Something struck me as I watched the horrifying footage from the In-N-Out shooting on Saturday.

That could have been me.

None of those victims woke up that morning believing they were living the last ordinary day of their lives.

Why would they?

Neither do we.

In the coming days, we'll undoubtedly learn more about the gunman. People will ask what motivated him, whether he was mentally ill, or what warning signs were missed. Those are legitimate questions, but they're ultimately secondary. Long after those answers are known (or perhaps never known) the more important truth will remain.

Those people were simply living an ordinary Saturday. Then, without warning, life was over.

Jesus once responded to a tragedy that provides us instruction in this moment. After people told Him about Galileans who had been murdered by Pilate, He immediately pointed to another catastrophe - a tower in Siloam that unexpectedly collapsed and killed eighteen people. He didn't speculate about why those particular victims died. Instead, He turned attention back onto the listeners themselves.

'Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.' - Luke 13:4-5

He didn't ask, "Why them?"

He asked, "Are you ready?"

That is the question the Idaho shooting should leave echoing in our minds.

The Bible reminds us, "You do not know what tomorrow will bring" (James 4:14). We know, and even quote, that verse. But most of us quietly live as though tomorrow belongs to us. We assume there will be another anniversary, another family vacation, another Sunday, another opportunity to say the things we've been putting off, and another chance to get serious about God.

The people in that In-N-Out assumed the same thing.

God doesn't tell us to live in fear of death. But He does tell us to live prepared for it. That's why Jesus repeatedly commanded His followers to "be ready." Not because He wanted them looking nervously over their shoulders, but because He wanted them living every ordinary day in light of eternity.

Every unexpected death confronts us with the same uncomfortable reality: none of us knows when our final ordinary moment will come.

The question isn't whether ours will come suddenly.

The question is whether we'll be ready when it does.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Not the Bee or any of its affiliates.