Two Certainties

For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood not his own, for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. 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 9:24-28 ESV). A headline caught my eye recently. It read, Men Die Earlier, Have Worse Health Than Women. Jeanie Lerche Davis wrote it. As you can imagine, it piqued my attention! The gist of the article concerned how men had a higher risk factor and therefore statistically died sooner than women. Ms. Davis quotes Dr. David R. Williams as saying, "Men in all socioeconomic levels are doing poorly in terms of health." She cites other statistics from the American Journal of Public Health: first, men have higher death rates than women for 15 leading causes of death except Alzheimer's disease. Men's death rates are at least twice as high for accidents, murder, suicide, and liver disorders, and second, men's life expectancy remains almost five years shorter than for women, and black men die almost 12 years sooner than white women. I came to two conclusions. First, I’m going to die! No surprise there! The Scripture is clear in its declaration that everyone will die. It is an appointment we all must keep. The only possible exception will be in the rapture. Even then, life as we know it ends. Second, if it is indeed true that I am going to die sooner than my wife who is my age, then certain preparations should be made. I have done that. It is only wise to secure my family’s future in the event that I am no longer present to do so. However, there are other preparations that are even more important. The Scripture also says that I will face a judgment. It is as certain as death. The outcome of that event must be secured also. There is only one way to do that. That is through faith in Jesus Christ! Denying either of these certainties will leave us unprepared. According to Life magazine, William Randolph Hearst, when 75 years old, forbid the mention of death in his presence. However, when yielding voting control of his publications to an attorney, “the man who has arrogantly and brilliantly ruled a $200,000,000 empire acknowledged death although he did not mention it.” The statement merely read that Mr. Hearst had become “conscious of the uncertainties of life.” Our end need not be an “uncertainty.” We can be certain of eternal life as we place our faith in Christ. I am not ready to use my “ticket”, but I am ready for the “ride.” How about you? Trust Christ today!