The Word

Published 11:10 am Thursday, January 23, 2020

Death comes to everybody.

That’s your attention getter. But let’s take it a step further. Death is unpredictable, but certain. It doesn’t discriminate, care about your family and loved ones, or have any regard for your age, gender, race or faith.

Something else that is certain is that we all face death and we all face an eternal destiny.

Email newsletter signup

Something else that is certain is that we can secure our eternal destiny. We cannot defeat earthly, bodily death, but we can have a future that is certain and predictable.

A once famous science-fiction character said, “How we face death is at least as important as how we face life.”

It is a provoking thought when you think about it. Do you face life with a sense of security, safety, hopefulness and optimism? Do you face death with the same sense of security, safety, hopefulness and optimism?

Nothing is guaranteed in life. Infants, children and adolescents are diagnosed with leukemia. People in their 20s die in car accidents. Healthy people in their 30s suddenly have aneurysms. People in their 40s suddenly drop dead of heart attacks. People in their 50s and 60s, and even sooner in some cases, face cancer and ALS. If you are lucky, they will say, “Such and such died of old age”.

Death is uncertain and unpredictable. Eternal life though can be certain and can be predictable.

Eternal security oftentimes means you have earthly security. Knowing your eternal place often means you have earthly peace. Having hope in eternal peace often means you have an earthly peace. Do you want earthly peace, earthly security, and an earthly optimism? If so, then you and I both need an eternal place, an eternal security, and an eternal peace.

In the 14th chapter of the Gospel of John, Jesus says,

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. 2 My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. 4 You know the way to the place where I am going.”

Do not be troubled in life. Secure your future. Secure your eternal peace, your eternal place, your eternal hope.

In the same chapter of the Gospel of John Jesus says, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

The way to life here on earth and life eternal is through Christ Jesus.

Through acceptance of Christ we have an earthly peace, earthly security & earthly hope because we are assured that we have eternal peace, eternal placement and eternal hope that cannot be taken away. Certainty.

The question becomes, what are you certain of?

REV. BARRY VASSAR can be reached at fitzgeraldmemorial@ gmail.com.