A L M A C I A S

REALITIES OF OUR EXISTENCE

As we go through life, we sometimes forget the realities of our existence. Sometimes we begin to think that we will live forever. Somehow we convince ourselves that we are invincible and that no one can touch us. Such is not the case. Sooner or later we all find out how wrong we were. In some cases, we learn too late that our life on earth was only temporary. In the Scriptures, we read that God wants us to think about our existence on this earth. We read in Hebrews 9:27, "It is appointed unto man once to die, but after this the judgement." We all have one life to live, and only one life. Once we die, the only thing that awaits us is the judgement. There is no coming back to this earth for a second opportunity to live a life that is pleasing unto God.

In the book of Genesis, we read how God made it very clear that we came from the ground and we would eventually return to the ground. We read in Genesis 3:19, "In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return." There is no escaping this reality for any one of us. As we go through life, we are reminded time after time of how our earthly existence can so easily come to an end. We see almost every day, at one place or another, the funeral processions that are going on about us; and we know that some day that funeral procession will be ours. No one is exempt from this, regardless of age, education level, physical strength, or importance in life. Since our life will cease eventually, we should realize that once we leave this earth, there will be no coming back. There is no amount of money, education, or medical technology that can change that. But, as sad as all of this is, there are things that we find in the Scriptures that can bring us consolation and comfort. We read in the Scriptures that there is life after death. We learn that there is more to our existence than just our earthly life. There is our eternal life, which will never end. There is something that all of us can do to make our eternal existence even better than it was on earth. If we do our best to live according to the will of God while we do exist on this earth, then some day we shall go to a much better place.