The Great Equalizer
The days of our lives are seventy years; and if by reason of strength they are eighty years, yet their boast is only labor and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away.
- Psalm 90:10
Eighty-four percent of Americans believe in some kind of afterlife, and eighty-two percent believe in heaven. Seventy percent believe in hell. Whether or not you believe in it, it is still there.
The Bible is very clear in pointing out there is a point when life on earth will end. The Scripture tells us in Ecclesiastes, "To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven: a time to be born, And a time to die" (3:1, 2).
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In Hebrews 9:27 we read, "And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment."
That time to die may come much later than you expected. On the other hand, it may occur much sooner. Statisticians tell us that three people die every second. One hundred eighty people die every minute. Eleven thousand people die every hour. That is why the psalms remind us to number our days and recognize how few they are (see Psalm 90:12, 144:4).
History tells us that Philip of Macedon conditioned his servant to stand in his presence every day and repeat, "Philip, you will die." He wanted to be reminded of his mortality.
When Steve Jobs gave a commencement speech at Stanford University, he said, "No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don't want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it."
Death is the great equalizer. It is no respecter of persons. It comes to everyone. And according to the Bible, after death there are two destinations. You decide now-not later, not after death-which destination it will be. You decide where you will spend eternity. And the two options are heaven or hell.
