Death is a constant reality but we rarely want to talk about it. We do not like thinking of it. I rarely walk into a nursing home rehabilitation center or into the hospital of a senior adult that I am not struck with the thought that they were young once, active, vibrant, making valuable contributions to the Lord and society until their bodies began to fail them. I too will have to face that reality if the Lord allows me to live long enough. My body will fail me. My joints will ache more. My bones will become more brittle. My eye may become dimmed and my hearing may be dulled. This is not negative thinking. It is reality and the law of averages. I have prayed for a long and fruitful life with a healthy body and sound mind so I labor for my Lord.
I look into the eyes of those who are trapped in broken bodies and long to be freed in heaven and I hurt for them. I see their tears when I talk with them about heaven and being given a glorified body one day. I see how they long for death so they can be set free while so many others who are younger flee from death and refuse to prepare it.
How does a person prepare to die? How does a person prepare to step out of the temporal into eternity? Death can never be prepared for until a person comes to repentance of sins by faith and trust in Christ for salvation. This is a message often preached at funerals but seldom heeded by the masses. The path to hell is littered with souls who had no use or time for Christ. Graciously God convicts people of sin and His impending judgment, opens spiritual eyes to the hope of the gospel, offers unconditional and irresistible grace, and gloriously saves and transforms the hearts of the converted. Nobody is prepared to die if they are not in a saving relationship with Jesus.
If you have that settled then, I would ask what legacy are you leaving behind? I want to leave a legacy of love for God supremely and a life of faith and prayer. I hope through my writings that legacy might be left behind long after I am gone. I want my boys to read my journals and see a passion and love for God that inspires them to run hard after Him. I want my parishioners to read my books and hear the voice of God still speaking through me. I want my life to back up my preaching and writing. Mostly I want God to be glorified through whatever days I have left.
You are leaving some kind of legacy. What is it? Are you inconsistent, greedy, a hypocrite, lukewarm, passionate, faithful, or zealous for God? People will remember something about you whenever you are gone. What do you want that to be? Now is the time to adjust your life accordingly.
Where will you be put to rest? Who will preach the service? What songs will be sung? What text of scripture is your favorite? These are all issues you should address with those in your family. Too often none of these things are talked about in advance and the remaining family members are left scrambling to try to put a memorial service or a funeral together. Why not give them direction and voice what you would like done or said.
While I have been writing this I have also been listening to a message about a twenty-nine year old missionary who died after a lengthy illness. He was prepared to die. He not only lived well but he also died well. We need people who will show us how to die well. I have been studying about Jacob preparing to die in the land of Egypt and wanting to be buried back in Canaan. In addition, I have prayed by the bedsides of two saints who are preparing to die any day now. The reality of death is all around me. I am continually reminded that life on this planet is temporary but for the child of God there is everlasting life. Hallelujah!
What I am learning from all of this is that we must prepare to die just like we prepare to live. We must be intentional in how we live and how we invest our allotted number of days. [Ps 90:12] “So teach us to number our days, that we may present to You a heart of wisdom.” Our days are numbered. Some have only hours left, others weeks, and some decades but in the end we die. That is a reality. I do not want to squander the precious gift of life that has been entrusted to us.
One of the things we must do to prepare to die is to say all the things that need to be said to our loved ones. I want my wife to know I love her and that she has been a great help mate for me. She has freed me up with her selfless acts of service to allow me to give myself to prayer, preaching, and writing. Whatever I do or become in this life I owe it to her support, prayers, love, and encouragement. I want Jennifer to know I count her as my very own daughter in heart and soul. I am proud of the woman she has become, the wife she is, and the mother she will be. I want my boys to hear me say over and over again that I am proud of them, that God has wonderful plans for their lives, and most importantly that I love them without conditions. I want them to know that living their lives for Jesus is all important and I hope will be the driving passion that gets them out of bed each day.
Sometimes people see death coming for years or months in advance. There are those for whom death stalks and sneaks up on unexpectedly. I do not know how death will come for me but regardless I want to be prepared. The scripture has a good deal to say about death. [Ps 116:15] [Jn 11:25] [Phil 1:21] [Heb 9:27] Through prayer, meditation, and total dependence on the grace of God I urge all of us to be prepared to die.
No comments:
Post a Comment