WHAT IS YOUR LIFE?
For many people, life can be interesting but unfortunately, this is not the case for everyone. You may have heard the story of the man who was asked if he believed in life after death; he replied by asking another question, "Is there life before death?" I know that many people are dissatisfied with the quality of their life, and might echo the words of the Bible character Job who cursed the day of his birth and wished that he was dead.⁽¹⁾

You may have felt like that at times and even contemplated taking your own life. What is life to you? Work and worry? A dark tunnel with no glimmer of light at the end? A vicious circle? A weary treadmill? An endless rat race? Is death no more than the end of a short period of meaningless existence?

How would you define the the good life? A teenager might mention the four big "D"s: drink, drugs, disco, dating, with the latter being no good unless it ends in bed. Others would talk about financial security, a marriage partner, a home, a family, a good job, these are the kind of things that many people feel make life worthwhile.

If you were to turn to the Bible for some answers, you might be surprised to find God asking us the same question, "What is your life?"⁽²⁾ In fact, as you study the Bible, you discover that God often asks us questions, not because He needs answers - He already knows them all - but to make us think. In this case His answer to His own question might come as something of a shock to you. He says that your life is like a puff of steam out of the kettle spout, or morning mist that lasts for a short while and then vanishes, never to be seen again.

This it not the whole of the answer however; there is a reality behind that puff of steam. If you would like to know what it is, you could not do better than seek an answer from the One who gave you life in the first place. God Himself.

As I have read what He has to say about the subject in the Bible, I have come to see that there are five vital facts of life. We would all do well to consider them NOW, while we are in a position to do something about them, because, believe me, they will determine what happens to us not only during life, but after it has ended.

ONE CERTAINTY

The first fact is that there is only one certainty in life, and that is death! It is the one event that I can guarantee will occur in your life. I remember an attractive young lady who was converted at one of my missions and became a Christian. The next evening she brought her mother to the meeting who also became a Christian. They were delighted with their news, but to their sorrow they could not persuade the husband to attend a meeting. However, they were unwilling to give up as easily as that, so they invited me to the house for coffee, so that I could meet him. He was obviously well aware of what was going on, because as I walked through the door, he pointed a finger at me and said, "You've got yourself two regular customers from this family, but you are not going to get me." That was clear enough and I am sure he meant what he said, but a few days later curiosity got the better of him, and as the evening meeting began, I spotted him sitting at the back of the hall, hiding in a corner.

That evening I preached about cats! I said that a cat is supposed to have nine lives, but eventually a cat dies! I continued that neither a cat nor a man could go on cheating death continually, it would catch up with them sooner or later. At the end of the meeting, the man came forward and became a Christian himself. Later on, he told me that it was my reference to the cat in my sermon that had tipped the scales.

During the Second World War, he had been a Battle of Britain pilot; he had been shot down twice and cheated death many times. As I spoke, he realised that he could not go on doing that forever but that one day he would die and have to face God. Then and there he decided to prepare for the event.

ONE NECESSITY

The second vital fact is that there is only one necessity in life and that is to prepare ourselves for death and what lies beyond. The Bible says "It is appointed for men to die once, but after this judgement."⁽³⁾ Are you prepared to meet God! If not, now is a good time to do something about it, because one day you will certainly face Him for judgement. It will be an awesome thing to enter into His presence. He is holy and righteous, perfect in His majesty. He demands our love, our honour, our reverence and our respect.

If you go down to the local cemetery I am sure you will find a gravestone for someone who was your age when they died. This shows that people of your age need to be ready to meet God. I heard of a man who, as he approached retirement age, visited all the local churchyards and cemeteries to find the one that had the highest average age on the gravestones. He said that it would show him where people lived the longest and then he would settle down when he retired. Even if his idea worked, it only postponed the inevitable, by a few years at the most, and if he did not spend the time making sure he was ready to face God, his research would have been in vain.

ONE WAY

Fact number three - there is only one way to prepare for death and that is to know the Lord Jesus Christ as your own personal Saviour. He said "No-one comes to the Father except through me."⁽⁴⁾ A Christian is a member of God's family and they are God's child, and only Jesus can bring this about. "There is a way which seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death."⁽⁵⁾ Do not argue with God about the matter, because He will win every argument, He always has the last word. Just accept what He says. Jesus is the only way to heaven⁽⁶⁾; you cannot build a by-pass to get around Him to get there, although many have tried to do so. All those by-passes that look so good but that prove to be blind alleys are founded on good works and good ideas but God says that all our self-righteousness is like filthy rags in His sight.⁽⁷⁾ He does not ask us to do our best but to put our trust in Jesus. The Bible tells us that one of the songs they sing in heaven says "You are worthy, 0 Lord."⁽⁸⁾ We do not enter heaven because of our own worthiness, but because of HIS!

ONE TIME

Number four on our list of vital facts is that there is only one time to prepare for death, and that is now. A friend of mine, on a visit to the USA was attracted by a notice in the window of a restaurant FREE COFFEE SERVED HERE TOMORROW. The next day he went back to that restaurant for his free coffee but the notice was still in the window; it may still be there, but no-one has ever had a free cup of coffee, because tomorrow never comes!

When the Apostle Paul had to stand trial before Felix, the Roman Governor of Caesarea, he listened to Paul's defence for a time and then said, "Go away for now; when I have a convenient time I will call for you".⁽⁹⁾ As far as we know, that convenient time never came, and that is what happens when we make a habit of putting things off - they never get done.

Satan will always advise you to defer making a decision about becoming a Christian. His time is always tomorrow, and he would like you to believe that you have plenty of time but it is not the truth. God's time is always now. "Behold, now is the accepted time, now is the day of salvation."⁽¹⁰⁾ Some people say "I am going to have a good time now and enjoy myself and do what I want to do. There will be plenty of time to become a Christian later when I am older and have had my fill of pleasure" - that is a dangerous policy.

I remember people who came up to me at the end of the meeting and told me they would be back the following night to get right with God, but I never saw them again. I sometimes wonder what happened to them. Maybe they missed their last opportunity and God said to them "You fool! This night your soul will be required of you".⁽¹¹⁾ Another of Satan's tricks is to say "Don't be a hypocrite, if you become a Christian, you would never to able to keep it up." The truth is that the Christian life is not difficult, it is impossible - for you - but easy if you trust in God! I know a preacher who used to say "If God could not keep me, He should not have saved me" but we are kept by the power of God.⁽¹²⁾ Do not put off the decision any longer, trust God today. When you become a Christian, you become His responsibility.

I remember a lady who attended the very first mission I ever conducted in my own tent. She was there nearly every evening and she told me how much she enjoyed it all, the lively music and singing, the atmosphere and the preaching. She was not a Christian and did nothing to become one. The next year I had a mission in the same area, and again she was a regular attender but this time, on the last Saturday evening she did act, and my secretary prayed with her as she became a Christian. She went home that night, a new creature.⁽¹³⁾ Up to that point she had been a good living person, an Anglican and a regular church attender, but not a Christian. She said goodnight to me as she left the tent and added that she was looking forward to the Sunday meeting. She went home, got into bed, died in her sleep and passed into eternity. A few days later, I attended her funeral where those who knew her were rejoicing in their sorrow because she had been saved "in the nick of time". If she had said no or just done nothing that Saturday evening, she would have gone to hell.

ONE PLACE

Finally, there is only one place to prepare for death, and that is at the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. God will meet you there, He has chosen to meet us not in a church building, or a shrine but at the cross. Only there can you be reconciled to Him. How do you get there? By faith. The Bible promises that if we draw near to God, He will draw near to us.⁽¹⁴⁾ Accept this truth by faith and see yourself meeting with God near the foot of the Cross; as you do, it is the power of the cross and the power of the blood Jesus shed there, that will break the power of sin in your life.

I love the old Wesley hymn that says:

"He breaks the power of cancelled sin, He sets the prisoner free;

His blood can make the foulest clean, His blood avails for me."

As we let the blood of Jesus cleanse us, we find that it becomes a robe of righteousness, upon us in which we can stand confidently in God's presence.

Remember that not only did Jesus die on the cross and was buried, but He rose again on the third day and He is alive today to save all who come to Him.

The way that Jesus reconciles us to God is beautifully illustrated by a true story of a happy little family of father, mother and daughter. One day the parents had an argument, as a result of which the father walked out and did not come back. His wife and daughter missed him terribly but as they did not know where he was, they struggled on as best as they could without him. Then the daughter became ill, and the doctor had to tell her mother that there was no cure for her condition; she had only a few days to live. The little girl's greatest wish was to see her daddy again, so her mother had an SOS appeal out on the radio. At first there was no response.

By now the little girl was unconscious in a coma for much of the time but now and again she would open her eyes and ask for daddy. It seemed he would never come and the end was very near. The grandparents had arrived and were gathered around the bed with the mother when at last, a step was heard on the stairs. A moment later, the father entered the room and rushed over to the bed. The girl opened her eyes and put her Daddy's hand in hers. Then with great effort, she took her Mother's hand, put it into her father's hand, and died; in that dying act her parents were reconciled. This is a vivid picture of what Jesus did on the cross, when He took the sin stained hand of man and placed it in His Father's hand of love, thus reconciling man with God. There is no other way.

WHAT NOW?
If you desire to become a Christian and prepare yourself to meet God now, I invite you to pray the following prayer sincerely, from your heart:

"I thank you, Lord, for bringing these five facts of life to my notice today. I confess that I have sinned but I do believe that you, the Lord Jesus Christ, are the Son of God. I believe that you died on the cross, shed your blood and were buried, but then you rose again from the dead. I believe that as I now confess my sins, they are forgiven. I repent and turn from my sin, I open my life to you and ask you to come in, Lord Jesus, take control of my life and become my Lord. I give my whole life over to you. I thank you Lord, for hearing my prayer and coming into my life today.

Amen.

If you have just prayed this prayer, or if you have questions about the ideas in this 'booklet' please email me.

Don Double

1. Job 3:3

2. James 4:14

3. Hebrews 9:27

4. John 14:6

5. Proverbs 14:12

6. John 14:6

7. Isaiah 64:6

8. Revelation 4:11

9. Acts 24:25

10. 2 Corinthians 6:2

11. Luke 12:20

12. 1 Peter 1:15

13. 2 Corinthians 5:17

14. James 4:8