Category: Preparation

Saying What You Need to Say Before You Die

This blog concerns itself mostly with what happens after death. I say “mostly” because what happens after death does have major implications on what should happen before death. There are a number of things we should talk about with people who matter to us. In that list I would include that we should be reconciled with those from whom we are estranged, communicate our love to people, and communicate the Gospel to them in the most honest and vulnerable way possible.

Sometimes people just feel they need to communicate about financial matters and personal wishes. This belies a very sterile view of our priorities and pretty much screams, “when we’re dead, we are gone.” These things do matter, but that is what a will and perhaps one printed page would take of. The other things are far more important and perhaps scary, so we are inclined to procrastinate. You might even be afraid of blowback or failure. I get it, but you will regret not being brave. Perhaps speaking about such deep, emotional, and serious matters is something you have avoided all your life.

Let’s start with reconciliation. If you are estranged, a victory isn’t necessarily suddenly becoming close. A victory is mutual understanding, forgiveness, and peace in your relationship. Obviously there are lots of relationships and situations that can end in estrangement. I can only speak in general terms here.

If reconciliation matters to you, then you initiate the contact. Face-to-face is best for this, but not always possible. You might get a stiff arm from the person at first. They might be coping with the situation by avoidance and perhaps denial of their own culpability. Be persistent. It might seem annoying to the other person, but it also demonstrates sincerity on your part.

If you do get a chance to communicate, be sure that you understand why they are estranged from you. You may have your own reasons, but you may not know how they feel. Ask them for their take on the situation. Don’t look for reasons to disagree. Look for reasons for you to take some responsibility for the situation. Own your part and let them know it first. Then ask if you may share how you feel. Don’t be angry, but be matter-of-fact and humble. They may be defensive. Let them know that you just want to be understood. This is how you feel. If you can say, “I used to feel that way, but I now want the matter to be water under the bridge”, then let them know that.

Sometimes it is better to be wronged than to harbor anger and to leave this world unreconciled. Are there corrective actions that you can take? Be the bigger person. Let the other person decide to act for their part. God is judge.

Bringing another person around to some form of repentance often takes time. Don’t wait to start the process until you are at death’s door. Maybe you can ask to speak about it again in the near future.

Reconciliation does not always work. But it does feel good to know that you tried.

Saying that you love someone shouldn’t be that hard. Maybe your family culture has not included using the word “love”. Use the word “love”. To love isn’t necessarily the same as enjoying someone. To love is to want the very best for them. To love is to mean that they matter deeply to you. Explain what you mean when you say, “I love you.” Maybe such statements as, “I pray for you every day”, or “I want us to have a continued (or better) relationship in Heaven”, or “I am proud of you”. These can matter a great deal to a person. They can feel strangely awkward for some, but it is liberating to say.

Then there is the matter of sharing the Gospel. Maybe religion has been a divisive topic for you. Sharing the Gospel should begin with loving the person. You may need to restate that first.

Do they know what you believe? Rehearse a short explanation of why you think talking about Jesus matters:

“I want you to know (or I know you know) that I believe the Jesus is a real person. Not a fiction. I also believe that I am a sinful human being. My hope for eternal life is that Jesus lived the perfect life I could not live, and that Jesus absorbed the sentence that I earned by being sinful. That included His death and being damned/forsaken on the cross. It is my only hope.”

If you don’t know, ask them what they believe about God and eternal life. look for points in common. If you can articulate why you believe what you believe then share it without evoking a debate. Give it in a FYI (for your information) manner. That is not threatening or contrarian. You do not argue somebody into the Kingdom of God, you expose them. The Spirit works where He can work through the exposure.

Expose them to your love for them. “I do disagree with your idea of God, but I truly love you. I want you to be with me in eternity. That is why I am talking to you about Jesus. I want to do all I can. I can’t make you believe. I can show you Jesus.”

You may not get the satisfaction of seeing the person confess their faith or be baptized. At minimum you will have the satisfaction of knowing that you did what you could. That matters. I expect it will also matter in Heaven, no matter the result.

If you are nearing death and actually planning your funeral. Consider including either a read statement or video clip of expressing your love and explaining Jesus. It can be very powerful coming from you posthumously. A pastor can do it, but you would be better. Too many funerals are just eulogies. You want a funeral to work for you. You want impact.

How Do You Thank God for Eternal Life?

Thanksgiving in the United States, established by Lincoln, is a time for family gatherings and feasting, but often lacks true reflection. The author emphasizes gratefulness for life’s blessings and the importance of recognizing their impermanence due to sin. True thankfulness arises from understanding eternal life through Jesus, which motivates a life aligned with God’s commandments.

Next week in the United States we are celebrating Thanksgiving. For many people it is time to get together with family, eat too much, maybe go to a parade and then watch football. There isn’t much thankful reflection. But the national holiday was established by Abraham Lincoln in 1863 for thankful reflection.

Because God has reached me, I have a connection to Jesus. I know that I am saved by His life and death. I currently have eternal life. That is significantly different from eternal existence that every human has. I have a place with God. I haven’t experienced Heaven, being rid of my limited and sinful body, having a heavenly body, or a resurrected earthly body yet. But I will. My lack of experience does dampen my thankfulness, however.

Can I get past my lack of experience? Here is where reflection comes in. I want to be thankful for all the good things currently in my life. There are plenty of them. I also want to acknowledge that these things are temporary and not perfect. Everything and everyone is impacted by sin and the curse. My life would be utterly meaningless without something good coming after my death. Just read the book of Ecclesiastes and see how depressed Solomon, who is a very accomplished, wealthy and wise person, feels about his life without a knowledge of eternal life through Jesus. I have knowledge of eternal life through Jesus. I am aging, but my “glory days” are all ahead of me, and they are really a big deal. Reflect on that for a bit.

You can say or sing thanks. You can go to church. We at least have a worship service on Thanksgiving. But if you would ask Jesus, “How can I thank you, Lord?” He would tell you:

15 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.”

John 14:15 (ESV)

There are many motivations to do what God teaches us is good and right. Love of God and thankfulness rise to the top. Don’t limit this to Thanksgiving Day. It deserves better. Thank God with your life.

Do keep in mind, that keeping God’s commandments can no longer save you. You had to do it perfectly, and ship sailed for you long ago. Now you have a different motivation. Jesus did the heavy lifting that you could not do. You can respond thankfully.

We really don’t appreciate the scope of what has been done for us. We don’t grasp the difficulty of what Jesus did. We don’t understand the depth of horror that awaits those who go to Judgment Day without the forgiveness of their sins. We don’t understand how great eternal life without sinful nature, without the curse, in the vast creativeness and beauty of what God has prepared for us. And we don’t fully appreciate how enthralling it will be to see God face-to-face. Yet, for the little we can imagine, we have plenty of reason to be happy and thankful.

If you don’t know much about what comes next for those who belong to Christ, then explore the articles of this blog. Use the search bar and look for Heaven, the New Earth, and then look at other things in the topic column.

Have a great Thanksgiving.

Declining to Our Physical Departure

Aging can bring physical decline and loss, leading to a struggle with self-identity and health. Yet, faith in God provides hope. Through Jesus Christ, believers can embrace eternal life beyond death. This perspective encourages acceptance of life’s purposes, focusing on the glory promised in Heaven, making the aging process less daunting.

Nobody likes aging. It doesn’t hit you that this is your problem until usually your 30’s (a little) and with every decade that passes it gets worse. When our physical decline results in actual loss, we struggle to cope. It seems that suddenly we cannot eat like we used to without consequence. We used to be so attractive and now we are attractive “for our age”, which is often the same as not attractive. Eventually we cannot run without pain. We forget stuff. We can’t sleep or we sleep all the time. We are no longer competent to drive. We are no longer safe to live independently. It is a dark decline.

I would like to give you a little perspective that I hope helps. We are created to be eternal creatures. Our bodies age, decline and die; but that is because of “sin”. I’m not saying that we would necessarily live longer or healthier if we behaved better. I am saying that we are all genetically altered from the way God originally created human beings. The result is that our current bodies must die. This would create a hopeless situation for us if not for the fact that God wants us to have eternal life with Him, and has done something about it.

Jesus Christ is God’s Son who became human for a very specific purpose. He kept God’s Law perfectly, which is what God requires for people who would be with Him eternally. He also absorbed the worst consequence of sin on the cross. He was forsaken by His father, which would be our fate. Now we can be “connected” to Jesus through God creating faith in us and Jesus “baptizing us into His death”. That phrase means that God creates some sort of “supernatural” connection to us where Jesus’ life and Jesus’ death are ours. When we are “in Christ” the only thing left for us to do is to go through physical death. The rest of the way to a glorious, happy, eternal existence has been given as a gift from Jesus.

With that as a backdrop, declining toward death shouldn’t have to be so bad. Yes, it still hurts. Yes, you feel loss. But you are heading toward something great. This impacts certain decisions and attitudes.

First, if you are facing any challenge, especially a medical challenge, you can tell yourself that it is only temporary and if it ends in death, you will actually gain from it.

You don’t have to insist that the medical community do everything possible to keep you alive. Your goal is to naturally die. Their efforts would probably only give you an extended painful, useless, modest extension on this life. You don’t even want that.

Rather than be always looking back at the “good old days”, you can be forward thinking toward the glory of what God has prepared for you in Heaven and ultimately also a New Earth.

You can understand your purpose in life as something that is dynamic but always God-given. When you retire, you move from one purpose to another that is God-given. As you lose independence, you may lose one purpose but acquire another. Life is for accomplishing whatever God has prepared for you and then you get to experience real life.

This is hard to embrace, but when you study what God has promised us you develop a genuine excitement for it. That is what this blog is all about. My life matters, my aging and decline matters, and my passing away matters. I am heading toward an increasing glory.

16 So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. 17 For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, 18 as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

5 For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.

2 Corinthians 4:16-5:1 (ESV)

The Necessity of Illness and Death

The author reflects on aging, acknowledging physical decline while emphasizing that illness and death are consequences of sin, not a lack of faith. They argue that healing is sometimes granted by God, and that life’s purpose is to serve until death, leading to eternal life with Christ. Acceptance of this reality brings hope.

I am getting older. The number of years that I have lived doesn’t really bother me. Age is just a number they say. I would also say that I look pretty good for my age. I wish I didn’t need the qualifier at the end of that sentence though. The real problem is that things don’t work like they used to. Parts of me are very much acting their age. That can be very discouraging.

There is a stream of thought among Christians, usually Evangelicals, that says God doesn’t want us to be ill. If you only have enough faith, you will be well. I must disagree. Jesus healed people out of mercy, but also as a sign. He did not eliminate illness in Palestine at His time. The word “healed” gets used in Scripture, but not exclusively about physical illness.

But he was pierced for our transgressions;
    he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
    and with his wounds we are healed.

Isaiah 53:5 (ESV)

This is the most famous incidence and in context it is talking about healing from our sins, not getting rid of disease.

Illness and death are the products of sin and the curse. Even when you are forgiven of your sins through the death of Jesus, the “temporal” consequences of sin remain. Jesus spares us from the worst part, the eternal consequences of sin. The proof is in the pudding. Does not every Christian get old and die? That is not a lack of faith. It is the way it works under the curse.

God will on occasion respond to prayer and change the course of cause and effect in our lives. He can and does provide healing of disease either through “means” like medicine and the like, or miraculously (breaking the Laws of Physics). This is done with purpose. The benefactor has something they need to do.

It helps to understand, however, that one of the goals of our lives here is to physically break down far enough that we physically die. At that point, we can inherit a heavenly body and be with Christ. It is our job to be good stewards of the earthly body we possess and to serve the Lord here as long as He gives us. We should not “cut the corner” and purposely undermine our health. But understand where you are headed and why. It is unlikely that you will leave this Earth like Elijah in a fiery chariot.

Accepting this fact makes it easier to cope with aging and illness. This all stands on the forgiveness God gives us through Christ and the promise of eternal life as I have described in the articles of this blog. If we are not connected to Christ and headed for Sheol and ultimately Hell, then this is no comfort at all.

Confident in God’s grace to me, I can accept that at some point I will not be able to carry out the duties of being a pastor. I can retire and my purpose will change. I will still look to show love to people, share the Gospel when I can, encourage others in their faith. At some point, I may be restricted to a nursing facility (hopefully because of my body and not my brain). I will seek to care for and witness to the people there. If I become even more impaired, I will seek to pray and praise God. Hopefully, soon after that I can depart.

Is that morbid thinking? No! That is realistic and forward thinking that includes real hope. I have a plan. I am not living in denial. Denial is a lousy strategy.

Maybe I can remain high functioning until almost my departure date. That is my hope. I will do what I can to make that happen. But in the end you don’t get to choose. You can keep looking past death to the goal. God has provided for our best days to be the last. There is a brilliant eternity to look forward to thanks to Jesus!

Will Judgment Day Recount All Our Deeds?

The content discusses the concept of forgiveness from God and the impact of sin. While God’s forgiveness frees individuals from eternal judgment, temporal consequences of sin remain. Judgment Day will assess believers’ deeds, not for salvation but for reward. Actions matter, motivating individuals to live humbly and purposefully in faith.

It feels very good to know that you are forgiven by God. Many of our common, day-to-day type sins don’t bother us nearly as much as they should. Big mistakes that alter our lives and the lives of others can remain a millstone around our necks for the rest of our lives. Feeling forgiven is nice. Not having an eternal judgment on us is much better.

We receive forgiveness from eternal judgement in one way only. Jesus experienced our eternal judgment (being forsaken by God) for us on the cross. As long as we are connected to Jesus by the mystical union that God creates at our baptism, then that part is done. Is there any consequence of sin that is not done?

Certain sins definitely create problems in this world that are not undone by God’s forgiveness. Crimes still have their penalties. Damage to relationships may persist. This is what we call the “temporal” consequences of sin. They don’t impact eternal judgment once forgiven through Jesus.

What I want to write about is the Judgment Day impact for even forgiven and saved individuals like myself. For those saved by Jesus, Judgment Day is not about whether we are going to Hell or not. The Bible still does refer to Judgment Day as a judgment of our deeds (Psa. 62:12, Jer. 17:10, Mat. 16:27, 1 Cor. 3:10-15, 2 Cor. 5:10, Rev. 20:12,22:12) The question is whether this is a “filtered” list of deeds for those covered by the blood of Jesus or an embarrassingly unfiltered list?

The passages above use words like “reward” and “deserve”. As sinners saved by grace, we can rightly say that just being saved is more that we “deserve”. Still, to say that the conduct of our lives is inconsequential either positively or negatively doesn’t seem to fit the whole of Scripture. The “reward” isn’t entry into Heaven and the New Earth. That is a gift. I have written about Judgment Day for the redeemed here: https://afterdeathsite.com/2023/10/03/judgment-day-for-the-redeemed/ I now want to explore just one aspect. Are the sinful aspects of our lives just burned up and forgotten or do we have to face them in some way?

Our motivations for doing good with a humble servant’s heart are many. I love God. I love others. I believe in and desire to do good. It is my God-given purpose. God commands it. I may be rewarded. The one motive not on this list is to merit my salvation or God’s love. Is there the motive to not have to face my sinful action or inaction on Judgment Day?

There are the Old Testament promises,

as far as the east is from the west,
    so far does he remove our transgressions from us.

Psalm 103:12 (ESV)

I do have to note that on a sphere East and West do meet again. Then there is this:

17 then he adds,

“I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.”

Hebrews 10:17 (ESV)

The context is about the need for further sacrifice, however. Jesus has made the sacrifice and that is done. Remembering the deeds seems applied to the Law and eternal judgment.

The theory that all of our deeds now disappear, and we are just seen as an extension of Christ doesn’t seem to reconcile with 1 Corinthians 3:10-15. The context of this passage is about the fruit of specifically called workers. Their life’s work can be wood, hay or straw. In other words, false teaching, no teaching, worthless actions, minimal or no impact for the Kingdom. Or it can be gold, silver and costly stones (truthful teaching, active use of time, good stewardship, loving actions, humble service of Christ). Their actions matter on Judgment Day. They are not merely judged in light of Christ when it comes to their reward.

In light of more general passages about the judgment of deeds like those listed above or the stewardship of life like the Parable of the Talents, I think 1 Corinthians 3:10-15 fits us all. This is not just a process for called preachers. We are all the product of teachers to an extent, but we are then able to teach others and put that teaching into practice.

If this is the experience is for all of those who are built on the foundation of Christ, what will the “revealed by fire” be like? Maybe it passes quickly leaving only the good. If the amount of good is small, we are ashamed of it. I expect that it will be more detailed, if only for our benefit. We will not know for sure until we experience this ourselves. The implication for our life remains. I am motivated to know the truth purely, put it into practice humbly but vigorously, not count anything as my entitlement, and leave as little as possible undone.

Unprepared

Typically, when we say that somebody is prepared to die, we mean they are aware that their death is imminent; they have said their goodbyes, they have put their financial affairs in order, and they are just waiting. That is a very superficial way of thinking about death. From all that I have written about in this blog, being prepared is actually having a saving connection to Jesus. When you have Jesus, you may not wish to die, but you are ready.

If we think about our own mortality at all, we expect to die in the distant future. Even some people who are very advanced in years think of death as distant. They expect to have more time. Is this smart?

Think about how death can come unplanned. There was yet another senseless mass shooting in our country this weekend. People gunned down at a parade. It happens often enough that we become numb to the news. If we didn’t see it in person, it seems surreal. This is real. You will die. I have known people in seemingly great health die suddenly–a triple A (arterial aortic aneurysm), also known as the “widow-maker”. It may or may not be when you are old and welcome the departure. It may or may not be when you are prepared. It is best to always be prepared.

Again, I am unconcerned as to whether you have a will or burial plans. I am talking about Jesus. Don’t just expect that death will go well for all. The toughest news to accept from the Bible is the revelation that for most, death will not go well.

Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. 14 For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.

Matthew 7:13-14 (ESV)

“Life” in this passage means eternal existence with God, the Creator of all good things. “Destruction” is actually worse than is sounds. It doesn’t mean ceasing to exist. It means existence forsaken by God. It is unthinkable. So we don’t think about it.

Perhaps Jesus has a special way to deal with people who never had the opportunity to hear the Gospel. Let us hope that this is true. The clear message of the Bible is that we need Jesus, because all of us are sinners. We need Him now, because neither life nor death is predictable. We don’t want to be unprepared.

I realize that this article is quite a downer. It doesn’t have to be, not entirely. I don’t fret about dying. I’m more upset about getting old. I want to do much more in this life and accomplish much more for the Kingdom of God. I am willingly to stick it out as long as God can use me and in whatever condition. But if death comes early, I am very happy about what God has promised me. I am excited to see what God has promised. I am satisfied with what God has accomplished through me to this point. If there is no more, that’s fine. It is very liberating to be prepared. Understanding life after death (what it is like, why we can have it or not) is very empowering.

Why not be prepared?

Making the Most of This Life

One criticism that gets launched at Christianity is that Christianity moves your focus to life after death and neglects this life. While individuals may do this, true disciples of Jesus know this is certainly not true. This relatively short period of our existence, that we give the misnomer “life”, is important for its own unique purpose; and you would do well to understand what it is all about. It is having eternal life as a promise from God that makes effort in this life meaningful. Without it we are just chasing the wind.

The most important thing to realize is that our purpose in life is not trying to earn a place in Heaven and the New Earth. All our efforts will be so feeble in comparison to the glory God wants to give us that trying to merit eternal life is a fool’s errand. Eternal life has to be a gift and Jesus is the giver. Once you are connected to Jesus then what? God doesn’t move Christians immediately to Heaven because there is work to do. Jesus wants to work primarily through us. Maximizing this relationship is making the most of our lives.

You could pick a different purpose for life. You could see life as a time to amass wealth or power. You could make your goal travel. You could even seek to make a scientific or technological breakthrough. These things will end up as meaningless. Solomon found that out. (Ecclesiastes) Don’t worry about what people will think of you when you are gone or if they even remember your name. Care about God’s evaluation. There are things that God does care about. If you work with God and do things His way, not only will your accomplishments leave a big positive impact on other people, they will be honored with some type of eternal reward by God. Again, it is important to stress that entry into eternal life is the work of Jesus and a gift to you; responding to that gift with a fruitful life pleases God and adds to your future existence in some way.

So, what matters to God? God wants to save people from a necessary eternal damnation and bring them to eternal life. He does this by the power of the Holy Spirit working through story of Jesus and its associated promise of forgiveness and eternal life (the Gospel). First on the list of what we can do is to disseminate information about Jesus. Only God can make a believer, but we are part of the process via words and example. Everybody can do this.

Next, God wants more than people who believe Him. He wants disciples. He wants people who will learn and multiply the process. You can maximize your life by teaching your children, teaching others, and by financially and prayerfully backing others who do so. These two things are the main thrust of what cares about but not all.

God also wants kindness and care for others to flow from His people. Visit and care for the sick. Feed the hungry. Encourage the imprisoned. Help them to reintegrate into society. Fight injustice. Propagate the truth. Provide whatever kind of care that love requires. There are millions of opportunities to do these things.

God also includes us in spiritual warfare. Satan and his associates are real and present. They influence the minds of sinful people. Counteract their actions when you see it. Pray against the power of the evil one.

God also cares about our “normal” vocations in life. You have a job? Do it as one who is working for God. As long as the job is not illicit, it can be done for God’s glory.

Being a spouse or a parent or grandparent can also be done in a godly way that benefits your own family. God cares about this.

Got neighbors? Be neighborly. Help them. Get to know them. Pray for them.

We are also stewards. God considers us to be managers of assets that He puts in our care. This includes our body, our time, money, abilities, the planet, knowledge, relationships and more. Take care of them well. Use these things in a way that honors God.

Your ongoing relationship with God matters too. Communicate through prayer as with a friend. Worship God in sincerity (spirit) and accurately (truth). God seeks this type of interaction.

When you have eternal life through Jesus, your life is heaped with purpose. You will have purpose in eternity as well, but work in this fallen world is unique. All of these things are important to God but it is also important how you do them.

10 So you also, when you have done all that you were commanded, say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty.’”

Luke 17:10 (ESV)

You can’t do these things with a sense of entitlement. We are saved by grace, so we are not entitled. Humble service gains undeserved rewards. While there are many motives for doing these things, the best is love. Don’t work for reward. Work because you love God and God’s love is in you.

I hope that you can see that our lives can be meaningful to the last moment. Through transition of purpose, suffering, illness, even dementia.

Being mindful of our God-given purpose and pursuing it is living wisely. Maximize your life.

A Checklist for Death

I am a list maker. For many tasks I sit down and make a “to do” list so I do not forget something, and then take pleasure in checking off the list. Oddly, I do not typically do this for travel, but I should and many people do. Travel has a lot of details. You want to pack everything that you will need. You need to stop the mail, water the plants, care for your pets, and perhaps turn off the main water.

Should we have a checklist for death? It is a form of travel. Most of us are not planning to die, but we all will. A global pandemic helps to make that more real. Not only death, but Jesus’ return could be imminent. You don’t want to be unprepared.

The last two blogs covered the two critical areas in preparation for Judgment Day that Jesus shared with us. The first, we need to make sure our faith is alive. The stronger the better. Faith is the oil in the lamps in the Parable of the Ten Virgins. Secondly, we want to be found to be faithful stewards, so we are to be busy doing God’s work at all times.

Anything else? There are a few more things that have biblical touchpoints that make for a wise checklist in preparation for leaving this Earth.

The first is being reconciled to everyone we know as far as that is possible. Don’t fail to ask for forgiveness from people that you hurt. Don’t fail to offer forgiveness to those who hurt you. Dying at peace means living at peace. Is this always possible? No. But be the instigator in trying to heal old wounds–even if you feel it should be the other person or that the effort is futile. To know that you put in the effort matters. (Matthew 5:25f, 18:21-35)

The next is to make clear, to at least the important people in your life, that you are disciple of Jesus. This is not to be done in a vain and bragging fashion. This is just the simple fact that your actions should match your beliefs. No one should be guessing whether you belong to Christ because your sinful nature is allowed to give conflicting messages. The Christian faith is not meant to be a private matter. Disciples are to be making more disciples. (Matthew 28:19-20)

The degree to which you make your faith public depends on where you are. In the U.S., we should not hide who are at all, even though we may face ridicule from some. In countries where we would face dangerous persecution, we must be more clever. Other disciples of Jesus should recognize Christ in us. For others it depends on the Spirit’s guidance. We may be overt with our faith for the sake of witnessing to others. God will guide as to whether another person is open to our witness or a danger to be avoided. (Matthew 10:16)

A third item on our checklist is related to a good stewardship of life. Paul says,

For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Ephesians 2:1o

We are here in this life because we have work to do. God shapes us and empowers us to do “good works”, which cover a scope of activity from showing love and meeting needs of others, to direct witnessing and discipleship of others, to genuine worship in spirit and truth, to doing our daily work to the glory of God, to developing and reflecting God’s character through obedience to His commands, to general good stewardship, to interacting as a friend with God. It is a lot of stuff. As we age and our faculties diminish, we may feel that we are no longer useful to the Kingdom of God; but if God has us here still, then we have a purpose. Look for it. There is no checklist we can possess of things God has prepared us to do, but seek to knock it all out as if there is one.

Our fourth item on our checklist is common to all people. It is making sure your final wishes are known. Have a will. If it has some eccentricities explain them to your loved ones ahead of time. Don’t take the coward’s way out and have surprises at the reading of the will. The final disposition of a Christian’s earthly property should not be a source of conflict nor offense. (Luke 12:15)

Finally, think about how you can make a final impact. I do think that one should help the next generation through a will if you can. I do not think that you should indulge them to a point of not needing to provide for themselves. That is not good stewardship nor healthy for our children. Finances can make an impact for the Kingdom of God and is one way to make a final impact. Though we will not be the witness ourselves, the person we support will do the work and we will share in it. (Matthew 10:41)

Another way to have a final impact is to leave a pre-recorded witness for your friends and family. This can be viewed after your death privately or as part of a funeral. Don’t call people out or embarrass them. Simply share words of your love and God’s.

This list doesn’t require death to be imminent. But sometimes that is a catalyst to get things done. Checking this list and keeping it current shows that you care about the details of life and respect that fact that we are only temporarily here. Real life comes next when you belong to Christ.

Faithful Stewardship

To be well prepared for death, we have to be reconciled with our Maker and Judge. That is the most fundamental thing. The story of the Ten Virgins, covered in my last blog, teaches that we cannot have the connection that we have with Jesus to run dry, and faith be lost. Presuming that this is not the case, we go on to Jesus’ next parable, The Parable of the Talents, in Matthew 25:14-30 to learn another valuable lesson about being prepared for death and/or Judgment Day.

This story describes Jesus as a rich man who is going away and leaving property in the management of three stewards. From Jesus’ ascension to His return, Jesus is not going to have a direct visible presence. He promises to be with us always. He promises that we are “the Body of Christ” and that He is in us. But to the outside observer, He is gone. The wise and prepared disciple of Jesus understands that Jesus is here and that He has given us responsibility. We are best prepared when we are faithfully caring out our responsibility to the very end of our days.

In the story, two of the three stewards manage to bring a 100% return. They are not given equal responsibilities (one has five talents of silver-approximately 100 years wages and the other has three talents) The money represents a wide range of things of which we are stewards: our money, our time, our abilities, our opportunities, our bodies, the planet, our knowledge of God and possibly more.

Their example instructs us to be examining our stewardship throughout our lives. Again, our stewardship doesn’t save us, but clearly there is a reward connected with doing a good job and we don’t have an evaluation until Judgment Day. It is good to be aware of our stewardship as early as possible, but this lesson is especially valuable toward the end of life when we might be inclined to evaluate our own lives as useless.

To be productive stewards isn’t necessarily the same thing as having a big impact on the world. It is just a matter of being faithful with what you have. As physical and mental faculties diminish, we need to seek what we can do rather than merely survive or bemoan what we have lost. Can you still pray? Then do it. Can you show love? Can you praise God, even internally? God determines when our stewardship is concluded in this life.

This is the primary argument against suicide. Suicide is not necessarily damning , but it is a sin. When we cut the corner to death, we leave behind at least some of our stewardship responsibility. A person who sees life as a stewardship given by God and is confident in eternal life because of grace is highly unlikely to find any situation bad enough to merit killing oneself.

Faithful stewardship involves both respect for the asset under your stewardship as being the property of God, efficient use of it, and results that further God’s Kingdom or honor God’s name. Faithful stewardship is a second level of preparedness for death.

The story has a third steward in it. This one is given only one talent, but he buries it in the ground. Who does this character represent? It represents those who are given at least life, time on Earth, and an intellectual understanding of the Gospel; but it never results in faith, salvation and consequently any result that is pleasing to God.

In his explanation, the third steward says that he knew the owner was a hard man and was afraid. Is God a hard man? In a way, yes. God is patient, merciful, loving and supportive. Those who have faith can never be completely unproductive, so there is little to worry about. But the story reminds us of the twin facts that God can be generous and severe.

Faithlessness and unfaithfulness as a steward results in the third steward being “cut to pieces and put with the hypocrites. In that place where there will be weeping a gnashing of teeth.” This sentence a description of being damned. God’s law leaves no room for those who reject Jesus’ sacrifice. God’s justice or severity will not compromise that requirement.

Again, do not take away that decent stewardship saves you. God gives salvation, but throwing it away damns you or, even better, leaves you in your natural state of being damned. Being a good steward rewards you. The two productive stewards get this accolade and promise:

Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your Master.

Matthew 25:23

That is a promise that excites and a commendation that we should all seek.

For another angle on The Parable of the Talents go here:

https://wordpress.com/post/afterdeathsite.com/1395