Mortality

"Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. And where I go you know, and the way you know." Thomas said to Him, "Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?" Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. John 14:1-6 (NKJV)

I have become more aware of mortality as I move closer to being an "old" person. I guess that I must qualify as an old person since the average age of people living on planet earth is 15. "Are you serious...15?" As I move forward in time I have also experienced the pain of friends and family members passing away. This is also expected as everyone in my generation is aging. I enjoy life, so I have no death wish, but I see the day approaching.

I certainly do not have a morbid fascination with death, but as a Believer I also take comfort that there is a place being prepared for me on the other side of death. This turns the inevitable end in this life into the first step of the next. The skeptic might ask what is the basis of my hope. I can answer that challenge with one word: "Jesus."

Jesus had just prophesied concerning His death. Of course, His disciples were distraught. That is when Jesus let them know in no uncertain terms that He was going to prepare a place for them on the other side of death. All we know of in this life will pale compared to the place that is being prepared for us. After-all, Jesus has been preparing a place for us for almost two thousand years.

Prayer: "Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for sending Jesus to rescue us. I know that Believers all around the earth rejoice in the work of Your Son who conquered death, hell and the grave. Knowing that we will be with You forever gives us courage to face the specter of death with great hope. Lord, until my appointed time comes, I pray that You would send me into the harvest and that many would come to believe in You." Amen