If Today Was Your Last Day

We've heard plenty of health scares in recent weeks: doctors found a bacterium immune to all known antibiotics and are afraid it will pass along its immunity to other, more dangerous bacteria. There's the frightening news that the Zika virus is being carried by another kind of mosquito that hunts further north than the original mosquito. And now the killer bees are back.

One recent morning Alex Bestler, 23, decided to walk a trail near Mesa, Arizona, with a friend. They stuck to the trail but suddenly found themselves under attack. While the friend ran for help, thousands of bees swarmed around Bestler. When park employees arrived, they tried to rescue him to no avail; they couldn't get close before they too were driven off by the insects.

Finally, Maricopa County Sheriff Sergeant Allen Romer arrived at the park, jumped on a park utility task vehicle and raced to Bestler's location. Two rural metro fire fighters helped him load Bestler onto the UTV and remove him from the scene, still covered with bees, while the swarm pursued. They distanced themselves from the swarm and arrived at a waiting emergency vehicle where life-saving measures were begun. Unfortunately, Bestler died after arriving at Desert Vista Hospital. Medical staff and sheriff's detectives estimate he had over 1,000 stings.

Experts say the so-called "killer bees" have migrated from Brazil into the American Southwest. They are actually Africanized bees. They look like normal bees and are no more poisonous, but they're much more aggressive and more likely to attack in swarms which relentlessly pursue their target.

What gets me about these bee attacks is how they strike without warning. Construction workers and people mowing lawns have been attacked and killed by swarming bees as well.

Every morning when I wake up I take for granted my life will go like normal -- as will the lives of the people around me. But these stories remind me that my life -- or theirs -- can be altered or ended without warning, at any moment.

Every time we hear of a person killed in a car accident, a heart attack, or a violent crime, we need to stop and see ourselves, our loved ones, and the people around us at work and in our community. We need to live with more purpose, more understanding, and a greater sense of urgency in sharing our faith. They may not always be tomorrow. Today may be their last day -- or ours.

Thankfully, all of us who have been given faith in Jesus will be ready when our last hour arrives. But what about those who don't trust in Jesus? For their sake we need to remember the urgency of our Lord's call and get busy!

Whether it's killer bees, malicious viruses, or some other scourge, they're just subtle reminders that there are no lifetime guarantees when it comes to the number of our tomorrows.

What do you think about when something like killer bees make the headlines?

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