Death is an inescapable fact of life. Whether rich or poor, educated or not, everyone’s life will one day come to an end. The transition from here to eternity is not only the most certain but also the most important time in our lives.
Regardless of cause, perhaps a prolonged illness or a sudden heart attack, our death is defined by a single, crucial fact: whether we die in our sins or in peace with God.
In John 8:21–24, Jesus emphasizes the following words by repeating three times, “You will die in your sin.” Judas, who betrayed his Savior for money before ending his own life—he died in his sin! King Saul, who rejected God and sought refuge in spiritualism before killing himself—he died in his sin! Ananias and Sapphira, who sullied their lips with lies—they died in their sin!
It is not only in these extreme cases that people die in sin. In fact, every life ends in sin if people die without repentance, forgiveness of sin, and hope of eternal life. If we die in our sin, we will be consigned to the deepest darkness of God’s painful absence—to damnation!
Many people believe that eternity will not be that bad for them because they have done their duty, committed no crimes, and maintained a good reputation. The error in their calculations, however, is that these things are not enough in God’s eyes. For instance, the wealthy man mentioned in Luke 16 certainly had a good reputation, but he died in his sin and ended up suffering eternally because he had received neither forgiveness of his sins nor peace in God.
If you, dear reader, wish to pass into eternity one day confident of your salvation, take this opportunity to go to Jesus Christ, who died on the cross for you, and ask Him to forgive your sins. Do not wait until you are old, your strength wanes, and your last hour arrives. Instead, come to Him in childlike faith. He is ready to forgive everything. Do not count on doing this on your deathbed! Satan catches the most people by getting them to put off seeking salvation.
The day of your death will be a day of terror if you lived in sin and threw away God’s grace!
If we exit this world without Jesus, gloom and horror await us on the other shore, where we will be bound with chains of darkness to wait for the day on which everyone will be judged. It is so important to prepare for the day we die. Let us use our time of grace wisely, seeking Jesus and holding fast in faith until we have crossed through this vale of tears and arrived in the land of eternal joy!
The day of your death will be a day of joy if you are a child of God!
As children of God, we are not spared the pain of death; it is, after all, the last enemy we face. However, regardless of the pain, conflict, and suffering we go through in death, our hearts will remain filled with heavenly joy.
We will see Jesus! We will see the One who died for us on Calvary, who freed us from our sins and eternal damnation, and who is the reason for our hope and the object of our longing! We will see Him in person and be with Him forever! It is hard to comprehend the wonders that await those who have served their Lord!
The day of your death opens the door from believing to seeing!
While precious, faith in Jesus is incomplete in one aspect, which only resolves through death. “For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face” (1 Corinthians 13:12). In the vale of tears, we often feel that Jesus is both near and beyond our reach. Only once death lifts the veil from our eyes will we be able to see what we held fast to in faith: the One we loved more than anything else in the world!
The day of your death will open the door to the home prepared for you!
Jesus said, “In My Father’s house are many mansions” (John 14:2). We will make our home in mansions of light, entering them as children of light who always walked in the light of God’s presence. Here on Earth, it often feels like we have no lasting home, but in our Father’s house, we will have an eternal home.
Believers have a deep longing for this pure, everlasting inheritance. Paul writes, “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him” (1 Corinthians 2:9). This glory is intended for those who honored and venerated God in this life.
The day of your death is a homecoming if you are a child of God!
Our home is not on this earth, and as children of God, we know what Jesus was talking about when He said, “In the world you will have tribulation” (John 16:33). Here on earth, we face trials and tribulations and various conflicts, and the pilgrims’ path is rough and steep, but we can keep our eye on the goal: eternal glory, where we can rest in our forever homes, where all our longings will be sated, where “we shall always be with the Lord” (1 Thessalonians 4:17).
We will joyfully reunite with our loved ones, never more to part. The bonds of love, connecting us to other saved souls, will never be torn, and all tears will be dried. What a contrast to life on earth, where death severs even the tightest bonds!
Blessed is the person who can say:
Shall we meet beyond the river,
Where the surges cease to roll?
Where in all the bright forever,
Sorrow ne’er shall press the soul?
As wonderful as it will be to reunite with people we knew on Earth, it will be an even greater joy to see Jesus, worship Him, and spend eternity in His presence. Jesus, the Lamb, will be the song of the heavens and the substance of all salvation!
What does the day of your death mean to you? Does it offer you comfort and hope in the midst of the suffering here on Earth? Is it your golden gate to the treasures of eternal glory? If so, you can joyfully go your way, without any fear of death or of the terrors of hell!
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