What if You Died Today?

My wife’s sister recently got married and our little boys had questions about her honeymoon. Our six year old was quick to share his opinion that a honeymoon should only last one day. His mother told him that his wife would probably like to have it last a little longer. He was not convinced, so she told him that when he got married she would help him plan his honeymoon.
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Our little six year old, then proceeded to tell his mom that she would not be able to help him with his plans because she would probably be dead by then. As if a ‘one day honeymoon’ were not enough to show his lack of understanding of the female gender, he then told her that she would probably be dead because she was getting old. To make matters worse, he then proceeded to tell her that he would have daddy help him. Of course I thought it was hilarious since I am quite a bit older than she is.
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Fortunately my wife saw the humor in it as well. Even though she is still quite young and statistically speaking, she should be able to expect to be alive when her sons get married, we really do not know how long any of us will live.
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This week we received some very sad news. A friend of ours was killed in a head on collision on I-35 south of Albert Lea. He was only 28 years old and engaged to be married next month. As tragic as that event was, it does have a happy ending. Our friend James was a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ and had trusted Him as his Lord and Savior. 2 Corinthians 5:6-8 says, “Therefore, being always of good courage, and knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord-- for we walk by faith, not by sight-- we are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord.” (NASB)
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James death is sad for those of us who love and miss him, but we realize that he is home with the Lord. That is the happy ending.
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We take comfort in eternal life with the Lord, but let me make this discussion a bit more personal. If you were to be the one who died in a head on collision, do you know for sure where you would go when this life ended?
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The only way to know for sure is to trust Jesus Christ alone as your Lord and Savior. He told us in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” He also told us, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” (John 14:6).
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These verses make it clear that our hope for the next life is based on our belief in the Lord Jesus Christ. Still, the question remains, can we really know for sure? First of all, let me remind you that Jesus Christ is God and God cannot lie (Titus 1:2). If He promises us eternal life through believing in Him, then we can trust that promise. Further let us not forget another promise that He made in John 6:37, "All that the Father gives Me shall come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out.” (NASB) He gives a warning as well, “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.” (John 6:36)
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As a Christian I desire to stay on this earth as long as God wants me here so that I can serve Him, but I also realize that when my life is over and my time here is done, that I get to be with Him because I have believed on the Lord Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior.