For instance, in birth we enter with nothing, and in death we depart with nothing. Paul would word it this way: “For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out” (1 Timothy 6:7). The context in which this remark is made is in the broader point of contentment as an accompaniment to godliness, but contained in that thought is a wonderful realization as to the opportunities and responsibilities that we thus have in life. At birth we enter life penniless, with absolutely no degree of prosperity. Thus anything we accumulate over the years is a testament to hard work, ingenuity, and ultimately God’s blessings. But a wealthy man once died, and as two friends observed the funeral procession one asked the other, “I wonder how much he left?” The other responded, “He left it all.” Wealthy, middle class, or poor, the same is said of us all. Whatever we accumulated over the span of life, it is all left behind. Thus all that matters is what we did with what we had in the time that we had it. Was that time spent in nothing more than the pursuit of prosperity, every other responsibility to the contrary notwithstanding? Did we shun the pleas and expectations of God while seeking to lay up treasures on earth? Our time is always best spent laying “up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: for where your treasure is, there will you heart be also” (Matthew 6:20-21). And do not be deceived by those who advocate the ability to “straddle the fence” or “have one’s cake and eat it too,” because “no man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other, ye cannot serve God and mammon” (Matthew 6:24). At birth we have nothing and at death we leave with nothing. What are you doing with your time and means in between?
Also, at birth you are surrounded by people who contemplate your life (in prospect), but in death you have the same (only in retrospect). At birth the future is bright. Normally, a long life filled with many years lies ahead and its outcome is of your making. Parents and grandparents gleefully imagine what great things you will accomplish in life and how many people you may impact. However, at death children and grandchildren gather and remember. They contemplate the life just lived and must come to one of two conclusions. Either it was a life spent in worthwhile endeavors that brought joy, happiness, and goodwill toward those around you, or it was time wasted in which nothing of substance ever was accomplished. But in even weightier matters is the reality that one’s life examined in retrospect calls to memory the realization of righteousness or unrighteousness. Again, the memories at the end all depend on how you spent your time since the beginning. When family and friends gather to remember, will those memories be marked with godly endeavors or ungodly filth? Will the close of life measure to the expectation that marked its beginning or fall disappointingly short?
However, it is these two similarities that bring to mind a reality in birth that should serve as motivation as we approach death. At birth we enter life innocent, free of sin. At death our hope is to depart in the same manner. The Bible abundantly makes the case for the purity of infants. They do not inherit the sins of the past generations, but begin life with a clean slate. At death, our goal is to depart in similar fashion; not because we have fooled ourselves into believing we can live perfectly unblemished lives, but because God has made provision by which those sins we do commit can be cleansed and purged from our record providing us the means to depart life declared innocent. The Hebrews writer revealed the extent to which God forgives sin by writing, “For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more” (Hebrews 8:12; 10:17). Such is the innocence that we can obtain in life and that can define us at death as we maintain our purity by faithful living. God is “faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). The innocence with which we began life can be regained in Christ so that we can die declared innocent once more. Is that the end toward which you are traveling?
“To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die…” (Ecclesiastes 3:1-2a). Our end to life is just as certain as our entrance. In looking toward the end, will these realizations serve as the motivation we need to life faithfully, or will we aimlessly wander through life. Let us leave so as we entered that our eternity will be blessed in the presence of God!