Death is one of times our Lord calls to us to follow him like a shepherd calls his sheep. But it isn't the only time. When we don't follow Jesus' voice, we end up going down side roads, and often encounter dead-ends, detours, confusing paths, and accidents. The boys in Colorado who did such terrible things this week, were certainly on the wrong path. They were listening to the wrong voice, and it has cost there families and so many other families such terrible pain.
Sin is like that.
It sings to us like the Sirens of Greek mythology, who sang such hauntingly beautiful tunes that sailors were heedless of the dangerous rocks around the islands where they lived. As the Sirens sang those sailors into danger and death, so sin sings us into danger and if not physical death, maybe spiritual death. Sometimes we don't want to hear Jesus' voice, because it would tell us that what we are doing is wrong, and we really don't want to stop. Sometimes we can't bear to hear Jesus' voice because we are ashamed of what we are doing, and don't want to be reminded of his goodness. And when our life ends, at a ripe old age, or way too soon, he will call us again, through that valley of the shadow of death, into his bright morning of eternal life.