We Must Be Ready, for we each face an Appointed Time to Die
Oftentimes, we read about people’s lives and deaths. In November of the year 1963, three men died: John F. Kennedy, Aldous Huxley, and C. S. Lewis. Each man faced the same fate: their appointed time to die. The Bible speaks of this in the biblical letter written to the Hebrews.
“And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment,
(The Letter to the Hebrews 9: 27-28 NASB)
so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many,
will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin,
to those who eagerly await Him.”
However, each man held a different view.
- C. S. Lewis was an atheist who learned the truth about God and became a Christian speaker, a vocal apologist, dedicating the remainder of his life writing biblical truth, living as a Christian apologist.
- Aldous Huxley did not believe in the existence of God, and lived as an agnostic. He leaned toward philosophical and mystical teachings of the eastern world. He spent his life writing fiction, not biblical truth.
- John Fitzgerald Kennedy professed to be a Roman Catholic, and enjoyed a time as a beloved American president, but after his death, the world learned the truth about his lack of faith. Deep down he seemed to believe in Humanism and lived his life in a way that revealed his humanistic belief.
Yes, history records that each man died, facing his demise on exactly the same day, the twenty-second day of November. Also notable is that each man faced his death-day during the same year, 1963, after working to make names, while they lived on earth. Nevertheless, all three men faced their pre-appointed day to die. While studying the historic truth found on this particular day, it made me ponder the truth God’s Word speaks to each of us, truth that we need today as much as ever.
“As for man, his days are like grass;
(The Psalms 103: 15-16 NASB)
As a flower of the field, so he flourishes.
When the wind has passed over it, it is no more,
And its place acknowledges it no longer.”
May we each accept the gospel truth: Individually, we face a decision.
Will we receive the truth about Jesus Christ?
We must seek Jesus’s forgiveness, placing our sin at the foot of the cross, while it is still “day,” while time remains. When we do turn away from our sin and receive Jesus as our Savior, then the Bible tells us how God removes our sin, washing us clean in the shed blood of Jesus. Thereafter, each day we live, we make a daily choice to live for Him, denying our human, sinful self, choosing daily to walk in His Way.
Sooner than expected, our days on earth will be spent, and “When the wind has passed over it, it is no more, . . .”. The world tells us that there are two sure things in this world: Taxes and Death. Yes, we will die. Morbid, I know, and quickly, the surrounding world will forget us, leaving only our close loved ones mourning our passing.
However, praise God, the psalmist wrote the greatest truth regarding those who choose to believe in Jesus while they live here on earth.
“But the lovingkindness of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear Him,
(The Psalms 103: 17-18 NASB)
And His righteousness to children’s children,
To those who keep His covenant
And remember His precepts to do them.”
Therefore, We Must Be Ready, for we each face an Appointed Time to Die.
Just as November 22 was the day John, Aldous, and C.S arrived at their death day.
Today could be our appointed day.
Christian apologists, may we each live today, focused on our eternity, fully awake and not as if sleepwalking. Let us be ready if the Lord calls us home—TODAY.