I have been very poor, in fact, homeless and penniless, and yet I was blessed with a strong work ethic and common sense and used it to attain a small fortune. I was reading the Bible this morning and found a verse written by King Solomon that stated, “a wise man thinks of death often, while the fool thinks only of having a good time now.” Why do you suppose these God-ordained verses were written? Isn’t it a little ghoulish to think of death? Who wants to think about it often?
When asked what surprised him the most about life, Billy Graham didn’t hesitate to respond. He quickly said, “Its brevity!” The Bible describes life as a mist that is here for a moment and then disappears. It describes eternity as being as far away as east is to west, or never-ending. Billy lived to be 99 years old which by today’s earthly standards is a long life, but his eternal life in heaven with Jesus will just be getting started in a billion years and there are no numbers large enough to describe forever.
Billy Graham was obviously a gifted person. He was tall, good-looking, smart, and articulate, and without question could have accumulated a vast fortune had he chosen to pursue it. Instead, he used all his talent and resources to serve God his entire adult life. His life was not dedicated to having a good time now, but in the next life. As King Solomon declared he made a wise choice. I spent a long time trying to build an earthly “Kingdom of Bob” and then discovered it was futile and foolish. I have no desire to be the richest person in the cemetery and fortunately I changed direction for my life and decided to forego business and enter the ministry fulltime. Much of what I had earned was given away and I no longer try to “grasp the wind” and live for the day.
Today I work to build God’s Kingdom. The treasure I receive from my work on the behalf of Jesus is enjoyable now and more importantly the only thing that will accompany me to heaven. All else will be left behind. When I die, I want to hear God say, “Well done my good and faithful servant”. As my mist is slowly disappearing, and each day I draw closer to that moment when it disappears in its entirety, I anxiously await never-ending paradise. To me it is not ghoulish to think of such things. It’s actually very pleasant and peaceful . . . Nonetheless, I’m thankful that I have been granted yet another day to work for the Kingdom of God, to spend time with family and friends and make new friends, but I do look forward to meeting Jesus face to face and kneeling before Him and entering into heaven.
2 Cor. 5:7
For we live by faith, not by sight. We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.