An Unavoidable Appointment

And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him. (Hebrews 9:27-28 ESV)

Anthony Fernando, a twenty-one year old man living in Colombo, Sri Lanka, went fishing one day of the coast of the island. He had no idea that he would never make it back alive. If you would venture to guess how this man lost his life, what would you say? That he died of a heart attack? Perhaps he fell out of the boat and drowned? Or even a shark attack? It was none of these things. A forktail garfish jumped out of the water and cut him on the neck with its tail. He bled to death before a fellow fisherman could get him into a hospital. If you had told him before he left to go fishing that this was going to happen, he wouldn’t have believe it.

Lance Foster also has an unusual story. He was a twenty-three year old student at the University of Kansas. He had been studying late one night and little did he know he would have only moments to live. How did he die? Was he shot by a roommate? Or did lightning come through the window and strike him? It was neither. A soda machine killed him! Foster became thirsty and decided to walk down the hallway to get a drink. He put his money in the machine, but the drink didn’t come out. When he rocked the vending machine back and forth to get the can of soda to drop, it fell on top of him. He died from internal injuries shortly thereafter. If you had told him he was going to die when he went to get a drink, he wouldn’t have believed it.

If you had told Ali-Asghar Ahani he would be shot to death by a snake, he wouldn’t have believed that either. But it happened. Although he could have shot the snake, this man was trying to capture it alive. When he pressed the butt of his shotgun behind its head, the snake coiled itself around the gun. With its tail thrashing, the snake pulled the trigger, firing one of the barrels and shooting Ahani in the head.

And then there’s the story of William Curry. After winning $3.6 million in the lottery, he must have believed he was the luckiest person on the earth. But he wasn’t very lucky for long. Two weeks after hitting the jackpot, Curry, at the age of thirty-seven, died of a heart attack. His sister-in-law said the stress of winning the lottery killed him.

None of these people knew or even imagined that death was just moments away. Death can come unexpectedly to anyone at anytime. But, it will come to all of us. We have an unavoidable appointment with death. The real key is not in knowing how we will die, but in how we will face the moments following death. How will you do? Only in Christ can you be safe after death. Trust Him today!