Death And Life

Last night I got an important call. It was from the nursing home, informing me that a woman was near death and the family had requested my presence to pray. Of course, I do not have a problem with this at all. I have been around death before and it is not the last time I will be for sure. The problem was not going to the nursing home, but the problem is thinking about what to say and what to pray.

I showed up, found the room and family and prayed for this sweet woman. You could obviously tell that her time on earth was coming to an end. She had lived a long life and everyone in the room was basically there to watch her final moments on this earth. My feelings were bittersweet. It was bittersweet because she was leaving the earth and that causes sadness, yet she was about to enter into eternity with God in heaven and that brings joy! As we all huddled around the bed, I prayed. I prayed for an easy and painless transition from this life to the next, but then a sense of jealously came over me.

The Bible says that when we are absent with the body, we are present with the Lord (2 Cor. 5:8). It is an either/or - when on earth we are absent from the Lord, but death brings the presence of the Lord. I knew that when she breathed her last breath here, her next breath would be in heaven if she had made a decision to put her faith in Jesus Christ. She was about to step into a place where there is no pain, sorrow, tears, or death (Rev. 21:4). Most of all, I am jealous that she is now worshiping around the throne of Jesus. I know that I will one day join her, and that gives me a hope and an excitement!

What are we doing with our lives? What will be on our mind and our heart when we have a preacher praying around our death bed? Is heaven even an option right now for you? It can be! The Bible says that we are all sinners and that sin causes death (Romans 3:23; 6:23). God sent Jesus, His One and Only Son, to take our place and die on the cross for our sin. This opened up the chance to have a relationship with God. When Jesus rose from the grave, He conquered death giving us eternal life and the chance to spend it with God. But, because sin demands a punishment, there is a literal and real hell. Because of man's free choice, many choose hell because they do not put their faith in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. It is so simple to change this.

The Bible says, "if you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. With the heart one believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth one confesses, resulting in salvation (Romans 10:9-10)." All it takes to spend eternity with God is faith, receiving the free gift by God's grace (Ephesians 2:8-9). Salvation is nothing we can earn, but only something we receive from God. Have you received this free gift? Will you? We learned in VBS that it is as simple as ABC - Admit, Believe, Confess. If you haven't already, pray in your heart to God. Admit to Him that you are a sinner in need of His salvation. Tell Him that you believe that Jesus is God and He died for you and your sins and rose again conquering death. Confess your need of Him to be your Savior and your Lord. Ask Him to come into your life and be your Lord and Savior. Then, thank Him for a new life and eternity in heaven with Him! Yes, it's that easy - why make something so easy so difficult?

Salvation though gives us a task. God has left us here for a purpose. Are you completing His purposes for you life so that when you get to heaven, He will greet you with a "well done, thy good and faithful servant?" I hope so. I hope I am. What does He want you to do? Are you using your gifts to serve God in a local church? Are you committed to becoming more like Jesus? Are you sharing the story of salvation? We ALL must!

"Lord, bless this family as they mourn a loss. Thank you for the life of this precious women. As our lives continue here on earth, give us comfort through the pain and joy through the suffering. May those who do not know you, find you during this time. In Jesus name, amen."