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Be prepared for when God calls
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The Bible says, “It is appointed unto man, once to die, and then the judgment.” And immediately some reader is thinking, “Why is he starting there? I turn to this column for a bit of uplift, and I get this?”
Yeah, I know. Here is the source of my thought processes today. I just began reading a book entitled, “Speaking of Dying.” And some of you are no doubt asking, “And why on earth would you do that?” Well, my reasoning is simple. It matters. It is a subject of importance. And it is one that we too often ignore.
Think about it this way. We live in a vast and wondrous universe, the complexities of which we cannot even imagine, much less explore. Some would say that this universe and its matter are all that there is. You live, you die and that is it. You cease to exist.
But the Bible teaches something entirely different. The Bible says that we have been created by God. The Bible then goes on to say that we are sustained in this life by God. And the Bible says that life here on Earth is not all that there is. Jesus said, “Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven.” In that quote, he was telling us that there is more than what we see. He is saying that we were made for more.
It has been said that the two most important days of your life are the day you are born and the day you discover why you were born. The Bible teaches that we were born for the purpose of giving God glory by living in community with him and his children. The earlier we discover this purpose, the more satisfying life will be.
I know it is not a popular subject, but we all will die one day. And how we live in relationship to creator, God, is what prepares us for that coming day. I hope to live a long life; I still have much I want to accomplish. But no matter how long I live, what I want more than anything is to hear the Lord say to me, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” The only hope I have of hearing that is to submit my life to him and accept his grace. But when I do that, he graciously gives me more than I could ever deserve. Most of life is about preparing for death.
I close my thoughts this week with this one question: Are you prepared?

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