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Just
Something I was Thinking About...
What Would You Do?
By Jerri Phillips
On Sunday February 18, 2001, Dale
Earnhardt died when his #3 racecar
slammed into turn 4 at the Daytona 500.
Race fans all over the world were shocked
as the news covered newspapers, sports
websites, and television screens.
Being a race fan, I read several articles
and listened to a number of reports.
Quite frankly, I think I was trying to
come to grips with the reality that
another racer, and a very well known one
at that, had died. During the interviews
and reports, the many people who had
great things to say about Dale Earnhardt
impressed me. From what I heard, he was a
good man with great loyalty to family and
friends and racing.
One of the thoughts that seemed to be
stated over and over was that Mr.
Earnhardt died doing what he loved. I
have heard some people say that even if
he had known that he would die in that
race, he would have raced anyway. It was
more than what he did; it was who he was.
Truthfully, I have no idea whether
information of the impending crash would
have changed Earnhardt’s choice to
race. Having been an athlete who loved my
sport, well, let’s just say that for
me the joy of basketball was worth the
knee surgery, but there is a huge
difference between knee surgery and
death. Still, the point remains, Dale
Earnhardt, to the best of anyone’s
knowledge, had no idea what would happen
in turn four on lap 200.
Would he have raced had he known? None of
us really know. It’s all conjecture,
and honestly, at this point, it
doesn’t matter. It’s over and
done, and those left behind are left to
grieve the loss.
So, the real question isn’t what
would Dale Earnhardt have done had he
known. The real question is what would
you do? If you knew that on October 18,
2001, at 4:22 p.m. central time you would
die, what would you be doing? How would
you spend the time between now and then?
Would you use your knowledge as a license
to live it up in sin and repent at 4:20
or 4:21? Would you speed the time past by
trying to cram in as many sightseeing
trips as possible? Or would you invest
yourself wisely?
Notice I did not say invest your time,
but rather invest yourself wisely?
Jesus knew when His time to die was
appointed. His crucifixion was no
surprise. The timing was no shock. When
He enjoyed the Last Supper with His
disciples, He was not trying to surround
Himself with a strong support group. He
was investing Himself. He did not ask for
prayer or service from them. He did not
ask them to commit to serving Him and
teaching others. Instead, He broke the
bread and gave the wine, and then He
washed their feet. During the last hours
Jesus had on this earth, He was teaching
His disciples what it meant to sacrifice
one's self for others and how to serve.
What made that possible? Jesus had His
eyes on eternity. He wasn’t worried
about the sites of earth. He knew they
would pass away, and He knew that no one
could stop the inevitable. Instead of
focusing on His upcoming suffering, He
invested Himself in giving life to
others.
If you had the knowledge Jesus had, if
you knew when you were going to die, what
would you be doing? How would you fill
your time? Would you waste your life by
seeing what you could gain, or would you
live on by giving your life to others?
Just something I was thinking about…
after all the clock is ticking.
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