I met a man many years ago. I will call him Joe (not his real name). Joe was interesting and fun. He loved his family and friends. He went to church regularly, and he did good and kind things for others. Joe wanted to build his business and become financially secure. He attained his goal and became rather wealthy. As the years went by, Joe enjoyed his life, his family and all the toys and wealth he had accumulated. From this side of eternity, we would say that Joe was very successful.

I am sure you assumed that this Joe has died since I am speaking of him in the past tense. You are correct. He did pass away, grieving his family, friends, and community. His loss was a blow to many people. Joe’s passing saddened me. I grieved for his family and hurt for them for days after I heard about his unexpected death. The whole situation was very sad.

I called this story the tale of two men because another man I knew passed away the day after my first acquaintance. I will call him Ed (not his real name). Two men that I had met many years ago (about 35 years ago) both went into eternity very near the same time.

I met Ed many years ago. Ed was interesting and fun. He loved his family and friends. He went to church regularly, and Ed did good and kind things for others. Ed wanted to build his business and become financially secure. He attained his goal and became rather wealthy. As the years went by, Ed enjoyed his life, his family and all the toys and wealth he had accumulated. We would say that Ed too was very successful.

Ed passed away, grieving his family, friends, and community. His loss was a blow to many people. Ed’s passing saddened me. I grieved for his family and hurt for them for days after I heard about his death. But I also rejoiced. I knew he would be missed. Initially, I was sad, but there was also joy and rejoicing because I knew that Ed was in heaven with Jesus.

I knew because of Ed’s life and statement of faith that he was now safe and secure with Jesus, enjoying eternal life. Although I know it will be difficult for those close to him to live day to day in this life without him, I know they find comfort in the fact that he is safe in Jesus. He put his trust in the power of God to save him. Ed left a legacy of faithful service to the Lord.

Joe did not. He did not look for truth and base his faith on reality. But, he chose his religion and his faith based on what would give him financial peace and power in this life. His true religion and faith was in himself and in his work. From all the evidence, it does not seem that Joe had accepted God’s gift of salvation. Rather, from what I know, he rejected the truth of God for a lie. Upon Joe’s death, I do not believe he was welcomed into the presence of the Father by King Jesus. His rejection of the true and living God is tragic, and I still grieve.

As I have reflected on this tale of two men it has solidified my resolve to live for Jesus. In many ways, Joe and Ed lived similar lives. My life is similar to many other women my age. Much of my story is not unique. But if the real dichotomy, separation or contrast is faith in Jesus, no similarity matters. What makes me and my life unique and special is that I enjoy a personal relationship with the God of the Universe. I will leave this life and spend eternity with God.

So, I want to live in such a way that when I die, my family and friends’ grief is momentary, but the rejoicing goes on forever. I want them to be confident in my eternal state. I do not want them to worry that I chose to face judgment unprepared. I want them to be confident that I was welcomed into the presence of God as a child of the King.

“Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many” (Hebrews 9:27–28, NIV)