We are appointed to die once
05-27-2008

Column 936, May 26, 2008

“Provoking Christian Insights” series

Part 36

We are appointed to die once



“And it is appointed for men to die once, then after that the judgment,” Hebrews 9:27



I don’t like to think about death but its reality even the Bible says we must all die. The Memorial Day weekend is also known as Decoration Day, the day we decorate the graves of our loved ones. At church the photos of the members who died during the year were flashed on the screen to remember each one. Over the holiday six Ohioans died in car crashes. They didn’t expect to die.



The first funeral that really brought death home to me was that of an 11-year-old Cub Scout friend of mine, Freddy Meyers, who was killed on the family vacation trip in an auto accident. Looking into the casket I saw my friend, still, almost unrecognizable under all the make-up to cover his injuries. Why would God let such a young person die? I wondered. Chills ran down my spine. What if that was me in that coffin?



World War II had been brutal to all sides. Innocent people died by the millions with both sides praying to God to save them so many still died. I worried that I might get caught up in the draft and killed on the battlefield, or falling from the sky. How do I know I will go to heaven even though I’m baptized?



On contrast, many youth don’t even fear death. They have a built-in feeling of being invincible (N. Webster says “unbeatable”). I think I took too many risks when I was younger. It all comes to light when a person close to us dies.



The other day I saw a commercial on TV that said, “40 years ago Leukemia was incurable,” everyone who contracted the dread disease died. A friend of mine, and others, were in a fight against boys Tiffin after a visit to the 224 Club. My buddy “Gene” was kicked in the stomach. Soon after he was married, and not long after that, was diagnosed with “Leukemia,” and was quite ill. I visited him in the hospital. He was holding up a small paper cup with a pinkish liquid. His nose was packed to stop the bleeding. He said, “Do you know what this is?”

I answered, “No, what is it?”

Gene said, “This is a Pineapple Princess. It is what they give you just before you die.”

I was glad that Gene belonged to the Lord or I couldn’t have continued being in the room. Soon after Gene passed away. I never forgot that moment.



As I passed through the Oakwood Cemetery, last week, I realized that I knew the countenances on the faces of many, actually, most of those under the headstones that I passed by. One was an old girlfriend who had Polio as a child. I knew that only their remains were in the ground, their souls were someplace else. The Bible says that it will seem only like a second between this life and the next, “To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.” I’m not sure how that works, but I know that God keeps his promises.



The perfect body



“Who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like His glorious body,” Philippians 3:21 NIV.



Richard Baxter (1615-1691) was known for his heartfelt presentations of the gospel. In his concise analysis of death Baxter sums up one of the most delightful rewards of a disciple of Jesus has to look forward to receiving:

“At death, the souls of the true believers go to Christ and enter into a state of happiness. On the last and final day, the body will be raised and united to the soul, and the Lord Jesus Christ will come in glory to judge the world, to openly acquit and justify the righteous. He will then condemn the ungodly, be glorified in His saints and admired by all them that believe. And the saints will also judge the world, and they themselves will enter into everlasting glory. Their eternal home will be in heaven near God and the presence of His glory. Their company will be only the holy angels and glorified saints and will be perfectly one in God forever. Bodies shall be perfected and made immortal, spiritual, incorruptible, and glorious, shining like the stars. No longer to be subject to hunger, or thirst, cold or weariness, shame, pain, or any of the frailties that now hinder, but the believer will be made like the glorified body of Christ.”



Some things we have a choice over, some we don’t



From the cradle to the grave we are busy constructing our lives. None of us had a choice about where we were born or the circumstances we were born in. The foundation of our lives was laid for us. Early on we started building walls for privacy and protection from others. Fears and phobias resulting from bad experiences cause us to build thick walls. But not every building that looks good is stable. We know if we belong to Jesus. Jesus also knows.



Jesus is both Master Builder and demolition specialist. He can tear down our faulty structures in order to build something that will last for all eternity.



All that we build is in vain. Perhaps you’ve built part of your spiritual life on an unstable, sandy foundation. Or perhaps walls of fear and hurt from the past still remain.. Ask the Lord to remove the old walls and He will build a new foundation and construct walls that can truly withstand the storms of life.



If you were to die tomorrow, scratch that, today, do you know where you will be going?



INSPIRATION: “Except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it: except the Lord keep the city, the watchman wakes but in vain,” Psalm 127:3.



Write: croneis@embarqmail.com