Live unto the Lord

You blink your eyes a few times and take in a deep breath. You are now in eternity. That first breath here was your last on earth. Your eyes are open here as soon as they close on earth. It happens that fast. Sweet relief for some. Absolute terror that never ends for others.

I think of my grandma Bonnie. She loved the Lord so much and never wavered in her Faith. I can only imagine the joy she experienced when she took that first breath in eternity. The first time she looked at the face of her Jesus. Man, can you imagine?

Then I think about my grandpa Larkin and how I know beyond all doubt that he is in Heaven cheering for us kids down here. I know because even though it was delayed, eventually through seeing the love walk of his oldest granddaughter, he saw the love of Christ and accepted Him.

What a peace for the Believer in Jesus. What a future and a hope we have. What a peace we can rest in when we lose those who we love and miss, knowing we will see them again someday.
I think about the Millions of people that do not even know the name of Jesus let alone of His saving grace. Where is their comfort when they lose a loved one? Where does the peace come from if any comes at all? What is their future and hope?

Today I learned that a very well respected co-worker has passed into eternity. He went to sleep and never woke up; here. As I talked about it with two of my co-workers who were extremely close to this man we went rounds and rounds about the caliber of this man. We spoke of how he made you feel like family whether you knew him a minute or lifetime. How he was a hard working man, a straight forward stand up kind of guy. He will be so dearly missed by so many.
I don’t know the condition of this man’s heart toward my Lord. I couldn’t tell you where his spirit spends eternity if you asked me. I wonder though.

I do know that the only way to Heaven is through the blood of Jesus and accepting the cross as our freedom. I know that we don’t enter the Kingdom of heaven for any other reason than receiving Christ in our hearts and serving him. It’s not by our good deeds, relationships or good intentions.

I do know that I want to devote the remainder of my life to telling as many people about eternity without a savior though. I don’t want to be so consumed in my own life anymore. I want to be consumed by the Will of God. I want to tell as many people that I can about the Lord and about how to truly reach heaven.

The reality is that we only live by the grace and mercy of god. Life is a fragile thing and it is only authorized by the Lord. Each second, each minute, each day an absolute blessing and gift. I want to make the most of this life. I imagine we all do.

Maybe this came to me simply because of circumstances, due to the loss of this one man. I think sometimes it is so easy to understand that when another believer passes through to heaven they wouldn’t come back for anything. But, perhaps my new perspective comes from questioning this man’s passing. Is he at peace with our Lord or does he beg for one last chance to go back and do it all again?
Whatever the reason, I am moved to be more than I am today. To reach more people. To live each moment of my life as a blessing unto the Lord. I don’t want to be a comfortable Christian any more. I don’t and I won’t let people pass by my life and not know that grace and mercy of the Father who loves and saves.
I encourage fellow believers to look around today at the ones we know that don’t know our Lord. Let’s pray for them, let’s reach them. And let’s give our best while we are here. Let’s truly live our lives as unto the Lord.