I know it's not me. Still, the headline on the article is a bit jarring: "Tim Archer Obituary." Turns out that this Tim Archer was about my age, just four years older. Was he better prepared to have his obituary printed in the paper than I am?

Dying is a part of life, but it's a part that we don't like to think about. We always have a few more things to do, things that only we can take care of. Not so much a bucket list as a never-ending "to do" list.

We're so caught up in this life, that we don't give a thought to what comes after. Jesus told a parable about that very thing:

"The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. He thought to himself, 'What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.' "Then he said, 'This is what I'll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I'll say to myself, "You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry." ' "But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?' "This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God" (Luke 12:16-21).

The frightening thing is, this man did what most of us would have done. He was focused on his retirement plan, making sound investments for the future. But the future wasn't his to control.

Jesus went on to urge his followers to focus on having treasure in heaven, not on this earth, saying, "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also" (Luke 12:34).

I need to think about dying. Not in a scared way, nor some kind of morbid obsession. I need to remember that death is coming… and it's not the end. I need to prepare for my real retirement, the one that will last forever. All of the "busyness" that surrounds my life can serve as a distraction from things that matter, from the opportunities to increase my heavenly portfolio.

I need to remember that death is coming… and it's not the end
I need to be sure that I'm not just doing things for my own benefit, but that I'm doing my best to be rich toward God: helping others, nurturing my family, growing spiritually.

How about you? Visit our blog on www.hopeforlife.org and let me know how your retirement funds look… your heavenly ones.

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