Living Life in Light of Your Eternal Hope

General William Nelson was a commanding officer in the Union Army during the Civil War. According to the history books, General Nelson never suffered a major injury during his entire military career. The only injury he ever sustained wasn’t on the field of battle at all! General Nelson was shot and killed during an argument with a fellow soldier.

Amazingly, General Nelson didn’t request immediate medical attention as he lay dying that day. Instead, the general had just one request: “Send for a clergyman; I wish to be baptized.”

You see, General Nelson’s death caught him completely unprepared. He had never taken the time to prepare for death…to get his priorities in line. And that day, as he unexpectedly faced his mortality, all General Nelson cared about was preparing for his eternity!

In this edition of SeniorLife, I want to address a very difficult subject—the subject of death. And while death itself is a certainty for all of us, young or old, it is not something most people want to talk about.

However, as Christians, we should have a different perspective on death than the rest of the world does. Because of Christ’s death and resurrection, each of us can face the inevitability of death with hope…and even celebration!

Those who haven’t accepted the love and forgiveness Jesus made available through the cross will experience a fate far worse than death itself—an eternity separated from God. But for the Christian, death is just the opposite. It is a wonderful homecoming…a chance to begin eternity in fellowship with the Lord and other believers.

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