Job's description of death as "the journey of no return" jumped off of the page when I read it. I don't think about death often, but there was something in Job's wording that resonated in my heart; it's a poetic description, and completely accurate. Death is a journey that none of us will return from.
Mostly my thoughts of death come in the form of hoping that it holds off until I see my children grow up. I want to be in their lives for as long as possible. As glorious as the hope of heaven is, I really do want the opportunity to help mold my children, to see the choices they make, and to walk with them for as long as they let me. I don't have a fear of death, and I'm open to whatever God's will is, but if I had my way I would die a happy old, old lady.
Unfortunately for Job, he felt as though he had nothing left to live for. His children had died, all of his possessions were gone, and he was in severe physical pain; death was something he longed for. Everything I've read so far indicates that Job wasn't afraid of death either; in his suffering, he wanted to welcome it with open arms.
I have often tried to understand what someone not raised in a Christian, church going home feels about death; what goes through the minds of people who have yet to be introduced to Jesus? Is it something they don't think about? Is it something they feel is just the end..that there's nothing beyond the dirt they are laid in? Is it something fearful and uncertain? I know that different people feel different emotions about the subject, but in all of it I have to think there's an underlying sense of hopelessness. What's the purpose of a life that just ends when our hearts stop beating? Doesn't their soul long for something more? Maybe they are searching; maybe they don't even realize they are...
I believe in God, and I believe that God created each and every one of us. I believe that in us God placed a desire to know Him, to accept His truth, and to connect one on one with Him whenever we choose to. The key is that it is a choice we make because He also placed in us free will, and free will can get in the way of us turning to Him.
Some people feel the nudge in their hearts; that whisper in their soul that says there's something more. Some people believe in God, but refuse to believe that He would place parameters on who goes to heaven. Some people can't understand why an "all-loving God" would sentence some people to eternity in hell. Some people don't truly believe in hell; if they did, if they really understood what it meant, they wouldn't joke so casually about going there.
"God has set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end." Ecclesiastes 3:11
However you look at death right now, somewhere inside of you God has placed eternity. At some point you will face a choice to either deal with the question of heaven and hell, or to ignore it until it's too late; either way you go, you are making a decision. As humans, eternity is hard to fathom, but we have to understand and come to terms with the knowledge that this life is not the end. Do you know where your "journey of no return" is going to take you? Or are you too wrapped up in this world to open you hearts to something more? We are all heading somewhere, and the difference is a matter of faith.
I urge you to open yourself up to listening for God's whisper in your heart. It's there; He calls out for you to make a choice. You see, when Jesus came to this earth, His purpose through His life and through His death was to lead us to God. His gift was dying for our sins, so that we wouldn't have to. He has given us eternity...freely...the only thing He asks in return is for us to believe in Him.
I have admitted that I am a sinner; I am in no way perfect, and I fall short of the mark everyday. I have expressed my need for a Savior, I have trusted in Jesus as that Savior, and I have laid all that I am at the foot of the cross. In return, God has given me the hope of eternity with Him in heaven; I am His child. He has taken my sin and placed a giant stamp of forgiveness over it all. The important thing to understand is that it has nothing to do with anything I have done or haven't done...it's ALL because of what He has done for me...and for you if you just believe.
Step one is admitting that you are a sinner, and understanding that the price of sin is death...
Step two is believing that Jesus paid that price for you by dying on the cross, and that God raised from the dead...
Step three is accepting Jesus as your Savior and allowing Him to change your life from the inside, out.
"For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God". Romans 3:23
"For the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus, our Lord" Romans 6:23
"When you confess with you mouth, 'Jesus is Lord', and you believe in your heart that God raised Jesus from the dead, you will be saved." Romans 10:9
That's it: admitting that you are a sinner in need a Savior, having faith that through His death and His resurrection Jesus is that Savior, and placing your life in His hands...that's what determines where your journey will take you.
Jeremiah 29:13 says, "You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all of your heart."
If anything in you is searching for answers, if you feel eternity's tug on your heart, seek Him and you will find Him. Trust in Him, and He will make Himself known to you.
I'm not afraid of death, and when it's my time to go I will be at peace because I know where my "journey of no return" is taking me. My hope is that those I love are heading to the same destination that I am. It's time to make a choice...don't wait until it's too late. God is waiting to show you who you are in Him.
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