Like every other human being in this planet, I have experienced times of both joy and sorrow. Although I am still young, I have experienced sickness and health, friendship and enemity, peace and war, love and hatred, life and death. I have seen rich people become poor in an instance and people loose power in the wink of an eye. I have seen young people die in their youthful vigor and old people live to see four generations after them. I have seen the wicked prosper sometimes and the righteous suffer in their hands. I have lost my close friends to death at a young age and I have seen inconsolable tears in the eyes of people I love. I myself have been lonely, sick, betrayed, poor, weak and helpless. I myself have also been surrounded with friends, healthy, trusted, rich, strong and helpful. As I look back, life has been a mix of everything. There hasn’t been sunshine throughout. There has been no constants. At one moment I seemed to have everything and at another, seemed to have nothing at all. Is that just my life or is there some pattern? I realise that life is unfair at times and too good at another. Every human is prone to go through phases in life. There is no human who can claim to have a perfect life throughout his lifetime. I also realise that life is fragile. We are here one moment and suddenly we leave behind everything we ever counted precious and die. In a moment, in the blink of an eye, the breath leaves us and our life ends. Nothing matters at that moment, not the riches, not the health, not the status, not the great accolades. But there is one thing that does really matter. Am I ready to go yet? Am I prepared to finish my life here and proceed to the next, if there was one?
Over the years I have seen too many people die at the least expected time. One moment they are young and happy and the next moment they are gone. And it is at that moment we ponder of when and if we will see that person again. It is at that moment we ponder what happens if we die today. Am I ready yet? Was he ready when he breathed his last? Fortunately, all the people I lost to death knew where they were headed. My close friend, my two cousins, my young aunt and my other relatives knew where they were going although they did not know it was their time already. When they left us, we knew with certainty that they were now safe. Nothing else mattered when they left us. Not what they had accomplished, what they were yet to accomplish. The only thing that mattered was, “Were they safe now?”
Jesus said in Matthew 16:26
And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul?
As I said before, life is frail and life isn’t always fair. Riches, friends, relationships, degree, status, job, everything you can call important is temporary. Nothing matters when you compare it with the eternal soul. Some people call it a grim way of life to think about death and after life. People say, be merry, have fun, for tomorrow we die. The Bible contradicts in Ecclesiastes 7:4
A wise person thinks a lot about death,
while a fool thinks only about having a good time.
Does that mean the Bible prohibits us from having a good time. No, it’s actually the opposite and the Bible has many verses to support that. My point is that it is our inherent duty to carefully consider what next. Death is grim for people who think of death as the end of life. To me, it is the beginning of a new life in Christ. People who have no hope believe death is the end. People who have hope in Jesus can boldly claim death as the gate to a brand new life, eternal life. Jesus Himself confirmed that when He said in John 11:25
Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies;”
How can that be grim? If you think this is bullshit, then answer this one question. Are you ready yet? Are you ready to face the end, no matter when it came, even if it were today? If the answer was no, then you may have to do some serious soul searching… b’cos, nothing else really matters.
PS: The below work of art is not mine, however, this picture reminds me of my cousin who went to be with the Lord a couple of years back. He had a similar hairstyle and he was approximately the age the artist is depicting. We are pretty sure he was welcomed warmly as the artist has depicted, maybe even grandly… and we are 100% sure we will see him face to face, once again in the presence of Jesus. Love you dear cousin! We miss you.