The last act of a Christian’s life should not end in regret. That makes it a little difficult, doesn’t it, seeing how none of us know when our last moment will be here in this mortal temple. Have you given any thought to what you will be doing at the moment of the rapture, if you are alive when that glorious moment appears, if not at that time, how do you envision your death. If you are like the majority of people, you don’t, very few people contemplate their end, oh, they will envision the rapture, but not for the sake of being eternally in the presence of the Savior, but because it is seen as an escape mechanism, a way to cheat death, if you will.
There is only one exception for Hebrews 9:27, “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment,” and that is the rapture, (1 Thess. 4:17) the special group who will not taste death. Elijah and Enoch are the only two other individuals who have not gone thru the portal that all others have had to pass thru. That is the text of this letter to you, the verse that has weighed heavy upon me for quite some time now, “For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” (Phil. 1:21) Unless you can think eternally, unless you can leave this world behind, you cannot understand what this verse in context means. You are not living the life you have been blessed with to its fullest extent unless you are living for Christ each and every moment, and if you still fear the hour of your demise, death will never be a gain to you, you will live in constant fear of that final moment.
This one verse encapsulates the entirety of the Scriptures, it is the life that Jesus Christ our Lord lived, it is the battle cry of every believer who “loved not their lives unto the death,” (Rev. 12:11) it is the path that is available to every follower of Christ, and I believe it is the least travelled path of all. If you want to read the names of just some of those who willingly followed this path, read the eleventh chapter of Hebrews, see what it says of those who lived for Christ, who gave all to Almighty God, who fell and got back up, those who never shirked their duties, those “Of whom the world was not worthy.” (Heb. 11:38) There have been many others whose names down thru the ages have been added to the “hall of faith” memorial, and every one of them would agree that their names have no right to be there, they were only obedient servants, each and every one of their names, they would say should be taken down and replaced with the name of Jesus Christ.
Some like Moses did not begin his full-time service until he was close to eighty years old, others like David and Samuel saw in their youth that God alone is worthy to be praised, all fell, and all got back up, the one thing they all had in common was a lack of continuing fear of death. Again, Moses went before the most powerful man on the planet, Daniel did the same, with at least three different rulers, (Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar, and Cyrus) and David penned, “I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people, that have set themselves against me round about.” (Psalm 3:6) Death is an illusion, it is nothing more than a short, temporary portal we must all pass thru, and every man’s life will know that appointed time, set by God Himself. Fear, oh yes, it will probably be there, unless you are raptured, unless you pass from this world to the next in your sleep, you will probably know fear, the question is, for how long.
Tell yourself this now, when you think on that last moment, when you truly contemplate in earnest the time of your death, do you do so with trepidation, does it make you anxious, are you afraid, and if so, why. Where is the calm assurance you are to have, that has been offered to all of God’s children, where is the “peace that passeth all understanding,” (Phil. 4:7) where is the fulness of your joy (Psalm 16:11) when that last moment comes upon you, that will come upon all men. It is better to think on death on a regular basis than to hide from it in your mind, “LORD, make me to know mine end, and the measure of my days, what it is: that I may know how frail I am,” (Psalm 39:4) speaks of a man who wants to understand fully that his life is nothing more than a passing shadow. (Psalm 144:4)
If you do not want your last moments to end in regret, then every moment must be spent in glorifying Jesus Christ, you must always be prepared, your lamp must be full at all times. If you are truly living for Christ, if at every and any moment you are prepared to meet Him, then dying will be a gain.
“Perfect love casteth out all fear.” (1 John 4:18)
