No tragedy can compare with the death of a person who has rejected Christ. To die without Jesus as Savior is to face the saddest fate possible: a hopeless eternity.
Even the most successful people—no matter what great and admirable things they have accomplished—forfeit all of life's goodness if they die without having trusted Jesus Christ as their Savior.
Walter A. Maier, a renowned preacher of the first half of the 20th century, gave two examples of well-known people who came to life's end and uttered what amount to famous "lost" words. Maier said that Jay Gould, a multimillionaire, lamented on his deathbed, "I am the most miserable man on earth." Maier also cited the French thinker Voltaire, who cried out, "I wish I had never been born."
What will mark the end of your life? Peace or despair? You can rejoice in God's forgiveness. You can have the assurance that death will not separate you from God's love (Rom. 8:38-39) but will bring you into His presence.
That can happen if you put your faith in Christ—trusting that because of Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection your sins are forgiven. Your last words can then be triumphant as you look forward to eternity with Christ. — Dave Branon
Our Lord took death upon Himself
On that cruel cross of pain,
And those who look in faith to Him
Eternal life shall gain! —Johnson
Death is the last chapter of time, but the first chapter of eternity.