The driver of a hearse foolishly tried to warm himself on a rainy Saturday morning by drinking on the job. He didn't get warm (alcohol actually lowers body temperature), but he did get lost on the way to the cemetery. The funeral procession waited in vain at the grave for hours.
Later that evening, police found the driver asleep in the hearse by the side of the road. By then it was too late for burial, and the cemetery wouldn't accept the casket on Sunday.
On Monday, the newspaper reported that the body of the 62-year-old man "was finally laid to rest--2 days late for his final appointment."
Actually, his final appointment was kept right on time. His tardy burial in no way altered the fact that his conscious soul had passed into eternity precisely at God's appointed time.
Until Christ returns, this will be true for every one of us. For the child of God, death immediately lifts the spirit into the presence of the Savior (2 Cor. 5:8). But for the one who rejects Christ (Jn. 3:18), death instantly closes the door to heaven and opens another to a Christless eternity.
We all have an appointment with our Maker. Whether we're ready for it or not depends on what we do with Jesus now. Are you ready for your final appointment? — Mart De Haan
Someday you'll hear God's final call to you
To take His offer of salvation true;
This could be it, my friend, if you but knew:
God's final call, God's final call. --Peterson
© 1961 Singspiration Inc.
At the moment of death, we step into eternal delight or everlasting doom.