If You Have Not Ordered Your Coffin

Funeral homes like for people to plan their funerals early--before they die. But many people do not. In fact, most do not. So if you have not planned yours and ordered your coffin, you are not alone.

Most people do not often discuss, much less plan for, their death. That seems strange, considering it is one thing which everyone will experience. In some cultures, as older people see death approaching, they plan for it, even to the point of ordering their coffins. But we would rather not think of death; we want to be about living, and think of death as always "out there" in the vague future. Sometimes it appears we think we will never die.

You will die. And so will I.

Have you planned your funeral? Have you ordered your coffin? Planning ahead is a good idea. By doing so, you can save loved ones some of the pain that comes with doing all the planning in the few days between your death and your funeral.

But there are more important things about your coming death to consider.

Several thousand years ago, Job asked, "Man dieth . . . and where is he?" (Job 14:10). What will happen to you after you die? Will death end it all for you? Or will there be something after death for you?

The Bible clearly answers these questions. It tells us what men have always realized, at least subconsciously: there is something after death. The Bible not only tells us what that "something" is, but what we should be doing now to prepare for it.

When your body dies, you will live on. Your soul is eternal, because when God created man, He "breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul" (Genesis 2:7). You have no choice in the matter; you will not cease to exist when your body dies.

Your body, too, has a future. Of course, in the ground it will decay and return to the dust, just as God has said it will. But there is coming a time when all men's bodies will be resurrected, "some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt" (Daniel 12:2). "For the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation" (John 5:28, 29).

You will stand before Almighty God to be judged. "It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment" (Hebrews 9:27). God's judgment will be completely just and unbiased. "Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?" (Genesis 18:25). God will have none of the injustice that so often shows up in man's courtrooms. He will accept no bribes, will listen to no excuses, will cooperate in no plea agreements.

You will be condemned or rewarded on the basis of your actions in life. God observes men's actions and searches their hearts, seeing even their motives, in order that He might "give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings" (Jeremiah 17:10). Your life, before you are placed in your coffin, determines God's decision concerning you.

God will not judge as men would. You may be a church member; that will not affect God's judgment. You may be a Sunday school teacher or preacher; again, those things will not sway a holy God to accept you in that day. Jesus told how many would come in that day saying, "Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?" Jesus then says, "Then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity" (Matthew 7:22, 23).

You will spend eternity--forever--in one of two places: in hell, because you rejected Jesus Christ and disobeyed God; or in glory, because you received Jesus Christ as your Lord and your Saviour and lived a life of obedience to Him.

Are you prepared for death? Have you planned your funeral? Have you ordered your coffin? But more importantly--far more importantly--are you prepared to face judgment by a just God and for the eternity that follows?

IF YOU WANT TO BE READY TO DIE

ACKNOWLEDGE Your Condition Before God.

"For I know that in me . . . dwelleth no good thing" (Romans 7:18).

"All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way" (Isaiah 53:6).

HEAR Christ's Invitation.

"Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28).

"Repent ye therefore . . . that your sins may be blotted out" (Acts 3:19).

ANCHOR Your Life in Christ.

"If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved" (Romans 10:9).

ENJOY New Life in Him.

"If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new" (2 Corinthians 5:17).

"If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed" (John 8:36).

CONTINUE Following Christ.

"Neither yield ye your members as instruments . . . unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God" (Romans 6:13a).

"If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed" (John 8:31b).

"Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life" (Revelation 2:10b).