The wise man prepares for eternity today; the foolish man puts off his preparation for eternity till tomorrow. The wise man has his eye always on the day of his death; the foolish man shuts his mind to the obvious fact that death, and what follows death, must soon be experienced by everyone.
However scornful men are when they are told about God, Christ, and religion, they have to face the proven fact that those who believe in Christ “die well”. This expression of John Wesley’s, when he experienced the new birth, is an excellent summary of what is meant by the believer’s preparedness for eternity. To have Christ is to be ready to begin that most serious and solemn journey from life to death.
This is a journey from time to eternity. Everyone, whether or not his or her soul be right with God, must take this journey. No event which we all face is more solemn or more serious. No event which men and women face calls to us so loudly to begin our preparation at once.
How Men Avoid Preparing
The worldly man has only one way in which to silence his fear of death. It is to shut his mind to the very thought of having to die one day. This is done by taking steps to turn his attention from eternity to present-day pleasures. He will ask for wine or whisky. He will seek the company of like-minded friends, who share his dislike of the subject of death.
The art of the worldly man is to seek out the company of those who love to laugh, to joke, to enjoy eating and drinking. When death or eternity are brought into the conversation the worldly man puts his overcoat back on. He is ready to go. His ear hates the subject of death. “Pour me out another glass” is the worldly man’s reaction to the voice of conscience within him, when the subject of death and eternity disturbs his irreligious and false peace. The sad truth is that fallen man wishes to bury serious truth in the hope that his fears will be over. The worldly man’s hope is that death will be the end of his existence. His hope is made stronger by his refusal to read the Bible or to go to church. He hates nothing more than to be told that death is not the end of existence but the door to an eternal world: heaven or hell, depending on our spiritual state in this life.
In the great mercy of God, there are examples in history of worldly men and women coming to repentance and faith just moments before the door of death closes. Such a case is that of the thief on the cross, who cried to Christ, “Remember me, Lord, when thou comest unto thy kingdom” (Luke 23:42).
But it is wisdom to prepare for death and eternity at once and without delay. To waste time is to risk losing our soul and going to the place of eternal punishment.
How the Wise Prepare for Eternity
Wisdom is the gift of God to those who seek it from Him. It is the God-given desire to know how we can get peace with God. Peace with God can only be had after we have repented of our sins and put our trust in Christ. No other way to have peace with God will work than this, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ” (Acts 16:31).
Those who truly believe in Christ know that their wisdom is to spend life here on earth in a way that will lead to an eternal comfort after death. The true believer knows he must go to the Bible for guidance as to how best to prepare for eternity. He will learn that his duty in this life is to live to the glory of God. Earthly pleasures are now rejected by the wise man because he realises that soon he must appear before God as his Judge.
The way the wise man thinks is this, “I owe it to God that all my sins are washed away by the blood of Christ. My duty is to spend my short life in this world serving and obeying God.”
As a consequence, he says, “No!” to all forbidden and unclean forms of behaviour. Instead he takes steps to grow in heavenly-mindedness.
The wise man prepares for eternity in this way: he reads the Bible daily, he seeks to keep God’s laws, and he prays for God’s grace to make him daily a better man.
The way we live here in time will be reflected in the degree of reward which God will give us in eternity. The best of God’s believing children are those who, being born again, make it their life-long duty to observe the Ten Commandments. Christ makes this clear in the Sermon on the Mount. He states this point in two ways, both negatively and positively, “Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:19).
The wise man prepares for eternity by making God’s Moral Law his rule of life and by teaching others to do the same. The measure of our obedience to God’s Moral Laws will be reflected in the measure of our reward in the eternal world of glory after death.
The wise man prepares for eternity also by spending time daily to meditate on the wonderful truths of God’s Word. Such subjects as these are the things which he takes time to meditate on: the sufferings of Christ, the love of God, the marvel of the incarnation, the glories of heaven.
How God Prepares His Believing People for Eternity
Death is a very serious moment for us all. It is when we pass from time to eternity. It is when the believer says “Farewell” to all he has known in this life and will enter into glory to be with Christ forever.
Some of God’s dear people are called into eternity while still young. Others die in a good old age. All of them, in the moment of death, become perfectly sinless and perfectly happy to all eternity. The degree of their obedience to God’s Word in this life will be reflected in the degree of their glory in heaven. But all will be eternally loved by God and loved one by another.
God sometimes prepares His dear people for death in that He gives them an awareness that they must soon be in eternity. There is no doubt that the nearness of death is something we should be aware of in old age. Grey hair, a stooping body, a failing memory and similar weaknesses are all a visible reminder to us of the near approach of death.
It is not surprising that the wise Solomon, writing in old age, could write, “Vanity of vanities…all is vanity” (Eccl. 12:8). A godly man in old age feels, as in youth he did not yet feel, the emptiness of this fallen and sinful world.
The wise man is the one who sees that God alone is the supremely important treasure. To have God eternally is what he most desires. Sadly, in this fallen world God is not the treasure which sinners most want. They choose vain worldly pleasures.
Happily, the man of God will have his heart’s desire when he closes his eyes in death and enters into glory. His heavenly treasure is now his forever, the Triune God whom he in this life longed to have. No wonder the scriptures say, “Blessed are the dead…” (Rev. 14:13).
Happy and blessed are all who place their faith and hope in Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the World. They shall find after death that their preparations for eternity were not in vain. They will leave all their sorrows behind and they will enter into eternal rest with the God whom in this life they served.
Far different will be the experience of sinners who do not prepare for eternity. Their eternal misery will be in hell.
