The Future Is Now

In the last week, I conducted funeral services for two beloved members of our congregation. Both were men who lived their lives in an exemplary fashion. They demonstrated to their friends the gospel in both word and deed. It was such a relief to know that their faith was a very deep and meaningful aspect of their lives.
After one of the funerals, a man came over and told me about the time that he and the deceased attended a worship service where the great preacher Peter Marshall was giving the message. You may or may not remember Rev. Dr. Peter Marshall. He served as the United States Senate Chaplain during the 1940’s and was well known for his eloquent speech. His wife Catherine wrote a book about him in the 1970’s titled “A Man Called Peter.” Anyway, the two men had attended this service and Dr. Marshall asked the crowd, “if you died tonight, would you know for sure where you are going?” Both men were moved by those words and the man for whom I had just conducted the funeral service went forward and met with Dr. Marshall to testify that he had indeed accepted Christ. Wow! Isn’t that a blessing! Friends, family, and everyone knew how heartfelt and important Christ was to the man we were burying.
How do you feel about death? Some simply don’t want to think about it. It may seem morbid or icky, but it is vital to understand death’s importance in living life. Often it seems that the fear of death creates idolatry of life. Somehow death and the unknown can make life difficult because we cannot face our own mortality. We all may want to look younger, act younger, and purchase whatever is being sold to fight the inevitable. But there will be a limit. Death will arrive; it’s just a matter of when. In the meantime, how do we live? In fear? Doubting our salvation, our acceptance, fearing the loss of what we have accumulated, or the passing of our youthful look? That’s no way to live. The Bible says we can store up plenty and it will not avert our death. (Luke 12:13) We each must be prepared and the only way to do that is to have a personal relationship with Jesus and place Him and His will first in our lives. Have you done that? If not, what are you waiting for?
Don’t count on cheap grace… the thief on the cross didn’t know Christ until that moment. If you have read this, you know better already. God loves you and calls you this minute as His own, please respond… I don’t want the pastor that does your funeral left wondering what to say! Until next time, Blessings!