“A small fact: You are going to die….does this worry you?” ~ The Book Thief
The news always blows up when someone famous dies tragically. The reaction of many is one of astonishment and shock. “How could this happen?” people lament. We do not like to face it; however, there is a very simple fact here: we are all mortal. We are all going to die.
Death can take us in a number of ways. For some, death may come naturally, after the end of a long life. For others, life might be very brief as we die quite young. Others will die from illnesses, some long-standing. And still others die from accidents of all kinds.
We need to be ready for death. None of us know if it is around the corner. That is why Jesus told us that we must be ready for that “thief in the night” because we will never know the day or the hour.
We could look away in horror at these types of events and say life is not fair and lament that people die. Or, we could take away a lesson and remind ourselves that death is no respecter of age, power, or prestige. Accepting that, we might want to do something to greet death if it calls for us, even this very day.
The best way to be ready, of course, is to live each moment in readiness. Instead of being surprised when death comes to us, we will then be ready to embrace it as a friend knowing that it is the doorway to eternity.
FAITH ACTION: Pray for all those who are not prepared to die, that they may examine their lives and do all that they can to live in readiness.