When the End Comes…
I was working in the gift shop at the hospital when an urgent announcement came over the intercom. Someone was having a cardiac arrest! Suddenly all of the little things which had been preoccupying my mind…like the lesson for Vacation Bible School the next morning…just vanished away. It occurred to me that at that exact moment someone lay dying and might indeed be passing from this life to the next.
It was a wake-up call for me: “Life is fleeting, passing by…pray.” So I did, right after ringing up a customer’s purchase on the cash register. The store emptied out and I prayed for the person whose life was hanging in the balance. My heart was heavy as I thought about the patient. Child? Youth? Adult? Was there the calm assurance of going to be with Jesus and in God’s presence forever, or fear and panic? Did he/she call out to God asking for forgiveness at the last moment?
My Grandma and I once had a good “discussion” about the end of a person’s life. She didn’t think it was fair that someone could live a lifetime of selfishness and rebellion towards God, repent on his deathbed and be forgiven. What about all of the people who had loved, obeyed and followed Him all of their lives?
“How can God still accept someone into Heaven who has led a wicked life, but who repents as he lies dying? It just isn’t fair!” she said emphatically. I was only in college at the time and couldn’t really say much to her. After all, she was my grandmother. What did I know, having only been a Christian for two years prior?
But it seemed rather ironic that she felt that way because Grandma was in her sixties when she turned over her heart and life to Jesus, just a few years before passing away from an aneurism. She had led a very hard life, most of it spent trying to eke out a living from her little beauty shop and supporting her two boys, my dad and uncle, alone. God’s mercy and justice through Christ’s death on the cross made the difference of where she would spend eternity, as it did for me.
The one thought that came to my mind was how sad for someone to have missed out on so many years during which he or she could have had a close relationship with the Lord. “Yes, but Grandma,” I interjected, “just think what that person missed out on!”
That same question came up several different times in our frequent discussions about Christianity; however, at the end of her life, she died with confidence and hope, knowing God’s great love and forgiveness which had been extended to her personally.
After my shift in the gift shop was over, the solemn realization of the thin line between life and death stayed with me for the remainder of the day. I will never know the results of my prayers. Were they too late? Was the patient ready to die? I was just glad to have had the opportunity to pray at that moment and felt very thankful to be alive.
Dear friends, whether we are aware of it or not, there is a sense of urgency in sharing the gospel with others. It is good news for all who hear and who put their faith in Jesus Christ. May we not lose any opportunity to tell others about Him. And when it comes our turn to die, may we be ready!
“Sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth. Sing to the Lord, praise his name; proclaim his salvation day after day. Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among all peoples.” Psalms 96:1-3 NIV
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