The Opening Act

Read It, Learn It, Live It, Share It

 

“And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life.” – 1 John 5:11-12

The monitors were beeping and people were running frantically to and fro.  Nurses were rushing into the room, and with everything they knew how to do tried to control the rapidly decreasing heart rate.  For weeks she had been in a coma, unresponsive to external stimulus; but her vital statistics had remained constant and above normal.  For no apparent reason her blood pressure spiked on this particular morning and her heart rate dropped dramatically.  They pulled the curtains around the patient bed and asked that the family and friends step into the hall.  The little boy in the corner chair never left though.  He sat quietly, hugging his knees that were bent up to his chest and watched the doctors and nurses attempt numerous things to revive the patient.  The people in the hall were crying uncontrollably; his Daddy was talking with a doctor in the hallway when the boy looked over at the bed and saw a great light rising from the bed.  Then the beeping went to a solid tone, the monitor had a straight line across it. “Bye Mommy, tell Grandpa I said Hello.  I love you”, the little boy said to the light as it disappeared beyond the ceiling tiles in the room.  Just then his Dad burst through the doors and bent down over the lifeless body.  “No, not yet; our life has just begun.” and he was overcome with emotion and wept.  The boy stepped from his chair and grabbed his Daddy’s hand and whispered in his ear, “Daddy, I watched her go to heaven, she gets to see Grandpa and live with Jesus from now on.  We’ll see her again, don’t worry.”

We are all destined for a single death.  There is no manner by which it can be avoided.  This doesn’t make it any easier to say goodbye or to help with the human element of emotion that accompanies these events in life.  For those who are followers of Jesus Christ and have given their lives to Him as their Savior and Lord, this event in life is truly just the beginning.  Eternity exists as an infinite time and space beyond the death of our flesh covered body.  Each and every one of you are destined to spend eternity in one of two places: Heaven or Hell.  There are no other choices.  Those who have chosen to deny the existence of one, must also deny the existence of the other, and in doing so, accept their eternal state in Hell when death falls upon them.

Life on this earth and in this flesh covering is fleeting.  Seventy, eighty perhaps ninety or one hundred years walking here amongst your friends and family is but a spec on the timeline of eternity.  Forever is forever and has no end.  Look to the heavens at night and see the stars.  Realize that beyond our galaxy of stars (Milky Way) there are hundreds of other galaxies far beyond our ability to scientifically even see with the most advanced equipment.  So if there were a single straight line that went from the spot you are standing into the depths of space beyond the galaxies, your time on this earth is smaller than a grain of sand on the ground you stand upon.  Paul said it in Philippians 1:21, “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.”  Nothing could be more true than this. 

Death is a tragic event for those of us remaining behind because the memories, the love, and the fears rush in with an emotional tidal wave.  Overcoming this mourning and sorrow can only be achieved by the realization that our loved ones are walking with Jesus, the Son of God.  Hold on to the memories and laughter, but come to peace with the understanding that for them to die is gain, and one day, upon the Lord’s timing, you will be with them forever and forever, never to die again.  Be blessed my friends.

             

© Sondove Enterprises, 2013
For more Daily Thoughts go to: http://sondove.blogspot.com