For you know not the day...

…or the hour.

MIAMI -- Washington Redskins safety Sean Taylor died early Tuesday, a day after he was shot at home. He was 24.

Family friend Richard Sharpstein said Taylor's father told him the news around 5:30 a.m.

"His father called and said he was with Christ and he cried and thanked me," said Sharpstein, Taylor's former lawyer. "It's a tremendously sad and unnecessary event. He was a wonderful, humble, talented young man, and had a huge life in front of him. Obviously God had other plans."

He said Taylor died early Tuesday at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, where he had been airlifted after the shooting early Monday.

I was at the Bucs-Redskins game Sunday, the beneficiary of a season ticket holder who could not make it. The friend with me told me (big-time ‘Skins fan) that Sean Taylor was hurt and would not be playing. He was a former U of Miami player and apparently he spent Sunday night at his home in Miami where it looks like he was killed by an evildoer during a home invasion.

In the first few verses of Luke 13, Jesus asked His disciples about some Galileans murdered by Pilate:

“Do you suppose that these Galileans were greater sinners than all other Galileans because they suffered this fate? I tell you no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”

God is sovereign over this world and nothing transpires without His knowledge or approval. I am one of the lower enlisted in this outfit. I have no idea why God causes disaster to happen, the hurricane or earthquake or home invasion, and neither does Pat Robertson. But according to Jesus, when I see these things I should examine myself. And the question I should be asking is why this disaster did not come upon my sorry posterior.

Jesus made other controversial remarks like this:

“I am the way and the truth and the life; no one comes to the Father but by Me.”

I bring this up because the tragic death of Sean Taylor should be a reminder that none of us are promised three score and ten in this world. Jesus of Nazareth made some bold claims about the nature of heaven and how one can get there. Sean Taylor’s father said that Sean is “with Christ”. Is that true? And what about you?

My email is tampajeff AT pkfamily.com if anyone wants to discuss this more privately than the blog. But go easy on me. I am trying to present a controversial subject as gently as I can. If you are just going to cuss me out, or call me "insensitive" or "intolerant", post a comment on the blog.