Some of you who read this blog will die in the next twelve months. All of you, including of course me as well, will surely die. (Unless of course the Lord returns at the end of this age first!) But so few of us talk about our own demise. We talk about sex as if there were no other important topic in our culture. But we rarely talk about dying unless it is about assisted-suicide or the death of someone already departed. Facing death honestly is the Christian’s responsibility and deep joy. We say, “I am going to meet Christ face-to-face.” But few of us act like we believe this to be true. In this TED talk Matthew O’Reilly is not dealing with the questions of faith. But what he says does make a great deal of good sense. I share it in order to help you pray, think and plan for your own demise. “It is appointed to mortals to die once, and after that the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27, NRSV). Are you ready? What have you done today to prepare to “die once” and then face your Lord in judgment?
Death, according to Scripture is an enemy. But for those who believe in Christ as Lord it is also the portal into the presence of the King. You should plan every day. (“I die daily,” said Paul.)
Text here.
Related Posts
Comments
My Latest Book!
Use Promo code UNITY for 40% discount!
This is excellent – as a healthcare professional who is now faced with a terminal illness I couldn’t agree more with everything this gentleman is saying. Each day we awaken each one of us are one day closer to our death. I always struggled with lying to a patient and when I was truthful, so much more often than not they were at peace knowing that their suffering was coming to an end, and that gave them hope.
Wow, this parallels something I heard at a memorial service. We spend our time teaching people how to live but never teach people how to die…… Our human condition tells we will all die at some point, perhaps teaching folks how to die is as important, especially because it is a transition point for us. This talk seems to reveal an innate desire to fulfill God’s plan for our lives….. wish I could have done more with those in my life, desire for forgiveness and desire for a legacy, also known as the fruit of your life……. thank you for sharing this thought provoking video.
Rick Landry liked this on Facebook.
Penny Welch liked this on Facebook.
Kevin Rash liked this on Facebook.
Aslan turned to them and said: “You do not yet look so happy as I mean you to be.” Lucy said, “We’re so afraid of being sent away, Aslan. And you have sent us back into our own world so often.”
“No fear of that,” said Aslan. “Have you not guessed?” Their hearts leaped, and a wild hope rose within them. “There was a real railway accident,” said Aslan softly. “Your father and mother and all of you are—as you used to call it in the Shadowlands— dead. The term is over: the holidays have begun. The dream is ended: this is the morning.”
And as He spoke He no longer looked to them like a lion; but the things that began to happen after that were so great and beautiful that I cannot write them. And for us this is the end of all the stories, and we can most truly say that they all lived happily ever after. But for them it was only the beginning of the real story. All their life in this world and all their adventures in Narnia had only been the cover and the title page: now at last they were beginning Chapter One of the Great Story which no one on earth has read: which goes on forever: in which every chapter is better than the one before.
C S Lewis, The Last Battle
This debate is worth watching: http://intelligencesquaredus.org/debates/past-debates/item/1160-legalize-assisted-suicide
Bill Worthy liked this on Facebook.
Bonnie Maguire Brown liked this on Facebook.
David Mosher liked this on Facebook.
John Ross liked this on Facebook.
My father recently passed away. It’s been quite difficult but I’m so grateful to have been able to spend two weeks at his bedside. Although he wasn’t awake for much of that time, I spent a lot of time just talking to him and praying for him. I don’t know if he was more receptive to accepting Christ in those final days or not. He passed when I wasn’t with him and I’ve been troubled that maybe he was conscious, afraid and alone. The video you shared has given me hope that perhaps in the event he was conscious, he may not have been afraid. Teaching us how to die is a wonderful concept… And for some of us, maybe teaching us how to bear the death of a loved one could be a source of peace as well. Thank you for sharing… It strikes me that we never really know when we share something the impact it may have on someone else.
Richard Roland liked this on Facebook.