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Every one of you reading this article right now is going to die someday. So will I. It might be
in 30 years, it might be in 10 years, or it might be today. We don't know exactly when it will
be, but we know it's going to happen. It's not a matter of "if," but "when?"
The question is, are you prepared to die? The moment you take your last breath, what will happen to your soul? Talking about death isn't the most pleasant thing to do, which is probably why so few of us give it much thought. But ignoring death and failing to prepare for eternity is the biggest mistake that anybody can make. The first 13 verses of Matthew 25 tell us about 10 women going to a wedding feast. Five of them were wise and made preparations, but the other five were foolish and failed to get ready for the party. The five foolish women were turned away from the feast when they knocked on the door. The point of this illustration is given in verse 13 — "Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh." Jesus teaches us in that passage that we don't know when Judgment Day is going to be, so we've got to be prepared at all times. Those 5 foolish women knew that the feast was coming. They expected to get to go to the party, but they didn't prepare for it and were refused entrance. If Judgment comes and we're not ready, we won't be allowed into heaven. So what does this have to do with dying? Simple — once we die, it will be too late to prepare for Judgment Day. It's in this life — while we're still alive — that we must prepare for eternity. And that means preparing to die. Those of you who don't want to think about death and don't want to prepare for eternity need to learn from the account of the rich man and Lazarus in Luke 16. Lazarus was a poor beggar whose body was full of sores. The rich man lived in luxury. Both of them died. The angels carried Lazarus to a place called Abraham's bosom. It was a place of rest, peace and joy. The rich man was taken to a place of torment. This time the rich man begged — he begged for mercy. He begged for Lazarus to bring him just a drop of water to cool his tormented tongue. But it was too late for the rich man to do anything about his condition. He spent his earthly life gratifying his own desires and ignoring God's will, died unprepared, and was consigned to anguish in eternity. Eternal anguish! Imagine the worst pain you've ever experienced physically, then add to that the worst you've ever felt emotionally, and you start to get an idea of what eternity will be like if you're unprepared. So how do you prepare for death? First, you become a follower of Christ by obeying His will for salvation. You repent of your sins (Luke 13:3). You confess your faith in Jesus as God's Son and the resurrected Savior (Matthew 10:32; Acts 8:37). Then you're baptized in water for the remission of sins, just like Peter instructed those believing Jews in Acts 2:38. Then you live right for the rest of your life. You remain morally pure. You meet with other saints in Christ's church to study God's word and to worship Him the way He wants to be worshipped. And you study your Bible at home to become more and more like Jesus every day. Jesus summed it all up in Matthew 6:33 when He told his audience to seek first the kingdom of God. That means make it the most important thing in your life. If you desire, you can keep ignoring death. But ignoring it won't make it go away. It might be years from now or it might be tomorrow, but you will die. Are you ready? If we sound serious, that's because this is serious business. Jesus wants you to be with Him in eternity, but if you don't prepare now you'll be with the rich man in eternal torment. God, Christ and the Holy Spirit have done all They are going to do. The choice is yours. Don't wait until it's too late. Do something about it now. |