Now in my 80s, I find the subject of a final destination quite real and worth a deeper discussion.
However, I must admit I had no time nor interest in a dialogue on the topic when I was caught up in doing business and living life for the pure enjoyment a half-century ago.
On occasion, I would broach the subject as peers near my age were taken before their time. But then I would promptly go back to living an indulgent lifestyle.
Yet as we age, we naturally find ourselves thinking about what’s around the next turn on our life journey.
After all, these essays have been called Fourth Quarter Strategies since inception more than 12 years ago.
My premise is simple. Any of us could be in our fourth quarter of life and nearing the end of the game!
Just as the fourth quarter of a football game is often when games are won and lost, we certainly would be wise to come to grips with what it takes to come out on the winning side.
As a follower of Christ Jesus, my perspective on life and worldly death may differ from yours.
As I’ve developed an ever-increasing faith in Scripture and the Truth found within its pages, I’ve experienced a peace that cannot be explained.
I have confidence in what Jesus accomplished on that Roman cross 2,000 years ago.
Let me share these words written by the Apostle John in 1 John 3:1-2 while on the Isle of Patmos as he neared the end of his life here on this planet: “How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God. And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know Him. Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when He appears, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.”
Scripture says quite a bit about our final destination. For those of us who know that we have been saved by the grace of God, we need not fret about what lies around the next turn.
We simply trust what God’s Word says and go on living a life that, hopefully, is pleasing to our Father in Heaven. After all, we are His children!
If there’s any doubt or uncertainty in your mind as to your final destination, please consider there is a Heaven and there is a Hell.
Both destinations are presented in scripture. Heaven is available to all who confess their sinful nature, turn away from their actions that are displeasing to God, ask God’s forgiveness and believe whole-heartedly in Christ Jesus — God’s only Son as their Savior and Lord.
I pray that the Passages to Ponder may give you a better grasp of God’s saving grace and the gift that awaits you for an Eternity in Heaven.