Ready to meet your Maker?

[Note: This article was written for our local newspaper August 23, 2021.]

When you have a big event coming up, you prepare for it. Whether it’s a vacation at the beach or a weekend camping trip, you have to make arrangements before you go. If you have a wedding to plan or a baby on the way, you spend months getting ready for the big day. Even having company over for dinner means that you have to make some plans. 

I want to remind you that there’s a big event coming soon, and I want you to be ready for it. Like it or not, every one of us will face the reality of our own physical death, unless Jesus makes His return beforehand. It’s not something you can put on your calendar, but you must be ready for it. 

And I’m not just talking about making funeral arrangements and drafting a will or figuring out who’s going to get your stuff. That’s important, but making spiritual preparation is eternally more important. 

Are you ready to meet your Maker? Do you know what will happen to you when you die? If Jesus were to come back today, would you be prepared for His arrival? 

Nobody wants to think about dying, but I’m telling you that life is so uncertain. Have you been keeping up with the news lately? 

In Afghanistan, Islamic terrorists known as the Taliban have seized control of the nation’s capital as they seek to enforce Sharia law; murdering, raping, and pillaging as they go. 

An earthquake in Haiti last week claimed the lives of over 2,000 people, injuring thousands more, and wreaking further havoc upon an already troubled land. 

A torrential rain of up to 17 inches in less than 24 hours just east of Nashville led to flash flooding that has taken at least 22 lives, even as search efforts continue for many more missing. 

People are still dying from cancer, heart disease, accidents, and COVID-related issues. People are dying from violence in our own nation every day – and it’s not just relegated to crime-infested inner cities, either. 

I’m not trying to scare you but prepare you. Death and taxes are both certainties – and I’m paying my taxes already. 

The good news is that you can be ready when that day comes. And if you’re ready, you don’t have to fear death or dying or be uncertain of what lies beyond the curtain. 

Listen, the Bible tells us clearly that through Jesus – and only through Jesus – we can be saved from eternal death in hell and saved to eternal life in heaven. 

Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:25-26). 

So what about you? Do you believe this? Do you believe that Jesus gave His own life on the cross, bearing your sins and absorbing God’s wrath in your place so that you can be forgiven and made right with God? Do you believe that Jesus defeated death by rising from the grave on the third day? Do you believe that only by repenting from sin and trusting in Him you can be saved? Have you received the gift of eternal life through Jesus as Savior and Lord? 

Why not come to Jesus today? Right now. Make this your heart’s cry as you put your faith in Him: Jesus, I know that I need you and I confess that I have sinned against you. I believe you died on the cross for my sin and rose to life again. Forgive me, cleanse me, and make me new. Be the Lord of my life and help me to follow you in faith and obedience from this day forward. Thank you for saving me! Amen!