The other day I was thinking about someone I have tried to help over the years. I gave this person things of value that I never saw him use. I suppose he sold or gave them away. I thought to myself that I don’t want to give him anything else because he did not appreciate my gift. He “squandered” something valuable to me that I was willing to share. Immediately a thought entered my mind, probably from the Holy Spirit.
God gives all people the most precious thing we know – life, and most of us don’t appreciate it and squander it. We think we will never die. We imagine we are accountable to no one for how we live. We do our own thing with this thing called life, and then it’s over.
The Bible says that Jesus is the Alpha and Omega, the first and last, and the beginning and the end. (Revelation 22:13) This means that God gave us life (created us), sustains our lives each moment, and one day will call us to return our lives back to him, stand before him in judgment, and receive from him our final reward and eternal habitation.
Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near of which you will say, “I have no pleasure in them”; 2 before the sun and the light and the moon and the stars are darkened and the clouds return after the rain, 3 in the day when the keepers of the house tremble, and the strong men are bent, and the grinders cease because they are few, and those who look through the windows are dimmed, 4 and the doors on the street are shut—when the sound of the grinding is low, and one rises up at the sound of a bird, and all the daughters of song are brought low— 5 they are afraid also of what is high, and terrors are in the way; the almond tree blossoms, the grasshopper drags itself along, and desire fails, because man is going to his eternal home, and the mourners go about the streets— 6 before the silver cord is snapped, or the golden bowl is broken, or the pitcher is shattered at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern, 7 and the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it. 8 Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher; all is vanity. Ecclesiastes 12:1-8 (ESV)
Because of sin, death entered God’s fabulous creation. It was the natural / supernatural consequence of disconnecting ourselves from Life’s Source, our Creator / Sustainer.
The dying process weans us away from the glamour of this world. As we age and die, the things that formerly brought joy and meaning to our existence fade. God wants us to become more and more enamored with eternal things. He wants to finally become our main and only focus, as he should be. Death, in this respect, is a blessing. It is a gateway into eternity and manifest presence of God. It is the goal of life to stand before God and enjoy his love and person forevermore!
Because of sin, death became part of the human condition and will be our last experience as physical pre-resurrected beings.
Solomon said that it is better to consider death than go to a party!
A good name is better than precious ointment, and the day of death than the day of birth. 2 It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting, for this is the end of all mankind, and the living will lay it to heart. 3 Sorrow is better than laughter, for by sadness of face the heart is made glad. 4 The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth. Ecclesiastes 7:1-4 (ESV)
Most people put off thinking about death and the hereafter as long as possible, but this is actually quite foolish. Eternity looms in front of us. It may get here sooner than we think, and it lasts a long, long forever. My cousin’s husband just died unexpectedly. He was relatively young, apparently in great health, full of life, and expecting to live much longer. But now his appointment with death and the hereafter has been finalized. He is right now in his eternity. No more second chances. No more opportunities to squander. The first part of his existence is complete. Now he will enjoy or endure the eternal consequences. He was a follower of Christ; so, he is experiencing joy inexpressible right now. But what about us? How will we fare when our appointment comes calling?
And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, Hebrews 9:27 (NKJV)
God wants us to consider and be thankful for the gift of life. He wants us to be grateful and appreciate his sustaining our lives each day. With each breath we take, we are experiencing God’s grace. And when it is time to turn these lives back in to God, he wants us to do so freely and eagerly, knowing that what lies ahead far surpasses anything we have yet experienced. If we lose our lives, we will gain them!
Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. Matthew 16:24-25 (ESV)
God wants us to hold onto life with an open hand, not a clenched fist. For us to do this, we must be like Jesus, who at the point of death said: “Father, into thy hands I commit my spirit.” (Luke 23:46) I am told that this was part of a children’s prayer said at bedtime each night. How poignant! As a little child, we should entrust our dying and death into God’s hands, our Keeper and Shepherd, our Creator, Sustainer, and Final Destination.
