By Rev. Dan Mielke

Grace Baptist Church

It is a sobering fact to remember that we are mortal.

Twenty-three years ago last week on Jan.  25 mankind almost succeeded in destroying itself. As related in “This Day in History” the nuclear systems of the Russian nation were activated by President Boris Yeltsin and his chief of staff who were following pre-planned protocols for nuclear holocaust.  The activation was in response to an unexpected missile launch outside of Norway heading for Moscow.

Fearing a nuclear attack from a submarine, defense specialists projected mere minutes before the missile struck Moscow.  During the high alert, the unidentified missile was shown to land well outside Russian borders and the nuclear devastation was avoided.

Upon investigation the missile which had been launched from Spitzbergen, Norway, carried tools for scientific research. Nearly two weeks prior to the launch Norway had alerted 35 countries of the plans and purpose of the missile, yet the Russian Defense Ministry had failed to pass on the information to the appropriate defense department. Humanity was almost vaporized by a misunderstanding.

I am amazed at how many times I have almost died, and not even known it. How many times has my life been spared because of a long red light, or a small delay?  From false air alerts in Hawaii to a semi-truck crashing into a school building, we are constantly reminded that we are mortal. Yet I fear that many times we do not capitalize on our extension of the inevitable, we pause a moment with thoughts of thankfulness, but then continue our lives like we are immortal.

Scripture reminds us of our mortality and instructs us to prepare for our inevitable end.

“And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:” Hebrews 9:27
The Rev. Dan Mielke is the pastor at Grace Baptist Church, 1700 W. Oakland Ave., Austin. The church phone number is 507-437-2473