Inches from Eternity

10 years ago this past weekend, I was driving home from college after completing my junior year at Providence Baptist College. I was looking forward to a good summer of work before returning for my senior year. The trip from the Chicago area back to northern Mississippi was about 600 miles—a trip that I could easily complete in 9-10 hours.

Just after 11 PM, I was only about 35 minutes from home as I approached the I-55 Memphis-Arkansas bridge near West Memphis. Suddenly, I saw headlights coming straight at me. Instinctively, I jerked the wheel to the left to avoid a head-on collision. Thankfully, the other driver swerved in the opposite direction at the same moment, but not before sideswiping my car.

I immediately pulled over to assess the damage and try to process what had just happened. I found that the entire right side of my car had made contact with the other vehicle. The antenna was bent, my passenger-side door handle was gone, the side mirror had been knocked off, and there were scrapes and dents all along the side. Before I could even call 911 to report the hit-and-run, a State Trooper who had spotted me pulled over to check on me. He hadn’t seen the collision or the other vehicle, so I pulled up the dashcam footage and showed him what had happened.

As I watched the dashcam footage and looked at the damage to my car, the realization that I had been literally inches away from a head-on collision at interstate speeds was frighteningly obvious. If we had swerved toward each other instead of away, I’m sure that I would have been critically injured, if not instantly killed. I truly believe that I was only inches from eternity.

Maybe you have had one of those “inches from eternity” moments in your life. Maybe it was a near-miss accident such as mine. Maybe it was a severe illness or diagnosis that you recovered from. Or perhaps it was something that you were never even aware of, yet in reality, you were simply inches from eternity.

Regardless of your personal experiences, we are all inches away from eternity. The Bible speaks of our lives as a vapor that appears for just a moment before vanishing away. You and I are not guaranteed another year, another month, another day, or even another breath.

Over the next few days after my accident, I found myself lying in bed at night reliving the events of that night and thinking through all the what-ifs if I hadn’t avoided the other vehicle. Specifically, I found myself contemplating three questions. These are three questions that I invite you to consider and answer for yourself.

1. Where will I be?

The Bible clearly tells us that when a person dies, their body will return to the earth, but their soul will live forever in one of two places: Heaven or Hell. There is no in-between, there is no purgatory, there is no “nothingness”. When you and I take our last breath on this earth, we will immediately enter into a conscious existence in either Heaven or Hell.

The Bible describes Heaven as a real, physical place; it’s not a state of mind or a whimsical fairyland where we all float around in a euphoric trance. Right now, there are real people with real physical bodies living in this real, actual place called Heaven.

“And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.” Revelation 21:1

Likewise, the Bible speaks of Hell as being a very real, literal place of eternal fire and darkness. Hell is not what you are living in right now. Hell is not merely a horrible situation that you have gone through. Hell is not simply dark nothingness. The Bible describes Hell as a place of conscious, eternal, inescapable torment for every person who goes there.

“And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.” Luke 16:23-24

If you were to take your final breath right now, where would you be?

2. How will I be remembered?

One day, when you come to people’s minds long after you’re gone, how will they remember your life?

Will your children remember you as a parent who loved the Lord and His church? Or will they remember you as a parent who lived one way at church and another way at home? Will your spouse remember how you loved them just as Christ loved the church? Or will they remember only the fighting and strife in the home?

Church member, will your church family look back on your life and remember it as one of service and sacrifice? Or will you be remembered as someone who merely filled a spot on the church pew? Will your pastor be able to honestly say that you were a blessing to him, a burden bearer, a lifter up of his hands, an encourager, and a servant? Or will he primarily remember you as the one who was always complaining, criticizing, discouraging, and stirring up strife?

Will your friends and acquaintances look back on your life and remember you as the real deal when it comes to living the Christian life? Or will they remember you as someone who was only mildly devoted to your faith?

If you were to take your final breath right now, how would you be remembered?

“The memory of the just is blessed: but the name of the wicked shall rot.” Proverbs 10:7

3. What have I done in this life that has truly mattered?

In 1 Corinthians 3, Paul warns the church at Corinth that every person’s works and good deeds that they do in this life will one day be tried by fire. That which is worthless and temporary will be consumed like wood or hay, but that which is eternal and valuable will be purified and come forth as gold, silver, and precious stones.

“Our greatest fear should not be of failure, but of succeeding at something that doesn’t really matter.” -D.L. Moody

God is very clear in His Word that salvation is by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, “not of works, lest any man should boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9) No matter how many good deeds you do and how pure your motives may be, you cannot earn your way into Heaven.

But if you are saved, it ought to be evident in the life that you live! Good works are not a means to salvation, but a natural result of salvation. Although our salvation isn’t earned by what we do, we do have the opportunity to earn eternal rewards based on what we do here on earth. But to receive eternal rewards, we must make eternal decisions that produce eternal fruit.

So what is it in your life that has your focus? Is it your career? Your finances? Your social standing? What will be left of all that when you leave this earth?

If you want to live a life that truly matters and results in eternal rewards, it starts with living for Jesus Christ. Be a soul winner and lead people to Christ. Be a servant and give of yourself to others for Christ’s sake. Be a godly person and live for the Lord. That is how you can live a life with true meaning.

“Only one life, ’twill soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last.”-C.T. Studd

If you were to take your final breath today, what would you have done in this life that has truly mattered?

“And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.” Revelation 21:5

True and Faithful is a weekly blog by Andrew Beadles. Subscribe to receive new posts.