The Day I Almost Got Killed

The harmattan morning was biting cold. It was barely sunrise. I was travelling to pay final respect to my father, who’d been buried a month before I showed up. The bus was packed with passengers. We were an hour into our journey when chaos broke lose. Screams of “Jesus! Blood of Jesus!!” reverberated through the bus. We had been ambushed by armed robbers on the highway.

The car or two in front of us had been hit and robbed. I sat at the back, one of last persons to escape through the back door. Everything happened so quickly I couldn’t think of my next move. I simply stood by the bus.

Young and foolish, right?

He pointed his gun at me

Then came the defining moment; a moment that has stayed with me for the past two decades:

The gunmen drove past the bus, with one pointing his gun right at a 13-year old lad. 

 

I saw his face. We made eye contact for a split second as they drove away hastily. It was the longest ‘split second’ of my life.

For a 13-year old who’d come to mourn his father, this encounter wasn’t on my agenda. Anything could have happened. Looking back, it was frightening. I remember narrating the experience to my mourning mother didn’t go down well by any means.

But it went on to become a life changing moment for me. 

“Life is a vapour” is not a cliché

When people say life is a vapour, I can relate. It’s not a cliché. Why the gunman didn’t shoot, I don’t know. But in hindsight, I’ve realised God was at work in that very moment to spare my life.

Recently I wrote about the sudden death of a young Christian Soldier who made significant impact on his generation. He was gifted with a voice; a voice with which he drew others to worship God. 

What are you gifted with? What are you doing with your gift(s)? How are you making your life count while you have it?

Life is a vapour, and that’s not a cliché!

Resolve to make your life count

Resolve to live well, to live whole, to live strong. Resolve to be completely sold out to God’s purpose for your life. Resolve to make your life count. Don’t waste your life.

Make the most of every opportunity you have today to inspire others (along with yourself)  to live for God’s glory. That’s truly what counts, ultimately.

As I reflect on the day I almost got killed on this Resurrection season, I’m grateful for life and reminded of the One who went all the way for me; He lived, suffered and gave His life away to give me a platform to honour God with mine. 

Question: What are you grateful for this Easter season?

P.S. Photo Credit — Mary Amerman / Flickr