It is appointed for man to die once, but after this the judgement (Hb. 9v27).
These are stark words for stark times. Niddrie can be a difficult place to work in at the best of times. There are many who live their lives by violence and deceit and then are shocked when their sins come back to visit them. Sadly, a young man has died this week from alcohol related issues. I can’t pretend to have known him or even remember his face amongst the many we minister to here. But he was known by many and his partner is well known to us. Another is violently attacked in his home with a Samurai sword in a drug and/or debt related incident. Sadly, both incidents seem commonplace on our estate. We counsel, we support and we often plead for people to look at the bigger picture. There is a God to be faced and an eternity to come. But, as Paul wrote in Romans 1, people not only know the truth but they actively suppress it.
Now as terrifying as these incidents are on our doorstep, they pale into comparison should we fall into the hands of Almighty God unrepentant and hard of heart. So, we continue to hold forth Christ crucified. We continue to hold out hope for the living, that whilst they breathe they can still turn from their sins to the only Saviour for this world. We sympathise with their pain, fear and suffering but they must ‘repent or perish’. Our business is not with the physically dead. We are praying for a miraculous and God inspired spiritual resurrection of the lost souls on our estate. Remember us in your prayers.