn, often locking himself away to be consumed by content on his phone or music. He started to rebel, which created much tension between him and his parents. The truth was Julian was just confused and seeking attention in the wrong way. Mark would try to help and even correct him, but this only fuelled his resentment. Being the older brother, Mark felt responsible for him, knowing that in times past he had largely influenced Julian’s negative behaviour and imparted wrong perspectives on life to him, and so he desperately sought to correct this.
Julian was aware that he was being unreasonable, yet he secretly blamed God for taking away the old Mark. Now, all eyes were on him because he was the one constantly in trouble, so he did not want to hear or think about God. Besides, he reasoned that he was young, and the little he had heard concerning God and the church was filled with too many rules and restrictions. He just wanted to “have fun” and not be bothered with theology.
Now, Mark was gone, leaving a gaping hole in his family. He never regained consciousness after the surgery, and after two days in the hospital, he died at eighteen years old.
As the weeks leading up to the funeral went by, everyone in the family seemed dazed. Daddy Johnson tried to take control, but his efforts were not enough. For Julian, however, his room was like a prison, and he began to despise being alone. Consequently, he would (reluctantly) hang out with his family, hardly participating in conversations, but he was beginning to realise that he needed his family—they all needed each other.
All is not lost, join us next week for the conclusion of this story of how death brought forth life.
Claudette Williams is a member of Passion and Purity, a school-based Christian ministry.
