You Will Die, But You Can Live!
It is mid-November as I sit down to compose this article. COVID continues to ravage and wreak havoc amongst our families, churches, schools, communities, counties, and the nations. There is probably no one at this point who has not felt it’s deadly reach and results at least somewhere within their circle of family, friends, and/or acquaintances. And yet, as we all know, COVID is not the only thing that is continuing to take people’s lives. Average everyday people still continue to die daily from everything from cancer, to car crashes, to a thousand other causes.
Do you want to live?
Although it may be hard for some to accept (even though they know that it is true), the fact of the matter is, that everyone is eventually going to die from something. “Flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God” (1 Cor. 15:50). Even those who are alive when the Lord returns will still have to have their souls separated from their physical bodies in order for them to enter the spiritual realm (1 Cor.15:42-55). But either way, everyone is going to have to experience this separation of their souls from their earthly bodies, or, “die” (Eccl. 12:7).
The realization of this truth is one reason why we, as members of the Lord’s church, study, worship, and do the things we do, the very specific Biblical way in which we do them. Understanding that every single human being on the planet will one day have to leave this earth and appear before the judgment seat of God (2 Cor. 5:1-10), we spend what precious little Bible study and worship time we do have together, seeking to draw ever closer to, and developing an ever more intimate spiritual relationship with almighty God through His Son Jesus Christ (Eph. 5:8-21).
We do not believe that we should be wasting either our own or anyone else’s precious time with any other, more frivolous, and/or more worldly pursuits, when there is so much spiritually at stake – namely our eternal soul’s destination. Therefore, we do not seek to spend our time trying to draw a crowd or entertain through mirth, or drama; but instead, fully devote ourselves and what little precious Bible study and worship time we do have, to exploring, examining, explaining and obeying, only what Their word, the Bible, actually teaches – the Bible alone, which the Lord Himself said would be that which would judge us all on the last day (Jn. 12:48).
We make it our priority to follow the Apostle Peter’s divinely-inspired instructions (2 Tim. 3:16-17; 2 Peter. 1:20-21), as seen in 2nd Peter. “…As His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue… giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins. Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble; for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ… Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ (1:3-11, 3:18).
To spend one’s brief earthly life consumed with either ignoring, seeking to avoid, or failing to fully prepare for that which is ultimately inevitable anyway, seems a rather sad and futile pursuit, when that event can instead be faced with the full peace, comfort, confidence, and assurance, that can only come through an in-depth knowledge of God, through an in-depth study of His holy word, does it not?
We all have an appointment with death. We all have an appointment with God. We will all have to face Him in judgement. Seeking to ignore, avoid, or evade it, will certainly not in any way change it – except to leave us totally unprepared for it.
If you are at all concerned about where you will spend eternity, and would like to begin to prepare for when your time does come to leave this world to go and face God, then please consider coming to get better prepared along with us here at the Lord’s church. Let’s study and get ready together, shall we (1 Thess. 5:1-11; 2 Peter. 3:10-12)
Yours indeed for the cause,
Robert H Brown
Ramsey church of Christ
