Throughout the last month or so I have had some family pass. One was in her 90s. The other was in his 30s. While at the cemetery I noticed people that had died that were in their hundreds and those that had died that were a few days old. It made me think about a truth. That one thing is guaranteed for all men and women. One day you will die.
It reminded me that we really aren’t guaranteed tomorrow. No one knows how long they are promised to live. We are not even promised a year, a month, a week, a day, or even to make it through the day. But we are promised death, because in Hebrews 9:27 it says, “and as it is appointed unto men once to die”. In psalms 49, it tells that the rich and poor, the low and the high, the corrupt and the upright, the wise and the foolish die. Meaning no matter how good, smart, rich or popular we are we will cease to live on this Earth one day. You can even get the best doctors in history that have cutting edge technology and procedures, but you will still meet death.
It may prolong it, but you will still die. You can eat right all your life, and you will still die just like someone who eats greasy fried foods and buffets every meal. You can be so physically in shape and fit that you are the poster child for CrossFit, and you will still die just like someone who is a person who could be on my 1000lb life. You can live in the best neighborhood with the best water and enmities, or you can be homeless with no water or electricity in the worst place on earth and you will die. It doesn’t matter if you’re a Christian, Buddhist, Muslim, Jew, atheist, believe in nothing at all, or believe in a spaghetti monster in the sky. You will die. I will die. We all will.
Now I know I have been stressing that fact, but it is for a reason, because it should be a sobering thought because Hebrews 9:27 continues with a second part, “but after this the judgment”. Knowing this should impact us because it should make us want to be prepared for death and the coming judgment we will face when we stand before our almighty God.
It first should make us want to prepare for death by making sure that when God judges us that he judges us one of the saved, so we can go to heaven instead of eternal suffering in hell. To do this all we have to do is put our trust in Jesus as our Savior. Next, it should make us want to make sure our loved ones are ready for death by making sure they are saved and will join us in heaven.
However, sadly many of us have never even taken the time to make sure our friends and family are saved. Finally, it should make us prepare for death by making sure our life is cleaned up when we die by getting rid of sin from our lives, because when we die, we will have to give an account to God for how we lived. If you are not sure what your life should look like to be acceptable to God, then look to the Bible it tells us what type of life God desires for us in all dealings in life.
In the end, I remind you one day you will die, but are you prepared for that day? Have you booked a spot in heaven, or are you headed to hell? Have you made sure your loved ones are prepared? Have you even told them about Jesus? Have you cleaned your life up and stopped living in sin? If you haven’t gotten ready, the time to change that is now.
Blake Henson is pastor of Temple Baptist Church.
