Pastor’s Corner:
Pastor
Everett
Packing for the Trip
Death is the great equalizer. Regardless a person’s status in life, when one
dies and goes to the grave, they go alone. What one owned or didn’t own won’t
matter. Neither will one’s accomplishments and achievements in life make a bit
of difference. It’s not that such things are not important---often they are.
It’s just that all such things are left behind. Rich or poor, famous or just
‘one among many,’ the grave recognizes no such distinctions, but rather affirms
that life on earth has ended.
The Psalmist, speaking about this very thing, declares:
For when he dies he will carry nothing away;
His glory will not descend after him. (49:17)
And then in verse 20 adds:
Man is his pomp, yet without understanding,
Is like the beasts that perish.
Yes, death comes for us all. That’s not the question. The only thing that will
matter is our readiness for its arrival. And the answer to that will never be
found in life’s list of possessions and accomplishments. Indeed, we could have
the whole world, but without Christ in our hearts and His work of redemption
applied to our sinful souls, we wouldn’t be ready to leave.
When one prepares to go on a trip, one packs the things needed for that journey.
Be it a trip all the way to Europe or simply an outing for an afternoon of
fishing on a nearby lake, one packs what one needs for the occasion.
What the Psalmist is simply telling us is this---if we embark on the journey
from this life to the next without understanding, then we didn’t pack what we
needed for the trip. And what is the ‘understanding’ of which he speaks? Nothing
other than the knowledge that one has gone to Jesus Christ in all their
sinfulness and failure and is trusting in Him alone to forgive them and to give
them life with Him that will never end.
Packing for the trip that we’re all going to take shouldn’t be too hard. After
all, there’s only one thing we need. Yet, how tragic that in all their packing,
countless thousands will embark on their final journey without it.
