The fact that life can be so transient and uncertain should force us to reassess how we live our lives on earth
Recently, a 70-year-old man felt dizzy and weak on one side of his body. So he was brought to consult a doctor, who diagnosed him as having severe hypertension and stroke. He was advised immediate admission. Sadly, he passed away after one day's stay in hospital.
Apart from accidents, heart disease and stroke are perhaps the most dramatic harbingers of death.
Life often catches us unaware. We cannot peer into the future. We may feel and look perfectly normal. But, the next day, the scenario may take a turn for the worse. Who would have thought that we may just be one step away from eternity?
“Man does not know his time: like fish caught in a treacherous net and birds trapped in a snare, so the sons of men are ensnared at an evil time when it suddenly falls on them” (Ecclesiastes 9:12).
We’re never really in control of our lives. We often take for granted we’ll be greeted every morning by birds and light streaming into our room. But how sure are we that we’ll wake up tomorrow?
“Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes” (James 4:14).
That’s why we have to be prepared to meet our Maker—for we can be called away to our eternal home anytime (Hebrews 9:27).
We get jolted from our complacency when a close friend or relative dies suddenly. Being reminded of our mortality, a chilling realisation sets in.
One day, we will be lowered in a casket into the ground or cremated. Our relatives and friends will then depart for a meal. Life goes on for our family members but we will no longer know what happens to them on earth.
Though no one fancies being reminded about death, we cannot run away it. So it’s better to be realistic and consider our end.
Let us be found faithful till our final hours here on earth. “If a righteous person turns from their righteousness and commits sin, they will die for it; because of the sin they have committed they will die” (Ezekiel 18:26)
Few can confidently proclaim like the apostle Paul: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing” (2 Timothy 4:7-8).
Though we’ll never be able to match a spiritual giant like Paul, we should still be proactive—plan and live out our lives so that it will be glorifying to God.
For it is only when we learn how to face death squarely that we’re able to live a fulfilling and productive life.
It is only when we have ‘set our house in order’—ready to leave this earth if He should call us home—that we will be able to shout like Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:55: “O death, where is thy victory? O death, where is thy sting?”
It is not a question of being morbid about our future. Rather, it is about how to prepare ourselves to meet our Maker with confidence. http://bit.ly/1iiRhQT
In order to be able to shout like Paul at the end of life’s journey, we have to mean serious business with God.
Believers who have been walking closely with God will have the peace and assurance that better times await them in the hereafter. And this glorious hope is one that transcends positive thinking.
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SETTING OUR HOUSE IN ORDER
How many of us prepare ourselves to meet our Maker—even when death isn’t looming on the horizon?
WALKING TIME BOMBS
Beware of heart disease and stroke!
WALK YOUR WAY TO WEALTH
Yes, you read it correctly. It’s not a typo error.
http://bit.ly/1KtoGezDO YOU EVER SEARCH YOUR HEART?
(IS HE SATISFIED WITH ME?)
Do you ever search your heart,
As you watch the day depart.
Is there something way down deep
you try to hide?
If this day should be the end,
And eternity began,
When the book is open wide,
Would the Lord be satisfied?
Is He satisfied? is He satisfied?
Is He satisfied with me?
Have I done my best, have I stood the test?
Is He satisfied with me?
When my Lord shall come again,
When He walks and talks with man,
What if every friend He had
were just like me?
Would He feel welcome here?
Or would He go away in tears?
Am I all that I should be?
Is He satisfied with me?
Feeble is the lamp of fame,
By which man inscribes his name,
On the walls of time for other
men to see.
Though he boast of wealth and power,
None can help him in that hour,
When the angels hear His plea,
Is He satisfied with me?
Is He satisfied? Is He satisfied?
10,000 REASONS by Matt Redman
Only part of lyrics shared below:
And on that day
When my strength is failing
The end draws near
And my time has come
Still my soul will
Sing Your praise unending
Ten thousand years
And then forevermore
ForevermoreEXTERNAL LINK
ONLY A STEP INTO ETERNITY
A young, forty-three-year-old widow drove by our neighborhood high school to pick up her two teenage daughters. About the same time, a young man (a star football player), got into a new pickup truck, and “peeled out” off campus at an accelerated speed. For more:
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