The End 

   “Oh Death, oh Death, won’t you spare me over til another year.” (“A Conversation with Death”,  Lyrics by Philip Pendergast, Benjamin Hutcherson, Zachary Coleman) 

   We often look forward to the end of some things.  We rejoice when winter ends and the beauty of spring comes once again.  Some have parties when the mortgage on their house comes to an end.  We look forward to the last payment on that new car and many other things.

   There is one thing, however, that virtually no one looks forward to; the end of our mortal life.  But of all the things in life, our death is the one thing that cannot be avoided, though many spend everything they have trying to avoid, or at least, delay it.  As the old bluegrass song puts it, “Oh Death, won’t you spare me over til another year”.

   Rather than fear the end it is far better to be prepared for it.  While death is the end of our life on this earth, it really isn’t an end, but a transition.  A transition from the mortal to the immortal; our mortal body dies, but our soul is eternal.  But to where does our immortal soul go?  Though fewer and fewer seem recognize or acknowledge the truth, our soul will spend eternity in either heaven or hell; there is no other option.

   If I am prepared for this final transition there is no fear of death.  I have no way of knowing when it will come but if I am in a right relationship with God, it really doesn’t matter.  Like everything else, it is in God’s hands; His will be done.  “For God so loved the world that he gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.” (John 3: 16)