The world in which we live in today is filled with changes and uncertainties. Nations rise and fall, governments come and go, stock markets crash, economies fail, spouses file for divorce, children leave home, jobs are phased out, businesses go belly up, terminal illnesses appear overnight, beauty fades, fame flies out the window, money slips through our fingers like water, and people die unexpectedly. Changes happen without notice and uncertainties rule the life in this world.There are not many things that have certainty. Someone once said that there are two things in life that we can be sure of: death and taxes. People have figured out ways to avoid taxes but no one has ever figured out a way to avoid death.
The probabilty of death is 100%. One out of every one person will eventually die. We may try to delay the inevitable through medicine and preventative measures, but sooner or later death comes. Most of us want and need to have some assurances or certainties about important areas of our lives: marriage, retirement , health, etc. Of all the areas where we desire certainty, probably the most important is on our future after death. People in general fear death because they are uncertain about what happens after death. The Bible says that we can be certain about what happens after death. God has given us enough evidence for that. "God, who has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come." (2 Corinthians 5:5). The Holy Spirit set the seal of ownership on us guaranteeing what is to come. God gave us the assurance by sending His son to witness for that. Jesus said, "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 take you to be with me that you also may be where I am." (John 14:2,3).
A famous comedian who was an atheist was on his death bed when a friend came to visit him and was astonished to find him reading the Bible. The friend asked, "What in the world are you doing reading the Bible?" He replied, “I’m looking for loopholes.” Some wait until the last minute and look for loopholes. After being diagnosed with terminal cancer, 47-year-old Randy Pausch returned to Carnegie Mellon University to deliver a final lecture to colleagues, students, and friends. The professor of computer science thought that a lot of people may not show up. Instead the 400-seat auditorium was packed. For an hour, Randy opened his heart to them in a humorous, insightful, and moving farewell that was focused more on living than dying. Within weeks, the videotaped lecture had been seen by millions on the Internet and later became the seed of a bestselling book. That shows how much we are all interested in hearing about the perspective of a dying person. Those facing death often have an unusually clear perspective on what is truly important in life. Jesus said, “Store your treasures in heaven where they cannot be destroyed by moths or rust and where thieves cannot break in and steal them.” (Matthew 6:19-21). How we make our daily living makes us prepared for the living after death. Our choices today determine where and how we will spend the time after death.
The former president of the United States John Quincy Adams was asked when he turned eighty years old by a visting friend, “Good Morning, How is Mr. Adams today?” He replied, “John Quincy Adams himself is quite well. But the house in which he lives at present is becoming dilapidated. It is tottering upon it foundations. Time and the seasons have almost destroyed it. Its roof is pretty worn out. Its walls are much shattered, and it crumbles with every wind. The old tenement is becoming almost uninhabitable, and I think that John Quincy Adams will have to move out soon. But he himself is well, sir, quite well.” It was not long afterwards that he passed away. His shaky tenement as he called it was left here for a new home that is not made by hands.
We long for a perfect, permanent home. All the heroes of faith who lived before us were looking for a better place, a heavenly homeland because the world was not worthy of them (Hebrews 11). “We have small troubles in comparison to heaven for a while now, but they are helping us to gain an eternal glory that is much greater than the troubles. So we set our eyes not on what we see but on what we cannot see.” (Philippians 3:20).
We are not in the land of the living going to the land of the dying. We are in the land of the dying going to the land of the living. We are in the world of perishable and temporary going to the world of the imperishable and eternal. Jesus revealed himself to to the world as a witness to what is to come. He sent His spirit as a guarantee of our eternal life with Him in that eternal home that is not made by hands, but architected by God with a strong foundation. "God will wipe away every tear from our eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away" (Revelation 21:4). That promise makes the present journey easier to endure.
Blessings
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