Dying Wish

I recently sat in the living room with a woman diagnosed with a terminal disease. Before we had prayer I asked her what the desires of her heart were. I expected her to say she wanted to be healed, she wanted more time with her family, or she wanted to prove the doctors wrong.

Her answer stunned me. She wanted to see more souls saved. She went on to explain that she worried many people who sit in church and think they have come to a saving knowledge of the Lord have not truly been saved. She went on to explain many church goers have only made a decision mentally to become a Christian. They never came to genuine repentance over sin and truly turned to Jesus Christ as their only hope and deliverer from sin and the wrath of God.

What would your dying wish be? Would it be for more things, more memories with family, or more entertainment? How many of us could honestly say our dying wish would be for more souls to be saved?

I have been around several people over the years who knew they were dying. In almost every case facing their own mortality brought them to a clear sense of things. One man I ministered to years ago battling cancer sat down in his living room with a video recorder and taped a message for his family and closest friends challenging them to get right with God. In his last days he increasingly turned his heart toward spiritual matters. He truly wanted those closest to him to be right in their relationships with the Lord.

Another woman I knew, dying of breast cancer in east Texas, shared the love of Christ and the good news of His salvation with doctors, nurses, and anyone who visited her room. She died pointing others to Jesus her Savior.

The sobering truth is that we are all terminal. Some of us are more aware of it than others. Millions of people will enter eternity alienated from God. If you believe your Bible at this point, eternal suffering and agony of soul will be afflicted on them forever and ever. The anguish will never end. The suffering will never lighten. The torment will never lessen. Only Jesus can rescue people from such a terrible plight.

We don not have to wait until our last days to share this good news with people. Yesterday I had the opportunity to share this truth with a young man. Sadly, we were interrupted before I could finish and the young man left afterward. I trust God for another chance to talk to this guy about what really matters.

If you really care about people you cannot help but want to share the good news of Jesus Christ with others. IT TRULY IS GOOD NEWS! So what is your dying wish? I don't know who penned these words but I know they have left a deep mark on me. "Tis only one life to live and t'will soon be past, only what is done for Christ will last."