Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his faithful servants – Psalm 116:15

The old man sat up in his sick bed with sensors running all over his body, monitoring his vital signs. He cleared his throat as he began to talk with his four children surrounding him. He spoke very candidly and with great optimism in his eyes.

He had known a lot of years and what he characterized as a very blessed life in Christ. But now, the sun and the light and the moon and the stars had grown dark, and the clouds had returned after the rain. The keepers of his house (hands) were trembling and the once strong man, now stooped. The grinders (teeth) had ceased because they had decreased in number, and those looking through the windows (eyes) had grown dim. The doors to the street were closed and the sound of grinding was fading for him (going deaf). He had come to the time when people rise up at the sound of birds, but all their songs grow faint; the time when people are afraid of heights and of dangers in the streets; when the almond tree blossoms (hair goes gray)  and the grasshopper drags itself along, and desire no longer is stirred.

The old man reviewed his illustrious life with candor. He was fearless in declaring that the time had come for him when people go to their eternal home and mourners go about the streets. The silver cord, he said, was almost severed, and the golden bowl would break very soon. The pitcher would be shattered at the spring very soon, and the wheel would be broken at the well. The dust would return to the ground it came from, and his spirit would return to Almighty God, the One who gave it. Then, he would be no more with them (Eccl. 12:2-7).

Did he have any regrets? The old man said, No! Did he intend to fight the cancer that was eating him away? “No!”Did everything seem meaningless to him like they did for the Teacher in Ecclesiastes? “No”, the old man insisted with a pleasant and confident smile. So, what advice did he have for the children?

“It is the reason I have called you all here today. You know all about my life. I have never kept anything in my life from you. My life has become an open book before you and so you know how terrible I was before the grace of God found me and Christ took hold of my life. He cleansed me and made me feel like a person again in Him. Life after my conversion has been my best and I would never trade it for any other time. Christ is all that I have and all that I can leave for you. Please make sure none of you denies Him. Insist on living for Him everyday, every time and everywhere. As Paul pleaded to the Christians in Rome, so do I also “urge you, [my children], in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God – this is your true and proper worship” (Rm. 12:1). I know that “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day – and not only to me, but to all who have longed for His appearing” (2 Tim. 4:7-8). I want to see you all in heaven, and each one of you should make sure you bring along your children’s children I will never see here on earth”.

With that, the old soldier of the Lord drew his legs in and breathed his last breath. His cold body lay there motionless, but with the same smile still adorning his face. He was at peace for the last time, and heaven had opened to receive its child – the child of the covenant blood of Christ Jesus. Without a tear in their faces, the children held hands in a circle and thanked the Lord for the life they had shared with their dad. Finally, they embraced each other, as the nurses came in to prepare their father’s remains for the mortuary.

What a way to go! That is the joy of the child of God who enjoys, thoroughly, their earthly life in Christ Jesus. Even in great pain, they pass on with contentment and a smile in their faces. The Psalmist was right, “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His faithful servants (Psalm 116:15). Are you prepared to go that way?