In Thirty Seconds...
You could die… seriously. My reason for saying this is not to scare you, make you paranoid, nor say that you will.
In light of the
recent tragic death of two young men from one of the churches I attend (one
being my best friend’s brother), I have pondered greatly on the subject of
death. And I don’t mean thinking about and getting depressed over death, rather
exploring for and preparing my mind for it. Because to be truthful I could die
in the next 60 seconds; I could die while writing this. I could die as soon as
I am done. We do not know the time of our death. Only the Lord God Almighty can
truly know the time of our death. And so I raise a question: Are you ready to
die right now?
It seems such a
morbid question, such a horrendous thing to be preparing for, but in all
truthfulness, it is only right and honorable that we would! This does not mean
that we are to be paranoid in our every action and always envision death
looming around the corner, ready to embrace us in its grasp. This is not true!
Death will come when the Lord wills it, not a day too soon nor a day too late.
But what if you are called home young? What if you died at 14, 16, 18? Would
you be ready, or are you too busy to die? Are your relationships in the right
place? The Bible says in Ephesians 4:26-27 “"In your anger do not
sin": Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not
give the devil a foothold.” There is a reason the Bible warns us to take action
in righting wrongs. Psalm 89:47-48 points out “Remember how short my time is;
for what futility have You created all the children of men? What man can live
and not see death? Can he deliver his life from the power of the grave?” Our
time is indeed short! How short we can never know, but there is no man that has
lived without death, you will die as will everyone else. But as believers in
Christ, we have an understanding of death, its meaning, and its value. Should
we, of all people, be unprepared for it?
Ecclesiastes 8:8
says we cannot stop death. “No one has power over the spirit to retain the
spirit, and no one has power in the day of death. There is no release from that
war, and wickedness will not deliver those who are given to it.” Romans 5:12
states that all men must die “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered
the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all
sinned—“ 1 Peter 5:8 admonishes us to
“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a
roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.” We are to be prepared. We are to be
ready. We need to live every moment like it’s our last. We need to always have
patience; we need to always be slow to anger. We need to be willing to fix
wrongs immediately after realizing what we have done. We need to put down our
pride. We must never do tomorrow what we can do today. We have to be ready to
die.
Once you are dead
there is no chance to change things. You cannot go back and fix what you left
undone. Again I say, we should not be paranoid about death. But we should be
aware of it. We should be aware that you do not have to be old to die. We
should realize the consequences of our actions. We should act always with
wisdom. When you die will people say “They lived a good life, it was their time
to go. Their lives were full and blessed.” Or will they say, “It’s such a pity
they’re gone. They had so much left to do with their lives.”?
The good news is
that “Death is no punishment for the believer” (Charles Haddon Spurgeon). We
are only leaving this sin ridden world for the golden shores of the kingdom of
Heaven. Jesus conquered death by his
death and we are now able to live eternally with our king. So we can face death
with no fear of what comes with it and after it.
As I think of
death, its effects, its rewards, and its depth, I come to the conclusion that
death is something that needs to be evaluated. Most people spend their whole
lives putting death on the back burner. Friends, I plead with you, please, do
not push these thoughts away. Grab a hold of them, contemplate them, pray over
them, and prepare for them. Ask God to grant you the wisdom and grace to know
what to do, how to prepare. Take a moment to spend with your family and your
friends. It could be your last one. Put nothing aside; pour everything you have
into life. Never take life for granted. Don’t waste your life.
But none
of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may
finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus,
to testify to the gospel of the grace of God. (Acts 20:24)
