Destination Unknown

Day Twenty-Seven

Destination Unknown (Read Proverbs 11:3-8)

"Don't search for heaven and hell in the future. Both are now present. Whenever we manage to love without expectations, calculations, or negotiations, we are indeed in heaven. Whenever we fight or hate, we are in hell." ~ Shams Tabrizi

How often do you seriously contemplate your own death or the death of those closest to you? Because humans are living longer, the likelihood that you are in denial about death, especially your own death, is highly probable. Science tells us that the average life expectancy was in the 30s during pre-historic times. Today, the average life expectancy is around 77 years. The delusional mindset that we'll live forever is primarily due to modern medicine keeping people alive longer.

The next BIG QUESTION I have for you is, what happens to you when you die? Death is the great equalizer. People and nations from all around the globe will experience different levels of opportunity, wealth, and security, but at the end of the day, we're all going to die. So, let me ask again: what will happen to you when you die? Will you become worm food? Does your soul yearn to be with its Creator? Not sure? Don't care?

Scripture instructs, warns, and pleads for humanity to take God seriously, and if we take him at his Word, then God will separate the righteous from the wicked. Death will be the moment of truth in the end, and then the mystery and question of what's next will be answered once and for all. Does this question concern you? It should.

⁷ When the wicked die, their hopes die with them,
    for they rely on their own feeble strength.

⁸ The godly are rescued from trouble,
    and it falls on the wicked instead.

⁹ With their words, the godless destroy their friends,
    but knowledge will rescue the righteous.

¹⁰ The whole city celebrates when the godly succeed;
    they shout for joy when the wicked die.

¹¹ Upright citizens are good for a city and make it prosper,
    but the talk of the wicked tears it apart.

"Hell is empty, and all the devils are here." ~ William Shakespeare

Wicked people get what they deserve at the end of the day, at least at the end of most books and movies, but it's certainly true in real life. The audience cheers when the wicked lose and get what's coming to them. Why? Where do humans get their sense of good and evil? You can't deny the existence of moral truth in the world and that it exists deep down inside you; where did it come from? If you claim to be an atheist, the idea of good and evil is problematic because if humans come from matter (nothing), and evolution is genuinely all about the survival of the fittest, then who cares what happens to others, or who wins in the end?

God relentlessly and repeatedly warns humanity that the wicked will lose in the end and experience separation from his presence forever. Wicked people (those living only for themselves) will experience this separation on earth and the hereafter. What we do, how we live, and how we treat God and others truly matters, especially to God. It's no different than how the children in your care, custody, and control live. Their choices, good or evil, truly matter, especially to you.

Are you separated from God right now, living only for your self-interest and ignoring God's ambitions altogether? It's never too late to mend your ways, to move away from the dark and walk toward the Light. God loves all people, and he created human beings in his image. His relentless rants and warnings come from a place of love, not punishment. Parents discipline their children; why? Because they love them! God disciplines his children for the same reason. When you start acting like one of God's kids, he starts treating you like one of his kids, not only in this life but also in the hereafter.  

May God bless your reflection, understanding, and application of today's wisdom.