What’s YOUR Next Appointment?
What’s next in your appointment book? Is it another meeting? Is it a phone call you need to make? Is it an event you will be attending? Is it a journey you will go on? If you were to keep your plans for the next day, what would that look like? I’m sure we all have either very specific plans or maybe just a general idea of what we will be doing tomorrow.
I want you to think about an appointment not many of us like to consider. It is an appointment that won’t be delayed or canceled. It is an appointment that is on every person’s appointment calendar wether they know it or not. It is the appointment mentioned in Hebrews 9:27, “And insomuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes the judgment.” We are talking about our appointment with death.
No appointment is more certain than our appointment with death. No matter how many vitamins you take, no matter how much you exercise, and no matter how well you eat, ALL of us will eventually die. We might be able to postpone it a few years by a good diet and exercise program, but not always. I can recall a number of people who were quite physically fit, athletes who train every day, who suddenly died. Our appointment with death will come in its time frame, not ours.
Recently we have seen three sudden and unexpected deaths rock our dear folks. I’ve often heard, “They always die in threes.” But, I cannot remember a time when this was true of people in our church. In each case the person who passed into eternity had plans for the next day. Each one who died had family members who were not prepared for their loved one to die. Conversations were cut short by their sudden death. No time was given for that final good-bye. No opportunity was afforded these dear family members to say, “I love you.” Death’s appointment came and snatched three loved ones away.
Each one of us who read this are also on a path to meet our appointment with death. No one reading this can ignore the fact that the one profession which will always have business is the undertaker! Someday it will be our turn to die and to have our loved ones grieve our passing away and for them to deal with our death.
The Apostle Paul speaks much to the subject of death, dying and eternity. In fact, he dedicates an entire chapter to the subject of resurrection; 1 Corinthians 15. He speaks about the hope and joy waiting for the believer who dies. His words in 2 Corinthians 5:8, “absent from the body, present with the Lord” have comforted many believers in times of great grief.
Today, look at your appointment calendar. Today, consider what is next on your appointment schedule. Then ask yourself if you are ready for this appointment. If you know the Lord Jesus Christ as your Saviour, then you are ready. If you’ve never asked the Lord Jesus for the forgiveness of your sins, that is the first step to being ready for your appointment.
