Death Notice
With the same day passing of great men like Steve Jobs and great/godly men like Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth one can’t help but think about the brevity of life and the surety of death. In light of the deaths here are three realities I’m asking you to reflect on today.
1. Death is inevitable.
It’s coming like a sunset. There is no stopping it. Your day may have dawned today or it could be fifty years from now. But it is coming.
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If you are rich you can’t buy your way out of it. If you’re poor you can’t beg your way out of it. Fat or skinny, beautiful or ugly, wise or foolish, when death comes knocking it’s the last thing you’ll hear on this earth. With apologies to the Final Destination series you can’t trick death.
Moses knew this all to well. By the time he was eighty he had seen plenty of death in Egypt (he had caused one personally) and too much death in the desert. In Psalm 90:9,10 he wrote, “All our days pass away under your wrath; we finish our years with a moan. Our days may come to seventy years, or eighty, if our strength endures; yet the best of them are but trouble and sorrow, for they quickly pass, and we fly away.”
James put it even more bluntly in chapter four and verse fourteen of his book, “What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.”
Whether it be something slow like pancreatic cancer or something sudden like a tragic car wreck, death is inevitable. There’s not an app you can buy or build that will rescue you from it. The Grim Reaper reaps with icy discipline and a permission slip from God. When “your time” comes your time on earth is done.
2. Live with intentionality while you can.
Steve Jobs said, “Almost everything–all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure–these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.”
Solomon put it this way in Ecclesiastes 9:10, “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the realm of the dead, where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom.”
Live life to the fullest. Squeeze the sponge dry. Squeeze your spouse and kids until they know you mean it. Live life to the tenth power in His power for His purpose.
3. Focus on the condition of your soul before it’s too late.
Jesus said in Mark 8:36, “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?”
I don’t know the condition of Steve Jobs’ soul. I hope he was a believer in Jesus. If he wasn’t his death was a tragedy. He gained the whole world, in a very real sense, but lost his soul. But if he believed in Jesus, even on his death bed, his passing was a wonderous triumph.
But this post isn’t ultimately about Steve Jobs. It’s about you. Are you ready to die? Jesus died so that you could live. He died in your place for your sins and through faith in Him you can access this free gift of eternal life. Believe in Him and receive life. Watch this GOSPEL video and embrace him through faith.
If you are a Christian live your life with eternal eyes. See differently. Live differently. Share the gospel boldly while you can. Because soon, maybe sooner than we think, our time will come.
