Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett both died yesterday. The news channels kept telling the same stories of Michael Jackson over and over. Farrah's death was reported sparingly. Michael Jackson's passing was a surprise. Farrah Fawcett's was expected.
We will die. That is one of the facts of life that we really spend very little time thinking about. We shrug our shoulders and ask ourselves, "Why should I worry? I can't do anything about it anyway. Besides, it won't happen today." That is true every day but one.
I do not know much about either of these celebrities. I was not a fan so I did not follow their lives. I don't feel the sense of loss that others do. They were two famous people who died. However, I hope they were ready for yesterday.
Children are prepared for birth from the moment of conception. All that happens prepares them to go into the world and be able to function apart from the world they have known inside their mothers. The day proves whether or not they were ready. They can't go back and do it over if they are not prepared.
We should be prepared to pass through death in the same way. We should be preparing to enter the afterlife from the moment we enter the this world. The lack of preparation will be evident on the day we pass from this world. We can't go back and do it over if we are not prepared.
All of us have done good things and bad things. Many of us think that there is some great balance scale which will indicate whether we have done enough good things to get to heaven. This is the "cover up" method of salvation. It is like driving your car backward to remove the miles. It may look good on the outside but the damage the miles have done are still there. You can't do enough good things to erase any bad thing. Being unfaithful to your spouse one day a week isn't balanced by total faithfulness every other day. The damage is done. You can't cover it up with good things.
Good things do have value. We will all stand before the judgment seat of Christ to have our good and bad things weighed. We will be rewarded for those good things.
However, it won't matter if we haven't taken care of the bad things. They must be removed from our records. They must be paid for.
The most important event in history happened 2000 years ago. God's Son came to die. That was the payment demanded for all of our sins. Those who trust in Jesus will have eternal life.
I did not know what that meant when I first heard it. I knew I was lost. I knew I had no contact with God. I knew that I carried my sins with me everywhere I went. I somehow knew that I needed Jesus in my life. I asked Him to give me a new life. He did.
That's not all that you must do to prepare for the afterlife. I know He continues to work in me. I am still being prepared. I will be until that day when I am ushered into the next life.
I don't know Michael Jackson or Farrah Fawcett. I hope that they were prepared for yesterday. I know they can't go back and make things right if they weren't.
I can't do anything for anyone who has already come to the last day of his life. I wish I could. I can only urge those who are still alive to get prepared for the next life.
Are you prepared?
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