Mortality

Mortality by Dr. Jim Denison Idalia strengthened to hurricane force early this morning and is expected to hit Florida’s Gulf Coast tomorrow as a powerful Category 3 hurricane. Evacuations have begun, schools have closed, and hospitals are suspending services ahead of the onslaught. As a reminder of the tragedy that could be unfolding, Hurricane Katrina slammed into the Gulf Coast on this day in 2005, killing more than 1,800 people and becoming the costliest natural disaster in US history. Here’s another example of our mortality: Elton John is recuperating at home in southern France after a fall and overnight hospital stay. The news follows the death of television icon Bob Barker last Saturday at the age of ninety-nine, one of numerous celebrities who have died in 2023. The victims of the shooting in Jacksonville last Saturday could have been any of us. They could be any of us today. God’s word is clear: “No man has power to retain the spirit, or power over the day of death” (Ecclesiastes 8:8).