DEVOTIONAL THOUGHTS

worthy of eternal life

from WELS Daily Devotions. wels.net 11/23/2019

“But those who are considered worthy of taking part in the age to come and in the resurrection from the dead will neither marry nor be given in marriage, and they can no longer die; for they are like the angels. They are God’s children, since they are children of the resurrection.” Luke 20:35,36

Somewhere in rural Indiana, there is an old cemetery with many tombstones that are more than 100 years old. One of these tombstones has this epitaph: “Pause, Stranger, when you pass me by. As you are now, so once was I. As I am now, so you will be. So prepare for death and follow me.” Boy, that’s chilling! Someone later scratched these words beneath it: “To follow you I’m not content, until I know which way you went.”

The Bible tells us that death is not the end of a person’s existence. The moment a person dies, eternity begins. But where will you and I spend eternity? In heaven with our Creator? Or in hell, separated from him and all of his blessings? Honestly, we are not worthy of eternal life in heaven. We haven’t even come close to living the perfect, sin-free lives that a holy God demands. What we deserve is to spend our eternity apart from God.

But God wants you to spend eternity with him in heaven. That’s why he sent his Son to this earth. Because of Jesus’ perfect life and death on the cross in your place, you are forgiven. Through faith in him, you are worthy and deserving of eternal life. Imagine how wonderful it will be when we are home in heaven. There will be no more pain or sorrow or guilt or frustration. And, Jesus tells us, that there will be no death. There will be no sense that the end is one day going to come. We will have no need for a bucket list of things we want to do before we die because our time there will never end.

And so, we do not need to fear our death. It is merely the gateway to a much better existence—one that will never end.

Prayer: Dear Jesus, thank you for making me worthy of eternal life. Keep my faith strong until I enter heaven and enjoy your love and presence forever. Amen.

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