Two people worlds apart lay in dying.
Bob was a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, and as he passed from this life to the next, he radiated peace, joy, and love and left a strong impression upon his attending nurse, who was deeply touched by what she witnessed.
Geraldine was a woman hardened by life, and became angry and bitter as she lay dying in a nursing home, unable to move or speak, but only staring with partially closed eyes at the ceiling abover her. She had been witnessed to by several nurses about Jesus, and lastly by her son, but she remained unresponsive and defiant.
Both passed away the same day, worlds apart.
What this life brings and what this life takes reveals itself upon the entrance of death. We all have to make that last choice before death sweeps us away, faith unto salvation or denial unto destruction. And the life that we had lived reveals itself at the end whether it was lived for self or to the Lord Jesus Christ through faith. Many have presuppostions about life after death such as in reincarnation, Nirvana, or any other imaginations that the mind has accepted in lieu of Jesus Christ. But the absolute truth is this, Jesus alone is the way, the truth and the life, and there is no other way to the Father in heaven except through Him. Bob knew this and was exceedingly joyful, and though dying, he was able to give his final testimony to a nurse who needed to see that. Geraldine lived a life of self; in the end, her testimony was tragic. She was bitter, and there was no joy or love in her features or eyes. Two worlds apart.
Death comes to every man and woman, and most are not ready when it arrives. Many trust in their good works, meaning themselves, and by the standards that they have set, but those standards are worthless having zero value. There is no feather in the balance, there are no compromises, there are no exceptions. When a man or woman dies without having the saving faith in Jesus Christ, there remains nothing between them and the judgment of God, the Creator. Jesus will not be their advocate because they chose to not believe in God’s offer of salvation through His name. They rejected life and chose death and judgment instead.
Denying God’s written word, the Bible, does not erradicate God. He is eternal, and is the Creator regardless of what one chooses to believe or call their religious beliefs, or deny any at all. It makes no difference as to what you have chosen to believe, either as an atheisist, a pagan, an intellectual, or any one of the many organizations that use the name Christian to advance whatever cause they’re purporting. Having a living faith means precisely that: living in the faith and acting on that faith through the love of God and obedience to His commands. And that living faith will produce living works of righteous obedience founded on that very faith offered through Jesus Christ. And if one holds firmly unto the end as with Bob, then that faith will insure eternal life in the presence of the Creator and his Son. And if one refuses that offer of forgiveness and salvation from sin and death, then eternity will be theirs in the Lake of Fire that was originally intended for the devil and the fallen angels, but now includes all workers of unrighteousness and unbelievers.
The two cases are real and the two witnesses are valid because I and my sister are those witnesses to two dying people, Bob and our mother.
Two worlds apart, which world will you choose?
I remain a brother to the faithful in Christ Jesus.
Edward L Ordway