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Protestant Realist and Religious
Protestant Realist and Religious Rick Reed is senior pastor at the Metropolitan Bible Church in Ottawa. Many people find it morbid to think about their mortality. So they put off preparing for death. And even the preparations they do make are often inadequate and tragically incomplete. For example, some folks make financial plans (preparing a will) and logistical arrangements (buying a cemetery plot), but completely overlook relational and spiritual preparations.
We make relational preparations by ensuring our relationships are in good order. This includes giving words of affirmation to those we love and giving forgiveness to those with whom we’ve been at odds. Why go to the grave hiding affection or holding grudges? We prepare spiritually by making sure we are headed for heaven. Most folks in our day simply assume heaven will be their final destination. People in previous generations didn’t take this for granted. For example, back in the 18th century, John Wesley wrote these heartfelt words: “I am a creature of a day, passing through life as an arrow through the air ... a few moments hence I am no more seen—I drop into an unchangeable eternity! I want to know one thing, the way to heaven—how to land safe on that happy shore.”
John Wesley was asking the right question: how can we be sure we will open our eyes in heaven when we close them for the last time on earth. Thankfully, as Wesley discovered, the Bible gives us the answer. John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” Those who genuinely trust in God’s Son, Jesus, are promised eternal life in God’s heaven. Now is the time to make preparations for death. For only those prepared to die are ready to truly live
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