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For
Christ has entered into heaven itself to appear now before God as our Advocate.
He did not go into the earthly place of worship, for that was merely a copy of
the real Temple in heaven. Nor did he enter heaven to offer himself again and
again, like the earthly high priest who enters the Most Holy Place year after
year to offer the blood of an animal. If that had been necessary, he would have
had to die again and again, ever since the world began. But no! He came once for
all time, at the end of the age, to remove the power of sin forever by his
sacrificial death for us. And just as it
is destined that each person dies only once and after that comes judgment, so
also Christ died only once as a sacrifice to take away the sins of many people. He
will come again but not to deal with our sins again. This time he will bring
salvation to all those who are eagerly waiting for him.
(Hebrews 9:24-28 NLV). A
headline caught my eye this morning. It read, Men
Die Earlier, Have Worse Health Than Women. Jeanie Lerche Davis wrote it. As
you can imagine, it piqued my attention! The gist of the article concerned how
men had a higher risk factor and therefore statistically died sooner than women.
Ms. Davis quotes Dr. David R. Williams as saying, "Men in all socioeconomic
levels are doing poorly in terms of health." She cites other statistics
from the American Journal of Public Health:
first, men have higher death rates than women for 15 leading causes of death
except Alzheimer's disease. Men's death rates are at least twice as high for
accidents, murder, suicide, and liver disorders, and second, men's life
expectancy remains almost five years shorter than for women, and black men die
almost 12 years sooner than white women. I
came to two conclusions. First,
I’m going to die! No surprise there! The Scripture is clear in its declaration
that everyone will die. It is an
appointment we all must keep. The
only possible exception will be in the rapture.
Even then, life as we know it ends. Second, if it is indeed true that I
am going to die sooner than my wife who is my age, then certain preparations
should be made. I have done that. It
is only wise to secure my families future in the event that I am no longer
present to do so. However, there are other preparations that are even more
important. The Scripture also says
that I will face a judgment. It is as certain as death.
The outcome of that event must be secured also.
There is only one way to do that. That
is through faith in Jesus Christ! Denying either of these certainties will leave us unprepared. According to Life magazine, William Randolph Hearst, when 75 years old, forbid the mention of death in his presence. However, when yielding voting control of his publications to an attorney, “the man who has arrogantly and brilliantly ruled a $200,000,000 empire acknowledged death although he did not mention it.” The statement merely read that Mr. Hearst had become “conscious of the uncertainties of life.” Our end need not be an “uncertainty.” We can be certain of eternal life as we place our faith in Christ. I am not ready to use my “ticket”, but I am ready for the “ride.” How about you? Trust Christ today! |
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