Brethren,
I have been thinking about the life that we live in this world.
A close friend (who is a former professor of mine) was recently diagnosed with terminal cancer. Many people were hoping and praying for a different diagnosis. After learning about the prognosis from the doctor, I spoke with this professor about it on the phone.
The professor told me, "We are all terminal. We all die. Some just die sooner than later."
I think that there is something here that we often forget while enjoying the health of our youth. Life eventually comes to an end. It is what we do with this life that has eternal consequences.
In a way, this professor has been given a wonderful gift. According to the doctors (and if God doesn't intervene), he knows that the end of his earthly life is not far off. He can "make things right" with others -- get his "house in order" -- and make preparations for his departure with the knowledge that his departure is imminent.
When a man or woman knows the approximation of their departure from this life, they have time to set their houses in order. The things that seemed so important to their daily lives might not seem quite so important. On the other hand, things that seemed insignificant might find greater significance. It is all about the perspective that we have in terms of Eternity.
Many people are not quite so "blessed." Death happens suddenly...and many are unprepared for it.
What if you knew when you were going to die? What if you knew that you were going to die next week? Next month? Would you do anything differently? Anything?
I suggest that there is something wrong in our lives if we would change anything. In other words, we just aren't living right...and we aren't truly prepared to meet the Lord face-to-face.
I have always felt that Eternity is just that -- an eternal place where time just doesn't exist in the sense that we know it. When John had his revelation of Jesus Christ, he was told to "Come up hither..." (Revelation 4:1). He left the bonds of time and entered the place where God knows the end from the beginning (Isaiah 46:10).
So, in a weird sort of way, we exist in Eternity. If it is indeed a different realm, we can conclude that John saw both the natural world of Earth from the realm of Eternity. John saw believers standing before God who may never have been born yet.
This realization of the timelessness of Eternity is important. On that Great Day, we will all be judged by what we have done in this life. Everything in our lives will be revealed. Our motives, secret thoughts, and everything we ever did will be revealed. Nothing hidden will stay concealed.
The good news is that we can change those things now. We don't have to wait until we are diagnosed with a terminal disease to make things right. We don't have to wait for a death sentence to make a "bucket list" (a list of things to do or correct before you "kick the bucket") of righteousness or correction. We don't have to wait at all. We can do make things right...right now.
So, if you knew that you were going to die next week, what would you do differently? Shouldn't you be doing those things now? After all, we aren't promised to live until tomorrow.
