One Day You Will Die
- Richard Selke
- Sep 10, 2024
- 4 min read
Updated: Oct 1, 2024
September 11, 2024
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Phillip II of Macedonia, the father of Alexander the Great, is said to have had a slave whose sole duty each day was to catch Phillip unaware and remind him, “Remember Phillip, one day you will die.”
Have you ever thought about that? It’s an undeniable truth, one that the Bible speaks of plainly, “… for dust you are, and to dust you will return.” Genesis 3:19, NIV. George Bernard Shaw stated the obvious when he said, “The statistics on death are quite impressive: one out of one people die.” As stark as it sounds, this is a fact we cannot escape.
I’m not trying to be morose. Death is a fact of life. Still, like many, I don’t dwell on it daily. You probably don’t either. I tend to agree with Woody Allen, who said, “It’s not that I’m afraid to die. I just don’t want to be there when it happens.”
There’s not a thing any of us can do about it – at least about the ultimate outcome of our lives here on Earth. We could all probably eat healthier, exercise more, get better quality sleep, etc. But no matter what we do, we are all doomed to the same fate.
Yet, as Christian believers, death is not a subject to fear. While it marks the end of our earthly journey, it is also the gateway to something far greater. The certainty of death does not have to lead us to despair, but can inspire us to live with faith, courage, purpose and hope.
How we deal with death can have a significant impact on how we live our lives. We can either deny death or accept the truth of it in light of our faith. Billy Graham wisely said, “We are never prepared to live, until we are prepared to die.” The good news is that we don’t have to prepare on our own. We can ask God to help us. We can accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. We can stop running from Him and surrender every aspect of our lives to Him. And then, we can relax and enjoy the precious moments that we do have left in this life.
How we live our lives here on Earth is not the end of the story. Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die: and whoever lives by believing in me will never die.” John 11:25. As Christian believers, we have a magnificent hope – the promise of eternal life with Jesus in heaven. C. S. Lewis, in the closing of The Last Battle, the final book in his Chronicles of Narnia, beautifully describes this hope: “And for us this is the end of all the stories … But for them it was only the beginning of the real story. All their life in this world and all their adventures in Narnia had only been the cover and the title page: now at last they were beginning Chapter One of the Great Story, which no one on Earth has read: which goes on forever: in which every chapter is better than the one before.”
Let’s live our lives with that same sense of anticipation. When the day of our death comes, those we leave behind may grieve their loss of our presence, but they can also celebrate with joy a life well lived, knowing that we are with the Lord in eternity … and that one day, they will be too.
The best is yet to come.
REMEMBER & BELIEVE
Christ has died; Christ is risen; Christ will come again.
In the meantime, one day you will die. Prepare to be with Him in heaven!
QUESTIONS
Are you ready to meet your Lord and Savior? Have you placed your hope in Him?
PRAYER
Heavenly Father, we come before You today, acknowledging the reality of our mortality, yet filled with hope in the promise of eternal life through Your Son, Jesus Christ. Help us to live each day with purpose, knowing that our time here is precious and fleeting. Strengthen our hearts to surrender fully to You, trusting in Your love and grace. Guide us, Lord, to live lives that honor You, and when our time comes, may we be ready to step into Your presence with confidence, knowing we are forgiven, redeemed, and loved beyond measure.
Our Father Who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil and the evil one. For Thine is the kingdom and the power, and the glory, forever and ever.
Amen
“This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” Psalm 118:24 (NRSV)
God bless you!
Richard
Christ Worshipper | Disciple Maker | Hope Giver
Welcome to In the Meantime. I'm glad you're here! We are living in the time between Christ's ascension into heaven and His promised return to earth. In the Meantime is a collection of stories about God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and His presence, love, mercy and grace in my life. In the Meantime, Jesus is Lord! Hallelujah!
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