We all have a beginning and an end. We are born, and then eventually we will pass on from this life. It is something we cannot nor ever will escape and while the topic of our death seems a depressing one, it should not be.
For death is but simply another beginning.
Many of us lead great lives; we love everyone, support our Churches, volunteer, help the homeless, go to church, witness to others, pay tithes, etc. etc., anything to show we are "good" people by what we do. And to live this way is great; we should help were we can and love those around us. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Ephesians 2:8-10
But if we truly want to be "good people", we really need to live it. We shouldn't do "good works" without having a meaningful reason behind them. What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds." Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder. You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. James 2:14-2
But if we truly want to be "good people", we really need to live it. We shouldn't do "good works" without having a meaningful reason behind them. What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds." Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder. You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. James 2:14-2
God didn't just create us on a whim. He had a reason, and while we may have to wait until we meet with Him to ask just what that reason was, we do know that if we were created by a powerful God, He must have done it with love in mind. For each one of us are so different, and yet "God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them." Genesis 1:27 If God were so loving as to create each one of us, and give us such a beautiful planet to live upon, we ought to show how much we love him back by living our lives justly so.
God needs to be the reason behind why we do the things that we do. But not for a "get into Heaven ticket"; God doesn't measure you on your "how good you were on earth" status, but rather on whether you genuinely love Him or not. God gave us the freedom to choose how to live our lives; with or without Him. God loves us unconditionally, whether we love Him back or not. A beautiful God who invites us to spend eternity with Him once we die, again, if we want to or not. I'd say that's a pretty awesome God folks. He doesn't force us to love Him, but He loves us regardless of our choice.
God needs to be the reason behind why we do the things that we do. But not for a "get into Heaven ticket"; God doesn't measure you on your "how good you were on earth" status, but rather on whether you genuinely love Him or not. God gave us the freedom to choose how to live our lives; with or without Him. God loves us unconditionally, whether we love Him back or not. A beautiful God who invites us to spend eternity with Him once we die, again, if we want to or not. I'd say that's a pretty awesome God folks. He doesn't force us to love Him, but He loves us regardless of our choice.
Death comes to us all sooner or later, and we need to make sure our hearts are prepared for whenever the time will come. "Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour." Matthew 25:13 (read also Matthew 25:1-13) We can show how great we are during our lives, but if spiritually we aren't ready, it won't matter that we were "good people"; spiritually we need to be prepared, so how we physically and mentally live our lives will reflect the meaning that we find spiritually; God Almighty Himself. That personal relationship with Him must be forefront in everything we do. He gave us life; now we need to show that by putting Him into what we do; this then will give all that we do or say genuine meaning. A man can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in his work. This too, I see, is from the hand of God, for without him, who can eat or find enjoyment? To the man who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness, but to the sinner he gives the task of gathering and storing up wealth to hand it over to the one who pleases God. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind. Ecclesiastes 2:24-26
When my grandmother passed away, we remembered her life by ways of a small memorial service. She was a mother/grandmother who truly did it all—a wonderful loving icon for our society. But now that she is gone, is the legacy she left behind no longer matter? Is her death truly her end?
Jesus was in her life and legacy; He gave all that she did a beautiful meaning. And even though she is gone, the people she touched still live on and thus will carry the spirit of her embodiment on into the years to come. Jesus and all the rest of us show how death is really just another chapter in her life. She is in Heaven now, and beginning her eternal life. You can look at earth as a practice run for when she was offered the choice of God or no God. If she hadn't accepted Him here on earth, would she have when death came along? Would her heart been prepared enough to know which to accept?
Will WE ever be fully prepared? Will we always strive to be prepared? If you strive for that personal relationship here on earth today, then when the real test comes along, you will be more ready than you ever could be.
Jesus was in her life and legacy; He gave all that she did a beautiful meaning. And even though she is gone, the people she touched still live on and thus will carry the spirit of her embodiment on into the years to come. Jesus and all the rest of us show how death is really just another chapter in her life. She is in Heaven now, and beginning her eternal life. You can look at earth as a practice run for when she was offered the choice of God or no God. If she hadn't accepted Him here on earth, would she have when death came along? Would her heart been prepared enough to know which to accept?
Will WE ever be fully prepared? Will we always strive to be prepared? If you strive for that personal relationship here on earth today, then when the real test comes along, you will be more ready than you ever could be.
For death is but simply another beginning.*
Life; gone in an instant,
gone in the blink of an eye.
Life; cherish the moments,
they could be short or long.
Life; never waste it,
too precious to just let go.
Life; with every beginning,
there must be an end.
You never know when your moment
just might be around the bend.
Do you know where you're going
when that time comes before you,
beckoning your soul within reach?
Don't put it aside;
Don't delay--
You don't know at what time a day,
Your life just might float away.
I am Heaven-Bound.
Where will you be found?*
Where will you be found?*
I declare to you, brothers and sisters, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed—in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”
“Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?”
The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 15:50-57
Beginning anew,
Whitney
