Time for Death?

Show me, O Lord, my life’s end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting is my life.

Psalm 39:4

My long-time friend, Dianne, died last month, just a few days before Christmas. Dianne had battled cancer for quite some time.

Dianne and I became best friends in the seventh grade and remained best friends through the years. There is no telling how many games of jacks and pic-up-sticks (remember those games?) we played when we were younger.

We don’t think much about death until it happens to a family member or to a close friend. Only God knows when our life on this earth will end. Death is something from which we can’t escape. Life is short.

Dianne was in the hospital several days before she died. I live 200 miles from Dianne’s home. I was going to visit her in the hospital, but I was just “too busy.” I was told that she was doing well, so I planned to go visit her the next day. My friend died before I got to see her.

This was a good lesson to me. If there is something you need to do for someone, do it NOW. You don’t know how much time you or they have on this earth.

Yes, we are “too busy.” However, much of what we do and what we think is important has absolutely no eternal value. Realizing that life is short should help us to use the little time we have more wisely and for eternal good.

Jesus Christ has changed the meaning of death. At death, the spirit of the believing Christian enters immediately into the presence of the Lord. All of us are sitting on Death Row. How we die or when we die is not the main issue. The main issue is where we go after death. Dianne was a Christian. I am a Christian. Our belief in Jesus as our Lord and Savior means that we will live eternally in Heaven and will be together again. Jesus made it possible for believers to live forever spiritually.

Are you prepared to die?  Where will you spend eternity?

Georgia Andrus