Psalm 90:12  Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.

The older I get, the more I think about dying. I don’t mean that to be morbid. A lot of folks don’t like to think about or discuss death and dying. But it is a reality. And the longer I live, the more of my friends and family members are taken away by it. Just recently I got word that a pastor friend of mine and his wife went for a ride on his motorcycle on a pretty day. A car hit them and killed them both. Death comes.

I know that they were prepared for death, just as I am. In spite of any apprehension I might feel, I know that my life is safe in the loving arms of my heavenly Father, both now and forever. He sent me the guarantee that I will be with Him. Jesus went through all of the agony and suffering that my sin deserves, and then conquered death to insure my place in His kingdom. So my thoughts on death are not a concern for myself. Rather, I have thought about those who will remain in this life after me.

Any death involves the pain and heartache of separation from loved ones. This never goes away completely on this side of heaven, but it does ease with the passage of time. Is there anything you can do before your death to help your family and friends? Actually, there is!

First and foremost, make sure that they know of the trust and confidence you have in Jesus Christ. Your faith is your personal guarantee of eternal life. Not only will this comfort your survivors, but it may encourage them to have the same faith and confidence if they do not yet have it.

Another thing is to be sure that you have prepared a will. If you die without a will, the state may be the one who determines where your possessions will go, and their decisions might be very different from your own desires. It also gives you one more opportunity to support ministries that share the good news of Jesus.

Something Cheryl and I have done to help our children is make the arrangements with a funeral home so they will not have to do so. This might be a kind and loving thing you can do for your family as well.

Death is inevitable for us all, unless Jesus returns first. It is the result of sin. Yet in contemplating our mortality, we are also given the chance to rejoice in the deliverance from death that we have through our Lord Jesus Christ.