If You Were In A Casket Today

Recently while visiting a local business I got into a conversation with a young man named Darryl. During our conversation we talked about our personal driving experiences and Darryl shared some of his crazy driving experiences when he was first starting out. In fact, he said something that caught my attention. Darryl said, “I ought to be in a casket today.” We continued to talk for a few minutes and then I asked Darryl a question: “Darryl, if you were in a casket today where would you be?” Darryl replied, “Today I would be in heaven because I’m a follower of Jesus, but back then, I don’t know.” We continued our conversation and then I left, thankful that Darryl was a follower of Jesus!

I have been thinking about Darryl’s statement for a few days now. As a result, I decided to write a short post posing the same question: “If you were in a casket today where would you be?” Let’s face it, we are all going to die one day. The writer of Hebrews wrote, “it is appointed for man to die once” (Hebrews 9:27). We’re not promised tomorrow. James tells us, “you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes” (James 4:14). Just as sure as we are all going to die one day, we are all going to live forever somewhere! The truth is, according to God’s Word, we will live forever in one of two places: heaven or hell. So, if you were in a casket today where would you be?

We live in a day when people are trying to get to heaven by their own good works. They are working hard and trying to live right. The reality is that no one is good enough, or could ever be good enough, to earn their way to heaven. The Apostle Paul tells us that “none is righteous, no, not one” and that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:10, 23). Since we have all sinned, we deserve death, or separation from God (Romans 6:23). Thankfully though, “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). Christ Jesus paid our sin debt by dying on the cross. He alone is the only way to heaven—to God! Jesus clearly stated that He is “the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). To come to God the Father when we die then we must repent of our sin and come by faith to Christ Jesus for the forgiveness of our sins, trusting solely in His death and resurrection (see John 3; Acts 2:38; Romans 10:9-13).

If you were in a casket today where would you be?