You have only one life to live on earth

By Tope Banso
“Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of His saints” (Psalm 116:15 New King James Version).
You have only one life to live and you should seek to live it in honour and praise of God. You should live your life to the glory of His name. You should live this one life for the purpose God created you.
Some days ago, I was told that a Nigerian, who was a missionary to a West African country for about 25 years, has gone to be with the LORD and he will be buried this weekend. He has finished the race! I don’t know this soldier and ambassador of Christ, but I say to him, “Good-night!”
Psalm 116:15 says, “Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of His saints” (New King James Version). The New Living Translation gives another perspective to this scripture. It says, “The LORD’s loved ones are precious to him; it grieves him when they die.” That means, it’s painful to Him. “How painful it is to the LORD when one of his people dies!” (Good News Translation). Nevertheless, earth’s loss is heaven’s gain.
A saint is someone who has been washed clean of his sins by the blood of Jesus following his faith in the Son of God. In other words, a saint is someone who has accepted Jesus as his Lord and Savior and his sins are forgiven. Believers in Christ are saints.
Writing to the believers in Rome, Paul said, “To all who are in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints” (Romans 1:7 New King James Version). The saints are redeemed and reconciled with God (Colossians 1:19-20). Are you a sinner or a saint?
You have only one life to live. We all have limited time to live on earth. There is nothing like reincarnation. Once you die, you’re dead! What awaits you is final judgment. Romans 14:10c says we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. But judgment for the saints and judgment for the sinners mean different things. According to 1 John 4:17a, love has been perfected among believers in this: that they may have boldness on the Day of Judgment.
Hebrews 9:27 says that it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment. Praying that God should grant the dead eternal rest or saying, “May his/her soul rest in perfect peace” is just a mark of respect for the dead! It changes nothing.
You have only one life to live and once you die, nothing can change anything you’ve done. There is no repentance in the grave. You have just one life to live – only one life. But you can make a life-changing decision during this your one-time sojourn on earth that will give you access to spend eternity with God, and not eternity in helI-fire.
Revelation 20:12 says, “And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books” (New King James Version). According to verse 15, anyone whose name was not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire. May that not be you. But you determine that before you die.
After death, many things won’t matter. Your degrees, chieftaincy titles and honours, mansions, children, wealth, fame, businesses, achievements, etc. won’t matter.
It won’t even matter that you were a minister of the Gospel, and performed outstanding miracles. “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’” (Matthew 7:21-23 New King James Version).
What will matter after your death is if you accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour and lived in obedience to the Word of God and His will for your life. It’s also important if you fulfilled the purpose of God for your life on earth. This is not saying everybody must be a pastor!
What are you living for? Is it pleasure, money, fashion, fame, etc.? You shall give a personal account to God one day (Romans 14:12).
In his famous eight-verse poem, “Only one life”, British missionary, C. T. Studd, said in the fourth verse, “Only one life, a few brief years. Each with its burdens, hopes and fears; each with its days I must fulfil, living for self or in His will; only one life, ’twill soon be past; only what’s done for Christ will last.”
Paul said in Galatians 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me” (New King James Version)
Surrender your life to Jesus today, if you haven’t. Live to fulfill the purpose of God for your life. Accept responsibility for your life. Avoid procrastination. Live your life in full obedience to the Word of God. Love God and love fellow human beings. Forgive all; eschew bitterness (Matthew 22:37-40; Mark 12:29-31; Luke 10:27; 1 Corinthians 13:1-13; Romans 13:8-10, Ephesians 4:31; Hebrews 12:15).
Ephesians 5:15 says, “See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil” (New King James Version). Life is short! You have only one life to live here on earth. You shall pass through this world only once.
If you’re not born again, repent of your sins today and accept Jesus as your Lord and Saviour. Whoever comes to Him, He will by no means cast out.
PRAYER POINT: Father, help me to live this one life You’ve given me to do Your will, not my will.
This is wisdom for living, and it’s worth sharing. Please share.
(For over 250 in-depth and insightful messages by T.O. Banso, visit: www.cedarministry.org).
▪ Banso, a pastor, heads Cedar Ministry International, Abuja, Nigeria cedarministryintl@yahoo.com, cedarministryng@gmail.com
Tel No: +2348155744752, +2348033113523; WhatsApp No: +2349081295947