THE DEATH OF A GOOD MAN

Then I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.’ ” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “that they may rest from their labors, and their works follow them” (Revelation 14:13).

As you know, we have been away this past week to attend the funeral of Wanda’s grandfather, J L Tomlin. It has been a bittersweet time as we have experienced the grief and loss, but at the same time rejoicing that he has completed his journey and awaits his eternal reward. He was a Christian for 55 years and was instrumental in starting a congregation in Woodstock, Georgia. This congregation numbers close to 300 and has been involved in starting two other congregations in the area. As I have thought about his death, I realize there are some differences and similarities between him and the rest of us.

The length of his life is one difference. He was 91 years old. A June 2006 USA Today article reported that life expectancy for American males was 75.2 years. The psalmist wrote that we could expect 70 or 80 years (Psalm 90:10). He did enjoy a long and useful life. There are some of us who are beyond the 75.2 (or about 80 for females), but most of us are still several years away. Many are not even half way there. For the young people, 75 years probably seems like an eternity. Will we “beat the odds” and live an unusually long life or die at a young age? We do not know.

One similarity is the certainty of death. “And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27). Whether young or old, or somewhere in between, death is certain for each and every one of us. The only possible exception is that Christ returns during our lifetime and even then we will be changed and this life will end (1 Corinthians 15:50-53; 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17). From the moment we are born we begin a one way journey to death. Man has searched for the fountain of youth, a way to avoid aging, a way to cheat death. He has not found it and he never will.

Another similarity is the suddenness of death. “(W)hereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away” (James 4:14). Even though J L had lived many years and his time on earth was likely drawing short, no one (including himself) knew the exact time he would die. Even people with terminal diseases are not able to predict the exact moment of death. Because of the suddenness of death or Jesus’ return (Matthew 24:43; 2 Peter 3:10), we must live in a constant state of preparation and readiness (Matthew 25:13).

A final similarity is the consequence of death. The Hebrew writer says that after death is the judgment (9:27). There is no mention of anything in between that would give us a second chance. The condition in which we die, spiritually speaking, in the condition in which we will stand before God in judgment. Since we will be judged according to the things done in the body (2 Corinthians 5:10), and the body and spirit separate at death (James 2:26), our eternal destiny will be based on what we have done in this life, while in the body. There are two possibilities (Matthew 25:46). Whether I am blessed with eternal life in heaven or condemned to eternal torment in hell is determined by how I live this life, and the same is true for every person.

Are you prepared for death?
--Lamar