Vapor.

This past Sunday, shortly after noon, I stood in front of faithful souls at the Korean Church of Knoxville. I was reading from news articles about "unexpected" shootings that claimed the earthly lives of unsuspecting souls. Folks in a concert field in Las Vegas. Bikers and runners on a pedestrian path in New York City. A young man sitting on his porch with family and friends in Knoxville, TN. Home.

In a yet to be lived, unexpected split second, the concert field, pedestrian path and home front porch, became a killing field. Bullets plunged unsuspecting hearts into the afterlife. No response time. No time for response.

Literally in the same moments that I was standing in front of a few souls in a church in Knoxville, TN reading the accounts of these difficult narratives, without knowing it, in a church in Sutherland Springs, TX, a man entered a church there in those very same moments and opened fire in ultimately what killed 26 souls. No response time. No time for response. Half of the congregation of 50 folks will be buried in the coming days.

I was reading to this flock about these sad and tragic events as we considered the words from the bible book of James in chapter 4. He teaches about the subtly prideful way that we tend to live our lives as if we are in control. We'll do this and we'll do that. And he says, "Why, you don't even know what will happen tomorrow." Not trite, throwaway bible words for those in that field in Vegas, bike path in NYC, front porch in our hometown, in that church in Texas. Words that are true. Words that were lived in a moment with no response time. No time for response. Just lived. And died.

James says, "You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes." This isn't unkind of God to create the story line this way. It is just one of the truest, most concrete pointers to us not being God. There is a kindness in that for us.

And so this isn't a predictable "ra ra", live your life to the fullest gig today. This is simply a humble declaration that our lives are a vapor and God is aware of that and aware of us. He's not sinisterly laughing a heavenly evil laugh at our expense as we come face to face with the vapor likeness of our living. He's compassionate towards us. His name is mercy. He carried our pain. He gets it. I really think He gets it. His Son in the field. His Son on the bike path. His Son on the front porch. His Son in the church pew. Dying.

Lord willing, we'll keep learning. Lord willing, we'll keep trusting....with this time that we are given to respond.

There's more.