Life is Short
“It is better to go to the House of Mourning than the house of feasting, for death is the destiny of every man, the living should take this to heart.”
Life is short.
I know this but I admit that I try not to think about it. The sudden death of a childhood friend hit me again with this reality. Life is fragile. There are hidden risks all around us. Waking up in the morning is a gift, but no one is guaranteed tomorrow. Still I want to push off such thoughts. I want to trust everything is okay, but today I feel unsettled.
In the last two years, we all have suffered losses. In our grief we have been forced to face the sobering truth that we are mortal. As the world has grown louder, angrier, and more unpredictable such realities can fill us with fear.
Still in shock from the unfortunate news, my senses became awakened to the sacred blessings of my life. Looking soberly in the mirror I realized I often take life for granted, so I paused to recall all the details. I looked back at the long dusty road I had walked and the people I had met along the way. I remembered the rush of first falling in love with my husband. As I thought of each of our four children I saw my hopes and dreams for them light up like fireflies at dusk. For a moment a fresh tear tried to escape as I thought about my life of serving God. It hasn’t been easy, but He has always been good.
Does this knowledge make me act differently? Will I slow down to take in the moments of life long enough to really enjoy them? I hope so.
Life is short.
It has been years since I had seen her in person, still her face is in my mind. To my regret, in recent years our relationship had consisted of likes on Facebook and Instagram. I wish I had reached out more, but time seemed to be on our side. Certainly I could do that later, I thought…
Now I wonder what life was really like for her off of social media. I admit I didn’t really know her anymore, but I still can’t stop thinking about the loss of her in this world and to those closest to her. She was a wife and mother. She was a sister and daughter. She was a beautiful and kind, healthy and strong woman. Tragically her number was called, and she left this earth suddenly before we were ready to say goodbye.
Her leaving brings up the quandary…
After death is Eternity.
After death we face Heaven or Hell.
“How can anyone know for sure?” you might ask. Many people wonder if such places exist. If you asked me I would say, “it takes Faith.”
Yes, I believe Heaven and Hell are real, but I also believe we have a choice. I want everyone to go to Heaven. The thought of loved ones passing up Heaven and choosing to spend eternity in Hell is inconceivable. The concept of forever and ever in suffering is too much to think about. If God is real why would he send anyone to Hell, a place of eternal suffering?
This is the question of the ages.
To be honest, this is a hard question to answer. The bible teaches that God does not want to send people to Hell. He also makes it clear that Heaven is reserved for those who choose to believe in and follow His son Jesus.
“For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only son that everyone who believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
As human beings we were created with the freedom to choose. Everyday we are given the opportunity to surrender our lives to God and serve Him or to take our chances on our own. What if we put off making our choice and our lives end unexpectedly?
Jesus Christ warned about putting off getting right with God in the Parable of The Ten Virgins, in Matthew 25. Five of them were foolish and five of them were wise. Their one task was to make sure they had enough oil in their lamps so when the bridegroom came at an unexpected hour they would be ready.
But for the five foolish virgins, life was busy and they had a lot of plans, so when the Bridegroom came they were not ready. I mean, Come on! there was a lot going on! When they realized he was at the door they ran quickly to get oil from the five prudent virgins, but it was too late. There was not enough oil for both the foolish and the wise. Sadly, the story teaches: the 5 Foolish virgins were left out of the wedding feast. They were shut out of heaven because they didn’t make room for God in their hearts during their earthly lives.
Jesus is basically saying, don’t waste time, make room for God in your heart now. This is not by following a set of rules. To make room is to acknowledge the sin and guilt in our hearts that separates us from God.
We need a Savior. Heaven in all its purity was not constructed with human hands, but with celestial hands. Many religions of the world talk about how you can try to get to heaven by good works. Through Jesus Christ, our salvation is not earned by the good things we do. We become children of God by surrendering our will to Jesus as our Savior and turning from our sin. The door of heaven is opened to us through this faith and our hearts will change through this knowledge. This is what it means to become a follower of Jesus, allowing God to take control of our lives.
Life is short.
We must allow ourselves to think about the silent reality of death. We don’t feel very comfortable talking about it and yet we know it's something we all will face. To quote my husband Brad, “The statistics are in: 1 out of 1 people will die.”
Lately, I have been watching a fictitious story called The Good Place where four people die on the same day and are put in eternity in a fictitious neighborhood in what they believe to be the good place, only later to realize they are not in a good place, well, not exactly. It takes a humorous spin on this concept of death and eternity. From watching it, I realized that none of us really want to die and spend eternity in a bad place. To many of us, it feels unclear how we get to a good place after death. Do we really have to become religious to go to Heaven? Is Jesus Christ really the only way to heaven?
The questions reflect what is in our hearts. Do I really have to give up my own life to follow a God that is all-powerful? Will I have to change my ways now so I can die and go to Heaven later? Surely there is plenty of time for that?
But is there?
Our hearts are very deceptive and the invitation to lose our lives to follow a God we can’t see with our physical eyes seems foolish to most of us.
But what if Jesus was right on the night He was betrayed when He had gathered his disciples to warn them of what was to come.
“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God, believe also in me as well. In My Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and welcome you into My presence, so that you may also be where I am. You know the place where I am going.”
Thomas, known as the doubter, asked: “We don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” John 14:5.
I am grateful for Thomas because he represents the rationalizing part of every one of us. The concept of Heaven is mystifying and he is not the only one to struggle with questions. But Jesus replied with a simple invitation to believe.
“I am the way the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but through me.” John 14:6.
Until we die, eternity will still remain a mystery. But today as I think of the loss of a childhood friend I find myself pondering the afterlife.
Life is short.
No one is guaranteed tomorrow, so let us truly live today.
The invitation to believe in Jesus is open to you. Are you wrestling with the thought of eternity? Do you want to know for sure that you are going to heaven? Take time right now to pray these simple words…
Dear God, I realize my life is not in my own hands but it is in yours. I ask you to forgive me of my sins because you sent me a Savior, Jesus Christ to forgive me of all my sins. I need forgiveness and I also realize that I need a new way of living. I am so self-focused, but as I stop to repent right now I can see I need your help to truly care about the things that you care about. Life is short and I need help to slow down and live on purpose for you God. Amen.