"For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away."

What if your life were to end right now. All the plans you made- the future you thought you should­ have.. It's over. I have a friend who asked me questions similar to these and it has had me thinking of what death meant to me, what I was like before I was saved, and if I were really ready for my life to be over with now.

Looking back over the years from when I was young, death never seemed to really matter that much to me and I assumed I would go to heaven. And then gradually, I came to the realization that if I did die I wasn't going to heaven. This bothered me... I didn't want to go to hell. Hell is like a nightmare that you can't get rid of and why would anyone want to go there? I remember having dreams of dying and how it scared me so much. “Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” (John 3:3)

I didn't realize it at the time, but God had started working in my heart all those years and was slowly opening my eyes to my sinful nature and showing my utter dependence on Him. “He drew me, and I followed”..­

It wasn't something that happened in a day; it took a few years of God drawing me towards Him, and time spent searching the Scriptures for answers. Until one day, it was made clear to me and I knew without a doubt that I was forgiven and I would one day be with my Savior in eternity. I always think of Christian in Pilgrims Progress and how he gave three leaps of joy when his burden fell from his back. I think we all feel like that when we realize our sins are forgiven and our name is written in the Book of Life. We never again have to be afraid of death.

I am forever grateful for the mercy He showed by dying on the cross for me. I can say with complete happiness that death does not at all frighten me and I look forward to the day that I can be forever in His presence. “When I stand before the throne dressed in beauty not my own; when I see Thee as Thou art, love thee with unsinning heart; then, Lord, shall I fully know – not till then – how much I owe.”

So, after all that's said, what about the things that I really want to do before I die. For me, I would love to go to Africa, tour Europe, have a family, etc...this list could seriously go on forever... But what if I die and that doesn't happen? Why wouldn't God allow me to have those moments? All I can really say to that is, we don't know why God does the things he does, but He knows us better than we do ourselves and He never makes a mistake. His will is always best even if we can't see it at the time. David Brainerd had a quote that I love about one day seeing the Bible and it's mystery's laid open. What a joy we have to look forward to that one day!

I encourage those of you who are afraid of dying to read your Bible - search the scriptures and pray. You will never find the answers you're looking for by waiting to see what happens and hoping your life doesn't end soon.

Someone once told me that we don't really need God when we're young. “You don't need God in your life until you're old.” When you pass by an big accident on the highway what is one of the things that runs through your head? I usually am amazed how quickly it can all be over... some of those people never got a second chance. Or take the 19 year old kid who was hit by a semi.... Months later he has fluid building up in his brain and will probably never be normal again. He didn't know when he woke up that morning that his life was going to take a drastic turn.

You can not go through life assuming that you'll have a few moments before you die to (as some people call it) “get right with God” so you can go to heaven. Life is over so quickly and you can't ignore it forever. It is going to come face to face with you one day and will you be ready for it?

* Be all you can for Christ. *