You have probably made plans for your future. Obtain a university degree in the next 5 years; Get a good job immediately after graduation; Get married to the person you love; Have 4 children; Invest and grow your money, and so on. And you are consistently putting in your best efforts to make sure that you achieve your plans.
But, in the pursuit of various things here on earth, have you made plans for eternal life? Have you made plans for what awaits you after your time on earth is up?
The unfortunate truth is that many people due to either unbelief or just carelessness, are nonchalant about what happens after death. They forget that we all must die and we have no say as to when life's breath will be taken from us. They forget that death is no respecter of persons, it gives no attention to class, money, race or gender. This year and of course previous years, have seen the deaths of people from all works of life. Accidents, diseases, unexplained causes, various ways in which people have gone unexpectedly. At that point, death did not care about the degree the person had in view or that the person was just 20 years old or that the person was yet to make money and within the twinkle of an eye, the person was gone forever.
I will like to throw in this reminder before I proceed; After death comes judgment! “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment” Hebrews 9:27 KJV. “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ” 2 Corinthians 5:10a KJV.
Mark 8:36 asks an interesting question, “For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul? Indeed the first death through which we exit the earth shouldn’t generate so much worry as it is merely a disposal of our mortal bodies. Even after the body dies, the real content which is the soul, is still alive. Our bodies are just temporary vessels which we need to exist here on earth; they may be compared to the clothes we were—each piece of clothing we own has a lifespan; some get old, some get torn, some we give away, some we throw out, some we outgrow. Such is the temporary nature of our bodies. Now the fact that we stop using a particular piece of clothing does not mean we cease to exist, the clothes are just mere vessels, we are the real content. The difference is that while we get to change clothes, we don’t get to change bodies after we die. We proceed to the most important stage.
Romans 14:12 KJV “So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God. Revelation 20:12 & 15 KJV “And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened... and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.” At this point, nothing else can be done to salvage the soul. It will be too late to make amends.
We must remember that whatever possession we are able to acquire on earth is bound to the earth and does not determine where we go to after we die. It is therefore erroneous for anyone to focus on the temporary at the expense of what is eternal. For the judgment after death has only 2 results—eternal life or eternal damnation. It is good to achieve as many feats as feasible here on earth but always have your soul in mind. What will be your final destination?
Focusing only on your earthly life can be compared to caring for your clothes alone and neglecting to care for yourself. If you take out time to wash your clothes, iron them, mend them, keep them away from moisture while neglecting to bathe, maintain dental hygiene, eat, drink water, exercise and all other necessities to keep your body healthy. The result will be catastrophic and it wouldn’t matter at the time that your clothes are clean and well kept. In essence, while it is important to have accomplishments on earth, it is even more important that you ensure that you get the reward of eternal life after you leave this world.
Imagine eternity spent in bitter regret, gnashing of teeth, burning fire and all things terrible. God forbid!
Revelation 21:8 also talks about the second death “But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.”
It is commonly said that all of life is a choice and really God does not force Himself on anyone. He has left it up to us to choose to either accept Him or not. But it is simply a choice between life and death and my question is “why go for death when there is life?” Life has been given to us freely through Jesus Christ, the ultimate gift to mankind. All we need to do is accept Him and be saved, and proceed to walk in His ways.
You do not know the hour you will be called to give account to God. Every moment of your life should be spent with this consciousness. This is a call for us to pause and redress our steps; give your life to Christ; return to Christ if you have detailed; invest in good works; let go of cold and lukewarm Christianity and begin to fan the flames of the altar; begin to walk in obedience to God; let go of religion and follow life that is the Word; invest in consistent prayer and Bible study.
1 John 5:11 KJV “And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.”
Choose life at all times!
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